...to the William Cage Library Trust has given the Museum a grant of $350 for library resources. This allows us to purchase many items that would not normally be possible. We have used this grant for purchase of reference books, and more recently, DVDs and microfilm. The Amherst County indexes to the Agricultural Censuses for 1870 and 1880 were made possible by the purchase of microfilm from the National Archives. These indexes are now on the Museum’s website.
Exhibits
Amherst County Pathways
On June 2nd, 2001 the Museum celebrated the opening of our permanent exhibit, Amherst County Pathways, on the history of Amherst County. It explores several aspects of the county's history including natural history, the bateaux, agriculture and the Civil War. Objects on display include Monacan projectile points, a copy of the original legislation creating Amherst County, a Civil War era wooden leg, a ca. 1900 christening gown and much more. It is the Museum's hope that every individual who visits the exhibit will learn something new about the history of Amherst County.
The Richard Bennett collection provides a variety of postal cancellations from Amherst County and other locations in Virginia. Here's a sampling of some of the Amherst County cancellations.
highlights some photos from a program presented at the Amherst County Museum on March 20, 2011. Frank Cash was a photographer who lived in Monroe, Amherst County, Virginia. The original glass plate negatives have been digitized for ease of viewing, and the entire collection is over 350 glass plates. He did photography for portraits, postcards, family and friends. His favorite topics included the gardens at Sweet Briar, trains, roads, Monroe, and family. Most of the pictures were taken between 1905 and 1915.
Previous Exhibits
School Days
In 2004, as school began the Museum exhibited a number of artifacts from Amherst's educational history--from a 1920s graduation dress, textbooks from the 1880s, an early twentieth century mapcase with maps and more. Click here for more on this exhibit!
In 2005 our Academic Amherst exhibit included a variety of textbooks and teachers' grade and report books. In addition, all visitors were invited to "vote" for their favorite school subjects on the retired voting machine. The results of the vote:
- Arithmetic, 8
- Art, 31
- Geography, 20
- History, 23
- Lunch & Recess, 30
- Math, 6
- Music, 34
- Physical Education, 14
- Reading, 21
- Science, 18
Amherst Court Days
During the summer of 2004 in the Singleton-Zinsser Memorial Gallery were items that reflect the heritage of the Amherst Court-its House and its people. In this gallery were fragments of artifacts found on the site believed to be the location of Amherst County's first courthouse, several law books, forms and a forms cabinet, manuals for justices of the peace one of the benches from the old courthouse and the opportunity to watch former Clerk of the court Billy Sandidge speak about the building of the new courthouse facade.
The Muse
The Muse is the Amherst County Museum & Historical Society's quarterly newsletter. It contains regular articles on topics ranging from the Director's Notes to genealogical queries. The Muse also lists upcoming Amherst County Museum events and exhibits and is your source for Museum news.
The Amherst County Museum & Historical Society distributed The Muse approximately every three months until 2005 at which time the schedule was changed to six times a year. Several back issues are archived here for your viewing pleasure. If you are interested in receiving copies of The Muse as it rolls off the press, please see our Membership page, as there are also other membership benefits.
Archived Copies