West Virginia is brimming with history, and there are many rare and unusual historical artifacts hidden away in museums all across the state. One such museum brimming with fascinating mementos is the Ceredo Historical Society Museum in – you guessed it – downtown Ceredo, West Virginia.
When you step through the doors of the Ceredo Museum, a free history museum open a few days a week in Ceredo, West Virginia, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of artifacts filling the rooms inside. The Ceredo Museum houses all kinds of fascinating items spanning ancient to modern, and all with ties to the state of West Virginia and even the local community of Ceredo-Kenova.
Ceredo Museum is also home to the Ceredo Petroglyph, one of the few authentic petroglyphs found in West Virginia that is still available for the public to view.
It was discovered at the bottom of the Ohio River in 1975 during excavation work by the Oglebay Norton Coal Company.
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Equally fascinating is the Kenova Rune Stone. This small sandstone rock is inscribed with an alphabet system used by Vikings and early English people. It was discovered in 1983 by Charles B. Smith, who found it in a one-acre patch of gum trees and undergrowth in Kenova.
Its origin was the source of much mystery and speculation for many years, until in 1987 it was discovered that a local teenager-at-the-time with an interest in runes, Robert Cunningham, had carved the stone with his own name. He never intended for it to be a hoax, or even imagined that it would be re-discovered after he lost track of it decades before.
And if you're a true history buff, you'll be delighted to peruse all the historical documents the museum is preserving for posterity, including maps, brochures, photos, newspapers, and even menus of favorite local restaurants!
To learn more, visit the Ceredo Museum’s website or Facebook page. You’ll note that as of this writing, they are closed until further notice for COVID-19; however, you can still peruse photos of their items on the web or Facebook and keep tabs on their plans to reopen so you can visit ASAP!
