Friendly. Informative Interesting. New. Information Good food. Personal touch…read more !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to tour Loretta Lynn's original home in Van Lear, Kentucky you must stop by Webb's…read moregrocery, pay a $5 entry fee, and follow the tour guide in your car a mile or so to the home. The young man that runs the store is a distant relative of Loretta Lynn. But for folks in this community this store is one of the only stores within many miles of their home. He has a few Loretta Lynn's souvenirs such as t-shirts and magnets. But there is also canned goods, soda, and water for sale. The store is very old and was a railroad company store when it was originally built. I believe he told me it was around a 125 years old. He has done a great job of keeping this place up as it did not have that old smell that you find in a lot of places. Of course you will also find a ton of Loretta Lynn memorabilia throughout the store as well as other older relics of times past, such as an old Pepsi clock, soda bottles and signs. It was a quaint old store that takes you back to simple yet tough times for many Americans in the late 1800s to early 1900's. I loved it!

Best of the best a must see if you're a fan worth every second absolutely the best story of a young…read moregirl from Kentucky

So interesting to see how people that are now famous began. It's so interesting, and I learned her…read moresister is Crystal Gayle

Deep down in the Holler of Kentucky is where you will be!…read more We were on the motorcycle and it was raining so the road was wet and slick. Stopped at the General Store and the gentleman that was there was so nice and answered any questions. Rode back to where Loretta Lynn's home place was and such beautiful scenery. Wasn't able to go inside the hone as it hadn't opened up yet due to Covid but was able to get some good photos from the road. If you are on a bike, there is a gravel spot where we parked/turned around. Was told if you go back further that it's a dead need and hard to get turned around. We enjoyed our ride through here and now know why it called the "Holler"

i enjoyed, its simple, you get to actually walk thru the house. there are a lot of people in this…read morecountry that need to see how a lot of people once lived. infract there still are people that do.

Thursday nights are the best. Lots of love music. Great people. It can be a bit of a Covid-19 super…read morespreader event and my family members did pick up the dreaded virus just a few weeks ago. They did fine. Be carful and have fun.

I've driven by this location countless times as I'm in the Paintsville area. Finally, we decided to…read morestop in. The building is huge, but not the museum area, not so much. When you walk in, there is a 3D print of Loretta Lynn's Homeplace, so you can stand in front of it and snap a selfie and probably get away with using it as proof that you visited Butcher Holler. There's a gift shop area. So, if you want a Chris Stapleton t-shirt this is your place. You pay for your admission at the register in the gift shop and then you literally pull the curtain back to step into the museum. It's merely one room of memorabilia of Chris Stapleton, Keith Whitley, Patty Loveless, Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus and several others who are from small towns in this same area connected to the strip of highway where you'll find this museum. There is apparently live music here on certain days. The portion of the building dedicated to that is what takes up most of the building. So, looking from the outside, don't think that it's all a museum. Would I pay admission again? No. But they have to keep the lights on somehow.

Benham is a tiny town of about 500 people in Harlan County, Kentucky. Harlan County was in its time…read moreknown for its coal mining industry. The Kentucky Coal Museum opened in 1994 and is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting items and stories that tell the story of coal mining in the company towns of Benham and neighboring Lynch. The Coal Museum is in the former Benham Coal Camp's company commissary, where the workers and family members shopped and spend time of recreation. The museum has exhibits on four levels. The basement level has a mock mine that simulates the underground mining experience. The main (first) level presents the daily life of mining families, including a completely furnished kitchen, a hospital, and a typical scene from a commissary. The second (mezzanine) level shows many items and photographs of Benham area during its formative years. The third level features the Loretta Lynn Exhibit. Lynn (1932-2022) was from Butcher Hollow, a coal-mining community in Johnson County, Kentucky, and she paid tribute to the town in her song "Coal Miner's Daughter." Besides replicas from Butcher Hollow, you can take a look at Maggard's General Store, the Coal Company business office, and a reconstruction of a Leatherwood mining camp's diner, which the locals called the "Y". Mining is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. It includes risks such as cave-ins, explosions, toxic air, and exposure to hazardous materials. The most impressing thing in the museum are letters from men trapped in various mine disasters. They wrote those letters and notes to their families shortly before perishing. For example, in the Fraterville Disaster in Tennessee in 1902, the worst mining disaster in the United States' history which killed 216 victims, a trapped miner named Powell Harmon wrote a note to his wife and children which said: "My time has come to die. I trust in Jesus. Teach the children to believe in Jesus. It is now 10 minutes till 10 and we are all almost smothered. Don't know how long we will live but it is our time to go. I hope to meet you all in heaven. May God bless you all wife and children for Jesus sake. Good bye until we meet to part no more. P.S. - My Boys, Never work in the coal mines. Henry and Condy, be good boys and stay with your mother and trust in Jesus." Nevertheless, Condy Harmon did become a coal miner like his father. He died in 1911 in the Cross Mountain Mine disaster, Tennessee, in an explosion with 83 other coal miners. The mining industry in Harlan County faced a significant decline in the late 1900s. The closure of many mines began in the 1980s and continued through the 1990s. Ultimately, the last active coal mine in Harlan County closed in 2016, marking the end of an era for the region's mining activities. The museum has a large gift shop. Behind the museum is the Coal Miners Memorial Park. When you are in the area, I also recommend a visit to near-by Kingdom Come State Park in Cumberland.

I'm not from Harlan County but in my time living here I have come to see how much mining and the…read morehistory of mining is deeply woven into the fabric of this region. So I knew at some point I had to check out this museum. My mother came along with me and we enjoyed each of the little vignette-type displays representing mining life. As much as this is a museum of coal mining and the coal mining culture, it is also a flashback to earlier American culture. I enjoyed the recreations of the old 1940s kitchens and the display of the old physician's equipment. It's also important that the museum showcases the x-rays depicting the Black Lung that now is just as representative of the coal life as anything else. In a region where coal is still King, this museum was a great way to look back at how far it's come and see how much has been lost.

The information and history are great. It's very important for everyone to have access…read more The only thing that's puzzling is that there's no free parking.

I was in town for work and my flight didn't leave till 6 so I had lots of time to explore the…read moremuseum. Love how you start millions of years ago and progress to modern age. Each room is full of artifacts and information for each era. Easily you could spend a full day looking and exploring everything. And the best part is it's free!

This museum is full older/antique radios and old stereos from back in the day. Being that I like…read moreseeing these old radio prototypes and being allowed to touch and look at the insides of these older radios, this museum was right up my alley. I wish my father could've came with me when I went through this museum, because I think my dad would have enjoyed himself immensely, considering my dad loved horsing around with the guts of old radios and things like that back in the day. Granted, the museum is only open on the weekends, but it's definitely worth a look, along with the donations, if you can give one. The guys that run this museum are super nice and knowledgeable.

What a gem. The personal tour by Lloyd McIntyre was so interesting. Stuff will not see anywhere…read moreelse.

This is a small museum and store near Carter Caves State Park. The collection is housed in an…read moreolder building that gives little indication after ones initial observations to separate it in time from the 1940's or 1950's. On closer inspection a single window air conditioner connects the property to more recent times. Our excitement builds! This is the kind of place that excited me as a child - the kind of place that has not been commercialized and sterilized by the expectations of modern pampering - the kind of place we anticipate exhibiting and selling unique items. My sons and I pulled into the gravel parking lot and could not have been more excited to stop. We were on our way to meets my parents for a visit at Carter Caves and decided to stop in just for a moment to give things a quick look. If it checked out we'd come back in a couple of hours for a complete tour. We were the only ones there at about 12:30PM. Wide variety of items immediately drew us in. The collection ranged from Native American through WWI, WWII, and Vietnam (and more and more). Some of the collection is exhibited in a library fashion such as the large collection of magazines and posters. The magazines and some of the exhibited items are for sale. Other portions of the collection, like most or all of the Native American exhibits are strictly not for sale. We spoke briefly with the owner, Mr. Jim Plummer, and we promised to return in time to enjoy the whole collection before he closed at 5PM. When we returned we went through the place as carefully as we could for perhaps 90 minutes. The boys enjoyed the dinosaur teeth and Megalodon teeth and began putting together their purchase requests. I spent a decent amount of time admiring the Nazi Germany items and the American Civil War items, but my real interest was with the Native American collection. I have been through many of Ohio's Native American museums many times including the Ohio Historical Society Museum, Serpent Mound, Fort Ancient, and the Hopewell Cultural National Historical Park (as well as Ohio County Museums) and this collection was spectacular in comparison. The artisan artifacts made of pottery, copper, and slate were fascinating. The emphasis of the collection was ceremonial items though a wonderful collection off utilitarian items was exhibited as well. This time we were one of perhaps three or four groups of people touring the museum and store. We we now required to share Mr. Plummer's attention with other folks interested in the original issues of Life magazine, Nazi knives, and a group of ladies very much interested in the modern collection of jewelry Mr. Plummer has for sale with the assistance of his girlfriend's artistic eye. Each lady seemed excited about their purchase and successively vied for Mr. Plummer's attention and his Southern charm. We look forward to returning soon and speaking more with Mr. Plummer. If you plan a visit, please be sure to engage him with questions about the exhibits. If you do you will be welcomed with a wealth of information from a knowledgeable historian. I am certainly a fan of this place, my rating is based off of the expectations and location. Obviously this museum in not on par with the Smithsonian Museum or the Musée du Louvre but my rating is based on comparable exhibits. The Native American collection would rate 5 stars.

This is the centerpiece of Saltville. This unoriginally named town holds more intrigue than you…read morewould probably think. The salt is a product of some unusual geologic conditions that lead animal bones to be well preserved, making this a top site for archaeology. In addition, the salt was also of enormous economic value and was a military asset during the Civil War, making this the site of a significant set of armed conflict. Some other environmental and cultural history pops up as well. The museum has several well-produced and substantial documentaries showing in a tiny theater. The two rooms of exhibits take up more time than you'd think, and I was probably there for an hour and a half or so. The $5 admission is worth it, easily. The town continues to have some unusually salty ponds that you can walk around on some paved trails, as well as some historic markers and a recreated set of salt mining equipment on the edge of town. All of these features and more can be viewed and contextualized on the museum's topographic map/diaorama. It's not a metropolis, but it is an interesting place.

Self guided tour. Small but very well organized and awesome artifacts. Information on Civil War,…read moreNative Americans, geology and fossils. They also have a few videos to watch.

Today we went to this Great Farm with my grandson's school field trip. It costs $17 for adults and…read more$10 for kids! There are separate buildings to explore and it's self guided. With the school it was more of a guided tour! There is farm animals! We took a tractor pulled wagon ride! They were able to feed the animals! The buildings were full of antique items! If you get the chance go and enjoy this location!

Who knew that this marvelous experience awaited me. Here is the important point; This spotless Farm…read moreMuseum tells the economic history of West Virginia. Salt, Natural Gas, Oil, and Glass. Do you know who owns most of the State's mineral rights? Do you know how many Glass Companies existed? Do you know why Charleston was home to so many chemical companies? Have you walked through a low seam coal mine? Well, you will here and you can try a ropes course, zip line, and see how large a Bald Eagle's nest is. The staff is 100%.