The historic Jenkins Plantation Museum, located in the Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area of Cabell County, will host a Civil War Camp on Saturday, May 14, 2005 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The living history program is free and open to the public.
Spectators at the outdoor event will see reenactors in period costume, including a Civil War-era doctor, a mounted cavalryman and an artillerist with a working cannon and mortar. There also will be displays of period clothing from private collections.
In addition, special hands-on activities will help children explore Civil War life. Kids can play parlor games such as “Last Man Standing,” now called “Musical Chairs,” and “Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button.” They also can learn how to make cloth dolls similar to those of the 1860s, do some basic knitting and color scenes in coloring books from the Victorian era.
The historic Jenkins family home also will be open for tours, and visitors can enjoy hot dogs and soft drinks while supplies last.
The Jenkins Plantation Museum is located on West Virginia Route 2 between Huntington and Point Pleasant. A facility of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, the museum is the former home of Confederate Brigadier General Albert Gallatin Jenkins and also interprets the large slave plantation operated by the Jenkins family. The 1835 house, built in the tradition of Tidewater, Va., is noteworthy for its architecture and was built by slaves between 1830 and 1835 for Jenkins’ father William. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and on the Civil War Discovery Trail. The museum’s regular hours are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information about the Civil War Camp at the Jenkins Plantation Museum, call Matt Boggess, site manager of the facility, at (304) 762-1059.
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through the arts, historic preservation and museums. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information the programs of the Division. The Division is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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