PAWV’S AWARD WINNERS: HERITAGE FARM MUSEUM & VILLAGE

Preservation Alliance of West Virginia would like to share about our 2014 Historic Preservation Award winners. Next we recognize “Heritage Tourism Award,” The Heritage Farm Museum & Village in Huntington, West Virginia.

Heritage tourism has proven to be a valuable and major industry for West Virginia and is centered on the preservation of historic traditions, sites, music, stories, and more.  Each year, we recognize a project, site, and organization that is making a significant contribution to the heritage tourism industry in West Virginia.

For over 40 years, Mike and Henriella Perry have enjoyed collecting, preserving and displaying various artifacts of Appalachian heritage at their Farm.  They have done so, not necessarily to just preserve these items for the future, but more importantly to teach school children and guests about our wonderful ancestors and their remarkable skills and abilities.  Appalachian ancestors were able to build their own homes, provide all their own clothes and food for their families and otherwise cope against unbelievable hardships without support of the government or large metropolitan areas.  They had to make do with what they were able to bring with them over the rugged mountains and unless they could make what they had not brought, they had to learn to do without.

Heritage Farm currently greets thousands of visitors annually, including many motor coach, school, and traveling public, to learn about our proud Appalachian past through the Way Back Weekends and guided, hands-on tours through six award-winning museums with over 20,000 square feet of completed exhibits.  Furthermore, the Farm has lodging and meeting facilities throughout the Village to host everything from small “fireside” chat to large group gatherings on over 500 acres nestled in the beautiful Appalachian hills.