Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park
Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park | |
Southwest Virginia Museum, September 2013 | |
Location | 10 W 1st St N, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219 |
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Coordinates | 36°51′48″N 82°46′49″W / 36.86333°N 82.78028°W |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | 1895 |
Architect | Johnson, Charles Ralph, Sr.; Campbell, Edmund Schureman |
Architectural style | Queen Anne |
NRHP reference No. | 02001362[1] |
VLR No. | 101-0002 |
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 commonwealth. It is located in Big Stone Gap, in a house built in the 1880s for former 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 area 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's 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, as well as the story of the pioneers who migrated westward during the 18th century.[4] The museum is also the location of the Southwest Virginia Walk of Fame.[5][6][7]
The museum building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.[1]
See also
[edit]- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wise County, Virginia
- List of Virginia state parks
- List of Virginia state forests
References
[edit]- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ a b Hensley, Clayton (July 27, 2014). "Big Stone Gap awaits its time on the big screen". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ 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
- ^ "WALK OF FAME, Southwest Virginia Museum". www.swvamuseum.org. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ "Walk of Fame of Southwest Virginia". www.dcr.virginia.gov. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ Bristol Herald Courier, Joe Tennis. "People who shaped our culture honored on Walk of Fame". Retrieved August 16, 2018.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
- State parks of Virginia
- State parks of the Appalachians
- Museums in Wise County, Virginia
- Parks in Wise County, Virginia
- History museums in Virginia
- Historic house museums in Virginia
- Houses in Wise County, Virginia
- National Register of Historic Places in Wise County, Virginia
- Southwest Virginia
- Walks of fame
- Houses completed in 1895
- Museums established in 1946
- Protected areas established in 1946
- 1946 establishments in Virginia
- Virginia protected area stubs
- Heart of Appalachia, Virginia Registered Historic Place stubs
- Virginia museum stubs