Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History will offer media representatives guided tours of the West Virginia State Museum on Monday, Jan. 19, after 3 p.m. to correspond with closing events of Governor Joe Manchin III’s inauguration. He will offer the tours to media again on Tuesday, Jan. 20, after 12 p.m. Interested parties should call to schedule a tour.
While on the tour, media representatives will have the opportunity to view artifacts donated to the museum by individuals and families from counties across the state, including relics from the Battle of Point Pleasant, a header stone from Thacker Mines near Matewan, artifacts from the 1914 Eccles mine disaster in Raleigh County, original seats from the Keith-Albee Theater in Huntington, a rifle and other artifacts belonging to Daniel Boone when he lived in Kanawha County, and a Confederate flag captured at the Battle of Philippi early in the Civil War.
There are also a collection of oil artifacts from Gilmer County, a saddle belonging to World War I cavalry veteran Alston Mitchell of Barbour County, a rifle belonging to Lewis Wetzel of Ohio County, articles from John Brown’s raid in Jefferson County, and much more.
For more information or to schedule a tour, contact Jacqueline Proctor, deputy commissioner of the Division, at (304) 558-0220.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, 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. Its administrative offices are located at the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
-30-
