A special Open House will be held at the Middlesex County Museum on Sunday, August 7th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm for the opening of Middlesex Early Inhabitants. Showcasing fossils and Native American artifacts found in the local waters and soils of Virginia, this family friendly exhibit is a perfect way for the kids and grandkids to learn about early county history. Refreshments will be served.
The fossil section contains multiple showcases of shells, teeth, bones and even dinosaur excrement from the animals that lived here before humans came. Nancy Gibbs, a recent donor of her private collection of fossils to the museum, will be there to discuss her forty years of collecting. She will bring her specialized tools and gadgets that she uses to find her artifacts.
A large variety of arrowheads, grinding stones, axes, and other tools are on display for visitors to see in the Native history section. Also included are modern ceremonial items donated by Native descendant Willard H. Loving “Bear” to the museum from his private collection. Learn about Middlesex’s two indigenous tribes John Smith recorded in his journals and on his famous map from his 1608 voyages around the Chesapeake Bay. Various other maps from the 1600s are also included as samples of the earliest recordings of Middlesex County life.
