Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park

Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park

Southwest Virginia Museum, September 2013
Location 10 W. Street N, Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Coordinates 36°51′48″N 82°46′49″W / 36.86333°N 82.78028°W / 36.86333; -82.78028Coordinates: 36°51′48″N 82°46′49″W / 36.86333°N 82.78028°W / 36.86333; -82.78028
Area 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1895 (1895)
Architect Johnson, Charles Ralph, Sr.; Campbell, Edmund Schureman
Architectural style Queen Anne
NRHP Reference # 02001362[1]
VLR # 101-0001
Significant dates
Added to NRHP November 22, 2002
Designated VLR September 11, 2002[2]

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is a Virginia museum, run as a state park, dedicated to preserving the history of the southwestern part of the state. It is located in Big Stone Gap, in a house built in the 1880s for Virginia Attorney General Rufus A. Ayers. It was designed and built by Charles A. Johnson. Construction began in 1888 and was completed in 1895.[3]

The limestone and sandstone used on the exterior walls came from local quarries. Red oak lines the interior walls and ceilings. A small moat once surrounded the house.[3]

The structure was acquired by the state in 1946 from a foundation managed by C. Bascom Slemp. Much of the museum collection focuses on the coal boom of the 1890s; there are also exhibits dedicated to the history of Big Stone Gap and the surrounding area, and the story of the pioneers that migrated westward during the 18th century.[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. 1 2 Hensley, Clayton (27 July 2014). "Big Stone Gap awaits its time on the big screen". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. ↑ J. Daniel Pezzoni (July 2002). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying two photos


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