9/10/02
The Jenkins Plantation Museum, located in the Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area of Cabell County, will celebrate its 167th year at the annual Homestead Gathering, an afternoon of entertainment featuring a pig roast and traditional music on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 4 - 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Visitors are invited to dance to Civil War-era music performed by the Allendale Melodians, a traditional string band. Other activities will include a hay ride and tours of the historic Jenkins House. This year’s Homestead Gathering offers the public a rare opportunity to see foundations of some of the historical outbuildings discovered during recent archaeological excavations in preparation for the restoration of the house.
Operated by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, the Jenkins Plantation Museum provides a glimpse into Ohio Valley life in the mid-1800s. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the house was built by slaves between 1830 and 1835 in the tradition of Tidewater, Va.
The house is most closely associated with Confederate Brigadier General Albert Gallatin Jenkins, who was born at Green Bottom in 1831. Prior to the Civil War, Jenkins was an attorney and U.S. congressman. After the war began, he served in the Confederate Congress before resigning to lead the 8th Virginia Cavalry. He died in 1864 from wounds suffered in the Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain near Dublin, Va.
The Jenkins Plantation Museum was recently added to the Civil War Discovery Trail, which links more than 500 sites in 28 states to inspire and to teach the story of the Civil War and its enduring impact on America.
The museum and the unique wetlands of the surrounding Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area allow visitors to learn more about the history and ecology of the Ohio Valley. The museum is located on West Virginia Route 2 between Huntington and Point Pleasant. It is open to the public for free tours on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
For more information about the Homestead Gathering and 167th birthday celebration, or to schedule a tour, call Matt Boggess, site manager at the Museum 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 programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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