Containing original furniture, a tour of the home reveals much about West Virginia life in the 1800's. While Wildwood house depicts a posh lifestyle, the Mountain Homestead shows a Southern West Virginia pioneer village. Life was difficult during these times since passage through the mountains was extreme. Settlers were forced to maintain self-sustaining towns rather than rely on outside influence and commodities. This 1860's frontier settlement includes a Log Home with barn, One Room Schoolhouse, Blacksmith Shop, Weaver's Shed, and Country Store.
Interpretive tours are available.
Also preserving Southern West Virginia's rich industrial heritage is the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. The tour underground, in a once-operational coal mine, follows coal mining from its early years through modern mechanization. Coal Camp Houses depict lifestyles of mine workers, showing the contrast between the house of the Superintendent and the house of a miner. An on-site museum displays tools and pictures from various mines. A Coal Camp Church was added recently and a Coal Camp Schoolhouse will be completed in the spring of 1999.