Frontier Culture Museum

Address:1290 Richmond Ave.
Staunton, Virginia
Tel: (540) 332-7850

The Frontier Culture Museum is an awesome outdoor living-history museum with six permanent exhibits of beautiful working farm buildings from Britain, Germany and Virginia. The buildings which have been dismantled, transported to Virginia, and restored, explore the origins of early immigrants to America, how they came to America, their way of life, and their contribution to the success of the United States.

The museum's German Farm dates back 400 years and was originally located in the German village of Hordt. At that time, Hordt was part of the Holy Roman Empire while thousands were leaving for Britain's North American colonies. These German speaking immigrants were among the earliest and most successful on America's 18th century frontier.

The museum's Irish farm dates back 300 years and originated in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Here you'll find the type of homes and landscapes which were all abandoned as thousands emigrated from Ulster to Great Britain's North American colonies in the 1700s. You'll also find an Irish Forge from County Fermanagh, where you'll see a real working blacksmith, who provided a service to the communities of the frontier.

The Frontier Culture Museum's store holds imported items from Ireland, Germany and England, as well as local Virginian artist produced arts and crafts. You'll also find historic games, toys, logo merchandise, and delicious home made fudge.

To get to the frontier Culture Museum, exit I-81 onto exit 222 Route 250 West. Drive half a mile down and you'll see the museum on your left side.

The Frontier Culture Museum is an outdoor, living-history museum and educational institution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Museum currently features six permanent, outdoor exhibits comprised of original farm buildings from Britain, Germany, and Virginia. These buildings have been carefully documented, dismantled, transported to Virginia, and restored. The Museum's exhibits serve as the settings for interpretative and educational programs designed to increase public knowledge of the diverse Old World origins of early immigrants to America, of how these immigrants lived in their homelands, how they came to America, and how the way-of-life they created together on the American frontier has shaped the success of the United States. The Museum's plans for the future include the expansion of its exhibits and programs to include an American Indian and West African exhibits, a working grist mill, and mid-1800s American village.