History:

The Museum was established in 1975 by a dedicated group of volunteers and incorporated as ‘The Culpeper Cavalry Museum, Inc.’ in 1977 when it first opened its doors. Originally the Museum was located at 102 N. Main Street in the A. P. Hill Building. Prior to locating to the historic train depot at 113 S. Commerce Street in 2014 the Museum had also been located on W. Davis Street, E. Davis Street, and S. Main Street for varying periods of time. Due to the Museum’s growing collection and the desire to showcase all aspects of Culpeper’s history the public name of the organization changed in 1993 to reflect this new direction, and hence the Museum of Culpeper History was born.

Mission:

The Museum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that collects, preserves, interprets, and promotes the history of Culpeper from the Triassic Period 215 million years ago to present-day Culpeper, by engaging diverse audiences and educating visitors using our collections of objects and photographs in exhibits and programs, and to create an increased understanding of the significant historical events that occurred locally and formed the community we know today. (Approved March 2019)

Core Values:

To achieve our mission the Museum has committed itself to the following core values:

Education: We place education at the forefront of all that we do and endeavor to educate and enlighten the public through our exhibits and programs.

Stewardship: We take pride in holding our collections in the public trust as they were intended and actively managing our financial assets to best serve our mission for generations to come.

Community: We present exhibits and programs for the benefit of this community and make them accessible to all through in-person visits and collaborations with community partners.

Integrity: We are committed to ethically fulfilling our mission with integrity and transparency while achieving the highest levels of professional standards in our operations.

Preservation: We ensure that the objects, images, and stories we possess are appropriately cared for and preserved in order to minimize deterioration and increase longevity and usefulness.

(Approved March 2020)