Virginia Museum of History & Culture

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society—a private, non-profit organization. The historical society is the oldest cultural organization in Virginia, and one of the oldest and most distinguished history organizations in the nation. For use in its state history museum and its renowned research library, the historical society cares for a collection of nearly nine million items representing the ever-evolving story of Virginia.

The society was founded in 1831. Like most of the nation’s older historical societies, it has always been a private organization and derives virtually all its support from membership and endowment. The Virginia Historical Society elected Chief Justice John Marshall as its first president and former president James Madison its first honorary member.

During the early years, between 1831 and 1861, the society acquired valuable books, manuscripts, museum objects, and natural history specimens. From time to time, it published the texts of historic documents and the addresses delivered at its annual meetings. This was hampered, however, by having virtually no endowment and no permanent home.

In 2018, after nearly a year of research, community conversations, and strategic planning, the Virginia Historical Society announced a new vision and a new name for its headquarters facility—The Virginia Museum of History & Culture. This historic change marks a new era of expanded public programming, new exhibitions, and greater activity across the Commonwealth, as the historical society works to tell a more inclusive story to a more inclusive audience.

The Virginia Historical Society (VHS), founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history. It is a private, non-profit organization, supported almost entirely by private contributions. In 2004, it was designated the official state historical society of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The historical society's headquarters was renamed as the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in 2018.[2][3]

The museum features exhibitions and programming for visitors of all ages and has more than 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) of exhibition gallery space and the largest display of Virginia artifacts on permanent view. The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is the only museum with all of Virginia's history under one roof—all centuries, regions, and topics are covered.