An evening with Edgar Allen Poe” on Sat., Oct. 29th at 7:00 p.m. Kelsey Hayward will be reading scary selections from Poe’s works and the museum will be decorated for Halloween.
2016 Summer Exhibit
The HCM started it’s summer schedule on June 5th, and will be open each Sunday until the fall from 1:00 until 4:00, with docents available for tours that this summer feature a wedding gown exhibit and the opportunity to see and to buy raffle tickets for a twin-sized exquisite antique bubble gum pink and white quilt in excellent condition valued at between $800.00 to $1000.00. This quilt has been generously donated by Janet Keller for the raffle. The HCM hopes to also display the quilt at the Hancock County Hometown Fair, at the River Fest on Sept. 24th and 25th, and at the Homer Laughlin tent sale on Friday, June 17th and Sunday June 19th. The wining ticket will be drawn at the end of the River Fest activities. For questions or to arrange for a tour outside regular summer hours, please call 304-564-4800 and leave a message. Your call will be returned as soon as possible.
Car Show and Bake Sale 2016
Postponed to June 12th due to rain.
The Hancock County Museum Car Show and Bake Sale will be held on Sunday June 5th, 2016 from 1pm – 4pm at 1008 Ridge Ave, New Cumberland, WV 26047. This event features:
- Free registration from 11am – 1pm.
- Free dash plates for the first 40 registrants
- 5 classes awarded (amateur judges)
- Door prizes
- 50/50 drawing
- Free admission
- Music
- Food available
A rain date is scheduled for Sunday June 12th, 2016 at the same location.
Thank You – Steamboat / Twain Event
The HANCOCK COUNTY MUSEUM commissioners and advisors would like to thank the following for the huge success of its October 3rd Porter Steamboat Bell Plaque Dedication and Mark Twain interpreter event: The Congo Church of the Nazarene for donating the Porter Bell to the HCM; Harriet Porter Secrest for donating the money for the Porter Steamboat Bell Plaque which explains the history of the bell; Greg Blake, who had the idea for the Steamboat Exhibit, the dedication of the plaque, and the performance by Mark Twain interpreter Doug Riley, a presenter with the West Virginia Humanities Council History Alive! Program; George Hines whose loan of his steamboat pictures to the HCM made the Steamboat Exhibit possible; Bud Simmons for playing his dulcimer during the refreshment intermission between the plaque dedication and the Twain performance; the Hancock County teachers who offered their students extra credit for learning about the history of steamboat travel and commerce in the Hancock County area and the parents who brought them to the HCM for the exhibit and Twain visit; to Jennifer Meeker for publicizing the event; to all those HCM commissioners and advisers who helped with distributing flyers, cooking and baking the refreshments, and cleaning and decorating for the event; and, finally and most importantly, to all those in the community who supported this event with their attendance and made it the success that it was.
The next Hancock County Museum event will be the “Evening with Edgar” on Friday, October 30, 2015, at 7 p.m. This is the 4th annual reading of the creations of Edgar Allan Poe by Mr. Kelsey Hayward and guests, sponsored by the Hancock County Arts Council. For more information, call 304-564-4800.
Mark Twain and Dedication Ceremony
Mark Twain will visit the Hancock County Museum, 1008 Ridge Avenue, New Cumberland, WV, on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
A dedication of the Porter Steamboat Bell Plaque, donated by Harriet Porter Secrest, will begin at 1:00.
The Museum will be open for tours of the Steamboat Exhibit, featuring paintings and pictures from the collection of George Hines and from Way’s Steamboat Directory on September 20 and 27 from 1-4, and on Oct.3 from 3-7.
These events are free and open to the public. Join us for the dedication, refreshments, Bud Simmons performing on the dulcimer, and the Twain presentation, 
then talk with Mark Twain about his life, books, and experiences.
Doug Riley of Tunnelton, a presenter with the West Virginia Humanities Council History Alive! Program, will be portraying Mark Twain.
For more information, call 304.564.4800.
George Hines Steamboat Exhibit
The Hancock County Museum is having a special exhibit from June 7th to Oct. 3rd of steamboat paintings and pictures from the collection of George Hines. We have added more steamboat pictures, with their histories, gleaned from the Way’s Steamboat Directory. Many of these beautiful steamboats passed and sometimes stopped in New Cumberland, WV, as they traversed the Ohio and other eastern rivers.
This display is a lead-up to the October 3rd dedication of the plaque donated by Harriet Porter Secrest describing the John Porter steamboat bell that was donated to the Museum by the Congo Church of the Nazarene. The dedication ceremonies will feature two performances by Mark Twain interpreter Doug Riley of the WV Humanities Council’s History Alive! program.
Also new is the addition to the military display in John’s room using newspaper clippings from the Rosso Collection featuring 1940’s articles about local men and women who served in WWII. Ten pages of these clippings are displayed.
The Museum’s summer hours are Sundays from 1:00 – 4:00 and by appointment for a group tour or as a venue for your special event. Please call 304-564-4800 for information.
Car Show June 7th, 2015
The Hancock County Museum will be hosting a car show on Sunday, June 7th from 1-4pm. The car show will include hot dogs, baked goods and, or course, lots of cars. The Hancock County Museum is located at 1008 Ridge Avenue, New Cumberland, West Virginia. Registration for this event will begin at 12:30pm and will continue until 2pm. In the event of rain, the car show will be moved to Sunday, June 14th.
Pottery On Display
Bill and Donna Gray of East Liverpool, OH are famous for having an extensive pottery collection. They have loaned the museum items from local pottery manufacturers such as Chelsea China Co. from New Cumberland, Homer Laughlin China Co. from Newell, Wheeling Pottery Co. from Wheeling, Edwin M. Knowles China Co. from Chester, and Taylor, Smith & Taylor Co. from Chester.
The Homer Laughlin China Co. loaned the museum dinnerware including examples of the WV Governor’s Mansion Four Seasons collection, and examples of Fiesta, Custom Hotel China, Eggshell and Skytone.
These can be viewed on Sundays in September from 1-4 p.m. or by appointment at any time by calling 304-564-4800 or 304-224-1605.
Car Show 2014 Photos
In case you missed the car show this year, or you just want another look at those awesome cars, we’ve included some photos for you to enjoy.
Car Show and Bake Sale
On Sunday June 15th, 2014, the Hancock County Museum will be hosting a Car Show and Bake Sale. Registration is free, and will be held from 12pm to 2pm. The first 40 registrants will receive free dash plates. Prizes will be awarded. There will also be a 50/50 drawing, music, and food. Admission is free. Please contact Greg at (304) 564-5179 / gvblake@frontier.com or Joe at (304) 374-1457 / joeghenne@comcast.net.
