This presentation of thematic elements celebrates our region's Shenandoah culture. A main building, The Luray Valley Museum, displays decorative arts, items of clothing, early toys and artifacts of daily life in chronological delivery from the 1750s to the 1920s. A 1536 Swiss bible, the centerpiece of the collection, connects the history of early settlers to their European culture and search for religious freedom brought to Page County and the Shenandoah Valley.
A collection of historic buildings has been restored to represent a small 19th century farming community. The Elk Run Meeting House served as a barracks for Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War as attested by the signatures that still scatter the interior. Bellview constructed in 1835 was home to the county's first delegate to the Virginia General Assembly, the circa 1860 Burner Barn is a typical Valley two bay "Switzer" barn and the circa 1885 Hamburg Regular School is one of the oldest African-American one room schoolhouses surviving in Virginia. Today, children can learn the history of gem mining in the region at the gem mining sluice near the Page Valley Mining Company. All these join the Luray Caverns Vineyard with the first plantings in 2013 on the 7 acre site recreating pre-1900 valley life.
Entrance fee included in Luray Caverns general admission.