There is a lot of history in the area and you can see some it by taking the walk through the Museum this is also included on your Luray Caverns ticket
This takes about a 1/2 hour to tour. The price is included in the Luray Caverns ticket. Its a "village" of old buildings brought over from other sites.
When you finish your tour at the Luray Caverns make sure you cross the street to visit this wonderful little museum. The old homes and farm buildings are very interesting and the view of the surrounding valley and mountains is spectacular. The museum visit is included in the cost for the visit to the caverns. They give you a small local crystal (rock) free too.
This display of artifacts and buildings from as early as the 1700's was enjoyable and informative. One can appreciate how far we've come as you look at these depictions of yesteryear.
What to write here. Just nothing much to be seen here and all what is there is not so great. I suggest they should make it more appealing. Better do not waste the time.
This little museum highlighted local history and contained many interesting items. There was a wood stove display which I have never seen any other place!
An add-on to the Luray Caverns ticket, but an interesting visit. There is a collection of archeological findings from native American settlements dating back one thousand years and more. There are quite a few bibles and secular books as well pointing to a vibrant German-American community in the Valley in the 19th century. A section dedicated to slavery and abolition was also quite interesting.
The museum was well thought out and full of interesting history. The grounds were nice, too, allowing a little time to walk to other buildings before getting back in the car for the ride home. And to top it off, it's free with your paid admission to the Caverns. Who doesn't like free :-)
The musem price was included in the cavern tour. The objects in the museum were very interesting. What we wanted was the gem sluice. When we got through the museum we found out we had to buy bags of rocks for the gem sluice. That was okay with me. The first bag we got ($25 including tax) yielded several amethyst and crystal geodes. To see the look on my grandson's face and his joy when he found the first geode was unforgettable. Then we got more geodes, quarts crystals of different colors, a pyrite cube, copper nuggets, black obsidian and so many other stones. Then we got another bag and it yielded the same results and more. The geodes were as large as the ones they were selling in the stores. The extra $50 we spent on the gems was worth every penny. All the stones were large. But the sheer joy of watching my 2 grandkids faces was the ultimate memory. I will never forget that. So if you want to get large gems, spend the money. It was worth every penny.
This museum is included in the price of your Cavern ticket. It is well worth the trip over. The museum documents the history of the Luray area and even includes several buildings that were brought over and reassembled on the property - a couple of farm houses, a blacksmith's shop, a one-room school, a meeting house/church, and a burner barn. The Caverns is also starting out a vineyard back there too. We had a snack at the Heartpine cafe (downstairs in the burner barn), which was much less crowded than the Stalactite cafe right next to the caverns, and had more upscale fare.