The Frontier Culture Museum is the biggest open-air living history museum in the Shenandoah Valley, as well as one of the highest rated family-friendly attractions and one of the top tourist destinations in Virginia. Costumed historical interpreters show the life and customs of the indigenous Native American tribes in Virginia, the arrival of the German, English and Irish settlers along the Great Wagon Road, and the painful journey of the enslaved Africans to the first permanent British colony in North America. Visitors may also interact with a blacksmith at an Irish Forge, woodworkers, tailors, and yarn spinners, and learn how the early settlers of America cooked and worked the land.

I visited the museum with a school field trip and I’m so glad I was able to go. The staff was so smart, patient, and informative. Each area had some kind of hands-on experience for the kids (and adults) to participate. I think we’ll remember this experience for years to come and I hope I get a chance to go back with my family and spend more time at each exhibit!

Friendly staff at each “Country” giving you a good representation of what daily life would be like for the average person a few hundred years ago. Most of the building was brought from each country here and reassembled, witch seems like a feat in itself.

UPCOMING EVENTS