43 Court Square
Montross, VA 22520
Open six days a week, closed Sunday, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
There is no admission fee.
For more information please call 804-493-8440, or email wcmuseum@verizon.net.
Visit us on Facebook (Westmoreland County Museum), Twitter (@Museum_WCM), and check out our website: www.westmorelandcountymuseum.org
Believed to be the oldest museum in the Northern Neck, the Westmoreland County Museum and Library was chartered in 1939 and dedicated in 1941. The museum was built as a replica of Wakefield, the birthplace of George Washington to provide a permanent home to the life-sized portrait of William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham (1768), painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1768. Pitt was an instrumental member of Parliament responsible for the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Pitt painting began Peale’s 60-year career as America’s most famous portrait artist. There are eighteen other portraits honoring important residents of Westmoreland County throughout its long history. The museum provides numerous exhibits and programs to remind visitors of the important role played by the county and its people in Virginia’s and the nation’s history.
The Westmoreland County Museum offers permanent exhibits including portraits of Westmoreland County’s historical figures, fossils, and Native American artifacts. The Museum’s temporary exhibit, which runs for 6 months, currently displays antique tools on loan from local families. In October, the Museum will begin a temporary display of Mourning Jewelry as a nod to Halloween. In addition to these exhibits, the Museum hosts several receptions and lectures each year, including a monthly “Art & Wine” Reception featuring a new local artisan. The Museum also serves as the Visitor Center for Westmoreland County and houses a history and genealogy research library. On the museum, grounds is the location of the Presidents’ Garden, the first garden designed by Mr. Charles Freeman Gillette, a renowned Richmond landscape architect, in the Northern Neck and a project of the Garden Club of Virginia, honoring Virginia’s eight U.S. presidents. Included within the garden are crape myrtles, slips of tree box grown from Ash Lawn-Highlands, ivy from Mount Vernon and Monticello, and other plants and flowers to enhance its beauty.
The Museum also serves as the Visitor Center for Westmoreland County. The museum annually participates in the town’s Fall Festival (1st Saturday in October) and December Christmas Spirit Festival (1st Friday evening in December).
