The historic Jenkins Plantation Museum, located in the Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area of Cabell County, will host a Civil Way Day on Saturday, May 20, 2006, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The living history program is free and open to the public.
Spectators at the outdoor event will see reenactors in period costume, including the Levisa Artillery, a Confederate cannon group from Kentucky, and Union forces from the 82nd Ohio Infantry. The Barboursville Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Border Rangers 2580, will host an afternoon tea and craft bazaar. Period music will be provided by reenactor Ron McClintock of Proctorville, Ohio. James R. Mitchell, West Virginia State Museum curator, will have Civil War-era weapons and artifacts on display including muskets, bayonets, cannon balls and sabers.
Special hands-on activities will help children explore Civil War life. Grace Welch, a costumed tour guide for the Capitol Complex, will lead kids in parlor games such as “Last Man Standing,” now called “Musical Chairs,” and “Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button.” They also can play with a thread button wizzer and enjoy textile crafts like knitting or weaving.
The historic Jenkins family home will be open for tours, and visitors can enjoy hot dogs and soft drinks while supplies last.
The Jenkins Plantation Museum is located on West Virginia Route 2 between Huntington and Point Pleasant. A facility of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, the museum is the former home of Confederate Brigadier General Albert Gallatin Jenkins and also interprets the large slave plantation operation operated by the Jenkins family. The 1835 home, built in the tradition of Tidewater, Va., is noteworthy for its architecture and was built by slaves between 1830 and 1835 for Jenkins’ father William. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and on the Civil War Discovery Trail. The museum’s regular hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information about the Civil War Day at the Jenkins Plantation Museum, call Matt Boggess, site manager of the facility, at (304) 762-1059.
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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