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“home to the world's oldest ham”
The Isle of Wight County Museum was founded in 1976 by a group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation of county history. The museum’s exhibits include prehistoric fossils, Native American and Colonial artifacts, a turn-of-the-century country store, displays interpreting the Smithfield ham industry and perhaps the museum’s most notable artifact: the world’s oldest, edible cured ham. P.D. Gwaltney Jr.’s famous pet ham currently resides at the Isle of Wight County Museum. In 1902, a cured ham was overlooked, and for 20 years, the ham hung from a rafter in one of his packing houses. By 1924, the pet ham was kept in an iron safe which was opened daily for guests to view. Advertised as the world’s oldest Smithfield ham, Gwaltney fashioned a brass collar for the ham and took it to shows and expos to exhibit the preservative powers of his smoking method. The ham was featured in Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not” in 1929, 1932 and 2003.
Fantastic experience! My 13 year old son said, "Wow" right after we left. He loves history. Very knowledgeable and friendly staff! They have a scavenger hunt for the kids to get them... Read more
Small but informative and interesting local museum. Covers many time time periods and aspects of local area Very reasonable admission to museum Nice tourist destination when visiting the area Read more
For 2 bucks, it's A-OK (3 stars). Now by the time I get to the post button, I may bump this review up half a star just for the old ham on display, which is kinda interesting. See the review by... Read more
Isle Of Wight County Museum
Hours
- Sun: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
- Mon - Sat: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
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