AHOSKIE – The location may have changed, but the mission remains the same…to preserve and display the history of the Roanoke-Chowan area’s largest municipality.
The Ahoskie Museum Visitor’s Center has a new location and hosted a celebration and reopening on Feb. 24 at The Gathering Place (the former home of the Presbyterian Church). It’s there that locals and visitors to the town can browse hundreds of artifacts from the local area.
The Museum is in several rooms inside The Gathering Place on the Main Street side of the building.
“We had a fairly large crowd to attend on Feb. 24 as they came to explore and reminisce about this town’s unique history,” said Pat Byrd, Executive Director of The Gathering Place. “It was a fun time for those who were there who lingered to look for and see old newspaper articles, pictures, trophies, awards and more showing the history of our town. We welcome all to come and visit, you may find something about yourself or your family.
“We are the custodians of these historic items and very proud to have them on display for all to see. This museum features the great history and people of our town,” Byrd added.
The Museum is full of information that some may or may not know about Ahoskie. Did you know that there was a POW Camp in Ahoskie during WW II? Did you know that Lady Bird Johnson came to Ahoskie on the train and spoke? There are many things about Ahoskie and the surrounding area that you may find if you visit.
Other artifacts featured at the museum include high school sports memorabilia (above) and a spinning wheel and an old Ahoskie Police uniform (below). Contributed Photos
Byrd explained that while the address of The Gathering Place is 701 East Church Street, access to the building is both on Main and Church Streets.
“There is a sign about the Museum close to the door where you can enter on the Main Street side,” she noted.
The Ahoskie Museum was originally housed upstairs in the Garrett House (home of the Ahoskie Chamber of Commerce). It relocated in 2019 to the old Bank of Ahoskie building, located on the corner of Main and Railroad streets before making the recent move to The Gathering Place.
The Museum is the work of the Ahoskie Woman’s Club, which celebrated its 100 th anniversary on Feb. 24.
Byrd praised her Woman’s Club predecessors as the original custodians of the historic items.
“Our club members back in the early 1990’s actually started this museum project,” Byrd recalled. “They began the process of collecting and preserving these items and we’re still collecting them today.”
The Museum will be open the second Saturday of each month from 10 am to 1 pm and will also open upon request if given some advance notice.
“We would love to have your attendants at class reunions come and visit. You can call us at 252-209-4301 for a request or you can contact us on our Facebook page or visit it to see some videos of the new museum,” Byrd concluded.
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