Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park
Welcome to the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park! We invite you to visit our National Historic Landmark building, interact with our Southwest Virginia exhibits, meet our staff, tour our grounds and more.
The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is an educational facility exhibiting a part of Southwest Virginia's rich heritage.
Construction of the house began in 1888 and was completed in 1895; the Architect- Builder was Charles A. Johnson. The exterior of the building is made of sandstone and limestone quarried locally and hand-chiseled. Native red oak is used throughout the interior of the building with hand-carved motifs adorning the windows and doors.
In 1885 Rufus Ayers served as Virginia's Attorney General. He and other gentlemen such as John Imboden, Charles Sears, George Carter, and John Taggart felt that Big Stone Gap could become the "Pittsburgh of the South" because of its iron ore and coal deposits. Rufus was instrumental in helping develop the coal and iron ore industry in Southwest Virginia and bringing the railroads to this area. Big Stone Gap, however, did not become the next Pittsburgh due to the economic depression.
The house was purchased by C. Bascom Slemp in 1929. Slemp, a native of Lee County, served many years in Congress and later became the private secretary to President Calvin Coolidge. C. Bascom and his sister, Janie Slemp Newman, had a love for Southwest Virginia, its people, history and rich culture. They collected artifacts depicting life of the area, which were originally displayed in the Janie Slemp Newman Museum. Before C. Bascom's death in 1943, he established The Slemp Foundation. It was his wish that the state acquire the Ayers' home for a museum and that the Janie Slemp Newman collection be given to the state for their museum.
The Southwest Virginia Museum is a member of the American
Association of Museums, the American Association of State and Local History, and the Virginia Association of Museums.
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