ABOUT OUR MUSEUM

Essex and its county seat, Tappahannock, lie on the beautiful Rappahannock River in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. The Essex County Museum, founded in 1996, and the Essex County Historical Society joined forces in 2006 to celebrate the heritage of the town, county, river, and its people and is now the Essex County Museum and Historical Society (ECMHS).

The museum houses a number of exhibits that include pre-historic through modern displays of life in Essex and on the Rappahannock River. In addition to these collections, the museum has a research room with a small library as well as a Gift Shop with handcrafted jewelry, home accessories, art, books, children’s toys and games, and more!   All proceeds from the shop benefit ECMHS’s programs and operations.

Outreach is an important component of the museum’s mission and ECMHS collaborates with other museums on the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula to bring a “History on the Go” program to local elementary schools. The Essex County Museum also has a variety of other educational programs that are offered either at the museum or in another venue as well as live and virtual programs throughout the year that are offered to the community.