Historical Sites
& Museums
Woodbine Cemetery
Chartered in 1850, Woodbine was developed as Harrisonburg’s main cemetery. With the need to bury the fallen soldiers in the nearby battles of the Civil War, a one-acre lot was set aside as a “Soldier’s Cemetery.” The cemetery contains the graves of over 250 Confederate Soldiers which are marked by white marble markers. The cemetery is non-denominational and non-profit.
Hardesty-Higgins House
This 1853 house was home to Harrisonburg’s first mayor, Isaac Hardesty. The house was also home to many historical figures and local craftsmen through the 1980s. The house is now used as a visitor center and museum to “restore the home’s significance to the City of Harrisonburg.” Inside you will find a wealth of information and Visitor Services, the Rocktown Gift Shoppe, The Valley Turnpike Museum, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Civil War Orientation Center.
Virginia Quilt Museum
The Virginia Quilt Museum exists to celebrate and nurture Virginia’s quilting heritage by collecting and preserving quilts from Virginia for public educational purposes. The museum focuses on the role and significance of the quilts in social and cultural history and emphasizes the aesthetic value of quilting as an art form while facilitating research in the fields of history and art.
Mennonite Heritage Center
The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center features exhibits on the settling of the Shenandoah Valley by the Brethren and Mennonites in pioneer days, Civil War times, and in early 1900 school and mission work in the mountains of western Virginia. Guides tell stories in the 1854 Burkholder-Myers House, the nearby Wash House, the Blacksmith Shop, and the 1904 Whitmer School/Cove Church.
Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley campus includes three components: The Glen Burnie Historic House, six acres of gardens surrounding the house, and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. A variety of ticket options are available. The museum is open year round Tuesday – Sunday.
Folk Art Heritage Center
More than 5000 sq. ft. of museum exhibit space featuring Shenandoah Valley Folk Art both antique and contemporary. Here you’ll find Invincible Spirit: the story of the Rockingham area from the earliest Native American inhabitants to present; and an electric map of Stonewall Jackson’s 1862 Valley campaign. The museum includes an excellent genealogical library and a complete bookstore featuring works on regional history, genealogy and the Civil War.
Daniel Harrison House
The Daniel Harrison House, also known as “Fort Harrison,” was built in 1749 by Daniel Harrison, the first settler in Dayton and as such is one of the oldest houses in Rockingham County. Daniel was the brother of Thomas Harrison, founder of Harrisonburg. Guided tours from 1-4pm
Frontier Culture House
The Frontier Culture House is a living history museum that features five historic, reconstructed, and working farms. The farms represent the daily lives and agricultural heritage of the peoples who immigrated to the new world and formed a unique American culture.
Woodrow Wilson Museum
Opened to the public in November 1990, the Woodrow Wilson Museum is housed in an adaptively-renovated chateau style mansion adjacent to Woodrow Wilson’s birthplace. The Museum galleries guide you through Wilson’s public life, from his Princeton study to his historic Great War peace efforts, and encompassing his service from 1913 to 1921 as the 28th President of the United States.
