VOLUNTEERS BEHIND THE MUSEUM — The volunteer board behind the Brooke County Museum and Cultural Center includes, from left, front, Vickey Gallagher and Bobbie Elliott; and back, Gary Stephen, Tammy Withers, Cathy Hervey, Donna Taibi-Sullivan and Virginia Smith. Christina White also serves as a board member. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — With more than 50 years behind it, the Brooke County Historical Museum and Cultural Center has worked to share many aspects of the county’s past.

Located at 704 Charles St., the museum is open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Sunday, except for holidays.

Members of its volunteer board recently gathered to reflect on a special anniversary affecting all county museums, and on its many displays that reflect the lives and military service of Brooke County residents during more than 100 years.

Board member Bobbie Elliott noted in 1975, the West Virginia Legislature passed legislation allowing the state’s county commissions to establish county-funded museums. She said the Brooke County Commission was the first county commission in the state to formally establish a county museum that year, though one had been operating in Brooke County since 1969.

Elliott said the county’s first museum occupied two stories on the second floor of the former county jail, a building that had served as home to the sheriff. She said a volunteer group known as the Brooke County Historical Society had been given permission by the Brooke County Commission to use it for that purpose.

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY — Uniformed “troops” stand guard at the Brooke County Museum and Cultural Center. Fifty years ago, the West Virginia Legislature passed bills allowing the state’s county commissions to establish county-funded museums. -- Warren Scott

In 1973, the former Miller’s Tavern, at the corner of Sixth and Main streets, was sold to the county commission for use as the museum. The move allowed the commission to tear down the county jail and build a major addition to the county courthouse, Elliott noted.

Last occupied by the Wellsburg Eagles Lodge, the tavern and inn had served many traveling by riverboat on the nearby Ohio River, including students traveling to Bethany College from the river. That building also was torn down by the county commission in 2019 to accommodate the construction of the judicial center, which houses the county’s three courts. Plans for the demolition led the museum to move into its present location in the former G.C. Murphy Store in 2012. The building was purchased with a $90,000 grant from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

Vickey Gallagher, president of the museum board, noted before moving into the former department store, “We looked at so many different buildings, including the (former) Brooke Glass (factory) and Brooke Furniture.”

Gallagher noted the store not only offered additional space, all on one floor, it included an unexpected feature the museum’s volunteers were able to incorporate into its displays, she said. She noted partitions from cubicles occupied by telemarketers who last used the building were used to contain recreations of a one-room schoolhouse, with a chalkboard and potbellied stove, kitchens from the 1790s and 1920s and other scenes from the past.

“That’s why we’re the unique museum we are,” said Gallagher. Board member Virginia Smith agreed, saying, “It’s like you’re stepping back in time.”

One display incorporates elements of three former county jails. Behind a wooden door with a barred window, a cell used from 1793 to 1893 houses a bed, toilet, sink and shackles used in two later cells. For many of the rooms, board member Tammy Withers created a photo guide identifying specific artifacts found there. Withers recalled shopping with her mother, Mary Greathouse, at a Pittsburgh store for wallpaper that would match the settings and periods of the recreations. Elliott noted observant visitors to the museum’s “music room” will find wallpaper bearing musical notes.

Board members were asked about their favorite displays or artifacts in the museum.

“The glassware. It’s amazing. Most of that glassware was manufactured here,” said Donna Taibi-Sullivan. She referred to a room showcasing numerous dishes and glass items produced by many of the 38 glass factories that once operated in Brooke County.

The museum displays samples of steel, a staff photo and other items from the former Wheeling Corrugating Plant. The items were donated by Hackman Capital through the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, when the former steel mill was being converted into the Beech Bottom Industrial Park.

“My favorite item is the horse from the 5 and 10,” said board member Cathy Hervey, who referred to the coin-operated mechanical riding horse displayed in the museum’s front window. She said it reminds her of one she rode as a little girl in front of the G.C. Murphy Store.

Elliott said it’s not the same horse, having been discovered elsewhere by a museum volunteer, but there are many items from the store that were found on its second floor. Among them are signs for its various sections and display cases filled with various household goods once sold there.

“I like all of the office equipment, probably because I was a secretary for so many years,” said Gallagher. She referred to a display of manual typewriters, rotary telephones and other devices once used by local businesses. The museum also displays an old barber’s chair and shoeshine bench.

Gallagher noted 32 mannequins dressed in uniforms from various military branches, from the days of World War I to more recent conflicts in the Middle East, “stand guard” over the museum. It also has two rooms containing military items ranging from a field telephone used in World War II to letters belonging to Oliver Brown, an officer in the American Revolution who settled in Wellsburg.

Visitors also can view laminated copies of “Yank,” a weekly magazine published by the Army for troops during World War II; and pages of a 1940s Weirton Steel bulletin listing employees who were then serving in the military, including photos of them in uniform.

Board member Gary Stephen had difficulty choosing just one area or item. Among his choices were the children’s room where many toys of old are displayed, and the school area, which includes past yearbooks from current and former high schools and other school memorabilia are displayed.

“There are so many things here that are neat,” said Elliott. She counts among them a player piano with about 100 rolls of music that she and others break out occasionally for visitors to hear.

Elliott noted the museum also is home to an item that was lent to the Smithsonian Institution for America’s bicentennial celebration. That artifact is a 5 ½ foot long wooden plaque composed of 76 varieties of wood native to West Virginia in which are carved the words “Liberty,” “Union” and “Independence,” and the first seven words of the Declaration of Independence, as well as stars representing the original 13 colonies and states admitted to the nation when it was created for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia by Wellsburg cabinetmaker George B. Crawford. Today, it’s kept in a protective glass case not far from the glass room.

Board members noted the museum often is visited during school reunions or holidays, when former residents return to revisit their past and stop by to learn about others’ as well. In keeping with its new status as a museum and cultural center, the museum’s board has established a stage and seating for occasional musical performances. The seats are cushioned pews donated by Brooke Hills Free Methodist Church when the church was undergoing major renovations. A few also have been placed in the museum’s aisles to offer visitors a place to rest or take a longer look at the displays before them.

Elliott, who had been an active member of the Brooke County Genealogical Society, noted various records compiled by the group are stored on the museum’s second floor and can be retrieved for those researching family histories. Board members noted tours of the museum outside its regular hours can be arranged by calling (304) 737-4060.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)