December 2018
Christmas at the Museum
Winners of the art raffle will be announced at 4:30 p.m.! There is still time to come by on Saturday and purchase some raffle tickets. Hot cider and cookies will be served, a donation requested. Please come by and select some artful Christmas presents from our collection!
Find out more »July 2020
July 4th Street Picnic
July 4th Street Picnic !! Help celebrate the opening of our new Mathews Museum Shoppe. Come all residents and visitors, JOIN IN THE FUN! A hot dog and chili luncheon will be served open air, at $3.00 per person, adult or child, from 11:00 until 1:30 on Saturday, July 4 at the Museum, 200 Main Street. Raffle winners will be announced at 1:30 pm on July 4th!! Three Raffle Baskets with exciting prizes are being offered by the Mathews Historical Museum. Tickets are: 1 for…
Find out more »October 2020
Hot Dogs and Chili at Mathews Historical Museum
Stop by the Mathews Historical Museum on Halloween for a yummy cookout lunch! Saturday, October 31, 2020, 11am to 3pm, Bring Cash 198 Main Street, Mathews
Find out more »December 2020
Soup and Shop at the Museum
The Mathews Historical Museum invites you to CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS!! "SOUP and SHOP" at the Museum 200 Main Street 11:00 am until 2:00 pm Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12 Museum Retail Shoppe opens at 10:00 a.m. *Corned beef chowder by the quart, $8, pre ordered at the Museum’s web site, www.mathewsvahistoricalmuseum.org Click on the Events bar. Minimum amount of quarts available on site, as supplies last. Pre-orders are requested. *Or send your order via email, to mayfairemathews@gmail.com. Provide your name,…
Find out more »February 2021
March 2021
Pre-St. Patricks Day at the Mathews Museum
A pre-St Patrick's Day event on the 13th, 10-2:00! Corned Beef Soup and Bake Sale $10 per quart, pre-order by March 8 on our website or email us at mayfairemathews@gmail.com or phone in to 804-725-5117, leaving your name, phone number and number of quarts desired. Mathews Woman's Cub will be selling their traditionally scrumptious desserts. Sprays of freshly cut pussywillows will be on sale, and the Museum's Retail Resale Shop will be open. *Notice this event is scheduled for March…
Find out more »COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic
Persons age 65 and up March 18, 2021 9:30am - 1:30pm at the Mathews Historical Museum, 200 Main Street, Mathews VA Pre-Register by emailing mathewsnaacp@gmail.com or mathewsnaacpsecretary@gmail.com or calling 757-344-5388 Sponsored by the Mathews NAACP chapter
Find out more »November 2021
Mathews Historical Museum open
Hot dogs & chili, chips, water, @ $6, served from 11:00-1:30 New exhibit of memorabilia of Captain Robert Roland Hudgins is featured, a commercial fisherman and menhaden captain. His family has allowed access to his photographs so that residents and visitors may learn about his life as a Mathews waterman.
Find out more »Mathews Historical Museum open
Hot dogs & chili, chips, water, @ $6, served from 11:00-1:30 Newly introduced exhibit of memorabilia of commercial fisherman and menhaden captain, Robert Roland Hudgins.
Find out more »Mathews Historical Museum open
Hot dogs & chili, chips, water, @ $6, served from 11:00-1:30 Newly introduced exhibit of memorabilia of commercial fisherman and menhaden captain, Robert Roland Hudgins. Captain Hudgins spent over 50 years on the water. His family has generously allowed access to his photographs so that residents and visitors to Mathews can learn about his life as a Mathews waterman.
Find out more »December 2021
Mathews Historical Museum Christmas Indoor Bazaar
An indoor bazaar featuring local craft vendors, offering goods such as baked items and hand crafted items suitable for Christmas giving. The Museum will also offer takeout chili in quarts, at $6, as well as a “dine in” option of a hotdog with chili, chips, water. Takeout orders must be ordered via www.mathewsvamuseum.org by December 8 at 5:00 p.m. Shop one-of-a-kind items—baked goods, holiday greens, jewelry, carved wood items—all created by local artisans. ALSO the Museum if hosting “Soup to…
Find out more »April 2022
Bay to Belly Exhibit
Traveling exhibit on loan from the Yorktown Watermen’s Museum Displayed at the Mathews Historical Museum 200 Main Street, Mathews Exhibit will be open Saturdays, April 2 through May 28, 10:00am-4:00pm This exhibit teaches us how the Chesapeake Bay sustains us while exploring the relationships among people, aquatic species and foods of the Chesapeake.
Find out more »August 2022
P. Buckley Moss Poster Signing
AUGUST 14, 2022 4PM-7PM P. Buckley Moss returns to the Mathews Historical Museum at 200 Main Street, Mathews, with the next installment of her Print and Tile, made exclusively for the Museum. Internationally acclaimed artist P. Buckley Moss will be a guest of the Mathews Museum, Sunday afternoon, August 14, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. She will be signing the 2nd in a four-part series of Mathews-centric prints and trivets created exclusively to benefit the Museum. This 2nd in the…
Find out more »December 2022
Christmas at the Museum
JOIN THE MUSEUM FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Friday and Saturday December 9th and 10th / 9:00 am - 5:00 pm both days at the Museum located at 200 Main Street; Mathews Courthouse. Please see the attached brochure for the complete details on this wonderful and festive seasonal event - P.s. Vendor booth locations within the Museum are available. Call for your spot today!~
Find out more »February 2023
Movie Night at the Museum: Grand Opening Night!
Join us on the red carpet at the grand opening and viewing of: HAPPY HOMES and FERTILE FARMS on SMILING WATERS An original movie, originally produced in 1999 by longtime county resident Eugene C. Hudgins, who narrates the film. Mathews County was the subject of his interest for many years. The history of the area was a special love of his and as he shows and talks about the county, one can feel the love and pride that he has…
Find out more »March 2023
Movie Day at the Museum
Back by popular demand! A matinee replay of HAPPY HOMES and FERTILE FARMS on SMILING WATERS An original movie, originally produced in 1999 by longtime county resident Eugene C. Hudgins, who narrates the film. Mathews County was the subject of his interest for many years. The history of the area was a special love of his and as he shows and talks about the county, one can feel the love and pride that he has for it. The Museum is proud and…
Find out more »Movie Night at the Museum
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for a Friday Movie Night! “Journey on the Chesapeake, the Way Back Home” Doors open at 6:30 PM Movie at 7 PM An independent, documentary film by an award winning filmmaker and director, Dave Miller. It’s the story of Win Goodier, a former waterman turned chef. Win will take us on a journey of local paths less traveled while capturing stories of the culture, history, and cuisine of people living around the Rappahannock and York Rivers of…
Find out more »St. Patrick’s Day Dinner
Doors open at 6:00 pm, dinner served at 6:30 pm. Music & entertainment by local talent, Michael Gregg. Traditional Irish dinner will be served—hand carved corned beef and cabbage with all the trimmings. Special homemade brownie dessert followed by a cup of coffee with a jigger of Irish whiskey. Wine and beer available for purchase. Tickets are $40 per person, $100 sponsorship provides for 2 tickets and printed recognition, and $500 sponsorship provides a reserved table for 6, printed recognition plus a glass of wine or…
Find out more »April 2023
Movie Night at the Museum: BLUE GOLD
On the second Friday of each month, the Mathews Historical Museum hosts a movie that is of historical or general interest to the public. April’s movie, BLUE GOLD:World Water Wars, is a 2008 documentary film directed, co-produced and co-written by Sam Bozzo, based upon the book, Blue Gold: the Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water, by Maude Barlow and Tony Clark. The book examines the environmental and political implications of our planet’s diminishing water supply, suggesting that future…
Find out more »May 2023
May Faire 2023
The Mathews Historical Museum is hosting its 5th Annual Spring Heritage Festival – May Faire 2023! May Day Festivals were commonplace in Mathews from early 1900s to the 1980s. The Mathews Historical Museum reintroduced the festival concept in 2017, renaming it “May Faire.” Each year May Faire honors the heritage of Mathews County, providing residents and visitors an opportunity to explore a different theme from the County’s past. The theme for May Faire 2023 is “Celebrating Teachers, Schools and Community: Over a Hundred Years of…
Find out more »Memorial Day Weekend Exhibit
The Mathews Historical Museum will team with the Retired Officers of Mathews County Association (ROMCA) to present a memorabilia display over the Memorial Day Weekend! The display will be open to the public at no charge. It will consist of a wide variety of unique and personalized items reflecting ROMCA members’ military service during the past 75 years. There will be a ROMCA member present for all the sessions to answer questions, and also to provide information concerning ROMCA. The museum, will…
Find out more »June 2023
Movie Night at the Museum
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for a Friday Movie Night! The Museum cordially invites you to a showing of “TAKING FLIGHT,” stories of early Virginia aviation from 1864 to 1940. Doors open at 6:30 PM Movie at 7 PM This no-cost event is open to the public, at no cost.
Find out more »July 2023
Movie Night at the Museum
Local Gloucester resident, Mary Bush Shipko, aviatrix and a violinist in the Courthouse Community Orchestra, is guest speaker at Mathews Historical Museum Movie Night, Friday, July 14. Shipko’s remarks will precede a showing of Part II of a movie detailing Virginia’s role in aviation history. “Taking Flight—Stories of Modern Virginia Aviation, 1941 to Present Day,” Part II, is produced by Dave Miller of Miller Productions of Virginia. Miller is a prize winning independent film maker who is now focusing his efforts on Virginia stories and…
Find out more »August 2023
Movie Night: Horatio’s Drive
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for a free, family-friendly movie night! The Museum is screening the movie "Horatio's Drive." In the spring of 1903, on a whim and a $50 bet, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson set off from San Francisco in a 20-horsepower touring car hoping to become the first person to cross the US in a "horseless carriage!" Doors open at 6:30 PM, movie begins at 7 PM.
Find out more »September 2023
Movie Night at the Museum
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for a free movie night! Doors open at 6:30. movie starts at 7 PM. “A Voyage of Discovery,” describes the 1608 travels of Captain John Smith, who, with a small crew, set out from Jamestown on two exploratory voyages and covered the entire area of the Chesapeake Bay. The information he recorded about the indigenous peoples and the landscape introduced the region to those back home in England hoping to expand the colony, eventually triggering…
Find out more »October 2023
Afternoon Tea & Fashion Show
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for an Afternoon Tea & Fashion Show, featuring the "Underside of History," with 17th, 18th and 19th century garments! Tickets are $12 in advance, and $15 at the door- more information on how to purchase tickets is available at the Visitor Center & Doodlebugs.
Find out more »Movie Night at the Museum: NOSFERATU
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for a Friday Movie Night with the "original scary movie!" Doors open at 6:30 PM Movie at 7 PM
Find out more »December 2023
Christmas Indoor Bazaar
The Mathews Historical Museum will once again open its doors to host its 4th annual Christmas indoor bazaar, offering products ranging from handcrafted jewelry to woodworking, pottery and food items. The Museum is a convenient location from which to view Santa’s arrival in the Christmas parade on Saturday. Enjoy the festive storefronts on Main Street, and the Museum’s lovely Christmas decorations, which have become one of the highlights of the Christmas season in Mathews County. Inside the Museum, area artisans are on hand to discuss…
Find out more »Mathews Historical Museum’s Annual Christmas Bazaar
A Christmas weekend in Mathews, welcoming Santa. The Museum will once again open its doors to host the 4th annual Christmas indoor bazaar, offering an array of goods crafted by local artisans, including food, handcrafted jewelry, woodworking, pottery, and Christmas items. Inside the Museum, artisans are on hand to discuss their work. A selection of special edition Mathews prints and trivets by nationally acclaimed artist P. Buckley Moss are still available. For additional information contact cbbbbb@va.metrocast.net or visit www.mathewsvamuseum.org!
Find out more »February 2024
Movie Night at the Museum: The Loving Story
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for the Reopening/ Inauguration of the Movie Room! The MHM invites you to “fall in love with history” this February, in recognition of Black History Month! After a January closure for renovations, Mathews Museum Movie Night returns Friday, February 16th with a screening of “The Loving Story,” a 2011 HBO documentary which tells the heart-rending story of Richard and Mildred Loving. The documentary details how their marriage changed the fabric of Virginia, and the nation,…
Find out more »March 2024
Movie Night at the Museum: “State Fair”
Movie Night at the Museum, Friday, March 8, will open with a brief historical slide presentation of the nearly 40 years of County Fairs that were held in Mathews beginning in 1901, and lasting up to the early 1940s. That presentation will be followed by the movie, “State Fair,” an American musical film which tells the story of a brother and sister who go to a state fair in Dallas and find good clean fun and romance. The film sets…
Find out more »What’s the Dirt on Mushrooms?
Join local grower and horticulturalist, Christian Brown, who will introduce Mathews to mushroom farming! The program will be held at the Mathews Historical Museum. Christian will discuss the diverse varieties of the most popular mushrooms and the numerous ways to cook them. The audience will have the opportunity to see the methods used on the farm to inoculate logs, will be able to touch and smell spawn, and will have their questions answered. Christian operates "Mush Love in Mathews, VA,” a mushroom farm…
Find out more »June 2024
Summer Lecture Series
The Mathews Museum will host a discussion of the use of silver in the colonial period. The presentation will be in the Museum’s newly renovated and updated media room. It is open to the public and there is no charge for this event. The presentation will provide an overview of the history of the use of Virginia silver in the 1700s and 1800s. The guest speaker will be the Museum’s Vice Chair, Tom Karow, who is a silver historian and…
Find out more »Public Opening of the Thomas Hunley General Store & Post Office
General stores and post offices were both a mainstay and a way of life in Mathews County years ago. They were the gathering spots and the epicenters of each of the respective communities throughout the county. On Saturday, June 22, 10:00 am until 2:00 pm, Mathews “newest general store” will open its doors to the public. The Tommy Hunley General Store/post office will receive its first official customers at Saturday’s open reception at the Mathews Museum, 200 Main Street, where…
Find out more »July 2024
Movie Night at the Museum: Happy Homes & Fertile Farms
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for a free Movie Night at the Museum! This month, enjoy a 25th anniversary showing of a 1999 film “Mathews County: Happy Homes and Fertile Farms on Smiling Waters” by the late Eugene C. Hudgins of Mathews. Mr. Hudgins created this 111-minute historical overview of Mathews County, and in his words, “As we travel on the road of life, many times the sweetest part of the trail is the part that leads back home. Our…
Find out more »August 2024
What Is It?
Bring your ceramics, arrowheads, pottery, and other artifacts, to the Mathews Historical Museum to have them identified. This annual event is co-hosted by the Mathews Historical Museum and the Fairfield Foundation. There is no charge for this event. On site will be a special guest, antiquities authority William (Bill) Pitman, formerly Curator of Archaeological Collections at Colonial Williamsburg, now retired and affiliated with the Fairfield Foundation. The Museum has enjoyed hosting this event in past years and is pleased to…
Find out more »Afternoon Tea & Fashion Show
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for an afternoon of tea and fashion! In conjunction with the VA250 American Revolution activities in Mathews, the Mathews Museum will host Martha Washington and Abigail Adams as they “spill the tea.” Enjoy unlimited amounts of hot tea served with cream and sweeteners, accompanied by numerous types of savories and sweets. Fashions are by “Ladies Victorian,” who will present “Our Founding Mothers and What They Wore,” period clothing that both Martha Washington and Abigail Adams…
Find out more »October 2024
Antique Southern Quilts Collection Showcase
A special quilting exhibit, “Threads of Our History: Quilts of Mathews Virginia,” will debut at the Mathews Museum, October 5 and will be on exhibit through the end of December. These quilts are from a private collection of an old Mathews family, going back over a century. Mathews is a small, rural southern county sitting on the Chesapeake Bay. The quilts reflect their utilitarian use, in a geographic area that was fairly isolated until the 1950s. The quilts honor a southern tradition of quilting when…
Find out more »Discussion on Quilt Exhibit
JOIN WITH FRIENDS OF THE MUSEUM for A DISCUSSION on the NEW QUILT EXHIBIT The public is invited to hear local historian and genealogist, Lori Jackson Black, detail her journey in discovering, researching and telling the stories about the extensive quilt collection which she and her husband, Jay, are proud and privileged to share. The discussion program is a part of the 3-month quilt show and the Museum’s newest exhibit, “Threads of Our History: Quilts of Mathews Virginia.” Lori Jackson Black…
Find out more »November 2024
Program by Colonial Williamsburg Textile Curator
Curator of Textiles and Historic at Dress Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to Speak Neal Hurst, Curator of Textiles and Historic Dress at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will be guest speaker. "I produce the highest quality 17th - 19th Century men's clothing. I provide clothing to not only re-enactors but to museums and living history sites,“ says Hurst, "and I have spent over 15 years studying and recreating 17th, 18th, and 19th century clothing for interpreters, reenactors, and museums.” Hurst received his Bachelor of Art…
Find out more »December 2024
Special Presentation by Ocean Products Research
A special presentation by OCEAN PRODUCTS, a company started in Mathews over 60 years ago, and still going strong! Meet the next generation managers and hear their success story. Sawyer Hutson, grandson of RC “Bobby” Hutson will be the speaker. Bobby Hutson started Ocean Products Research, Inc. in 1964 in his back yard. The company is still located in Diggs. OPR was the first company to bring monofilament to the United States, and OPR has been fabricating synthetic net and…
Find out more »February 2025
Freedom’s Fortress Movie
"Freedom’s Fortress,” a movie which depicts the story of Fort Monroe, will be shown at the Mathews Museum's Movie Night. Empowered by a legal loophole, thousands of enslaved Africans escaped and found refuge at a Union-held fort during the Civil War. Doors open at 6:30, movie begins at 7:00. Movie runs approximately 1⁄2 hour.
Find out more »March 2025
MUSEUM TO FEATURE LOCAL BUSINESSES FOR WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
The Mathews Museum will recognize Mathews County’s local business women as the nation celebrates Women’s History Month in March, with an informational speakers panel at the Museum, March 21 at 7 pm Janice Jones, founder/owner of Roane’s Antiques at The Cottage on Main Street, began her career in the 1980s with redoing old furniture and discarded items and bring them back to life. In mid-2020, following COVID, she redesigned her business to include estate sales and online sales and then…
Find out more »April 2025
Founding Frenemies: Hamilton and the Virginians
“Founding Frenemies:Hamilton and the Virginians” is a traveling exhibit on loan from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, will be at the Mathews Museum for 6 weeks, from April 14 through May 26.The exhibit complements Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning Broadway production of “HAMILTON,” which tells the story of Alexander Hamilton’s relationships with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. These Virginians were among his most influential allies as well as his worst enemies. Visit the Museum in April to see…
Find out more »Give Me Liberty Traveling Exhibition
Give Me Liberty Traveling Exhibition, on loan from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation will explore the unique and essential Virginia people, events, and sites that helped bring liberty and democracy to a nation. Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this exhibit will highlight the complex, diverse, and inspiring Virginia history which is, in fact, America’s story. Give Me Liberty will provide context for the coming…
Find out more »May 2025
Mathews Museum to Host Presentation on Historic Williams Wharf
As part of May Faire, join the Mathews Museum to hear Pam Muffelman speak about the history of Williams Wharf Landing from the 1600s to present day! This event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be provided. Local historian and longtime Mathews resident Pam Muffelman will lead the presentation, guiding attendees through a rich timeline of Williams Wharf and its surrounding area—from its earliest days in the 1600s to the present. Muffelman, known for her engaging…
Find out more »
