Southeast USA Museums and Culture

    Textile Heritage Museum, North Carolina

  2406 Glencoe Street - Glencoe, NC           
The Textile Heritage Museum is located in the Glencoe Mill Village, just north of Burlington, North Carolina.
The museum features history and machinery of the textile industry from the cottage industry to the present, the family labor system, life in the mill villages, and a company store exhibit, and presents various exhibits of interest.
    Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Florida
  829 Riverside Avenue - Jacksonville, FL           
With more than 6,000 objects in its permanent collection, The Cummer is the largest fine arts museum in Northeast Florida. The museum is home to a highly regarded collection of European masters and American impressionists, a world-renowned collection of 18th century Meissen porcelain, and more than two-and-one half acres of historic gardens along the St. Johns River. Art Connections, the museum's nationally recognized education center, provides hands-on art experiences for visitors of all ages. The Cummer's unique blend of art, gardens, and education inspires imagination and excitement making the museum the premier cultural institution in the Southeast region
    Ackland Art Museum, North Carolina
  University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC            
The Ackland Art Museum was founded through the bequest of William Hayes Ackland (1855-1940) to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Ackland Trust provided the funds to construct the museum building, and that trust continues to provide for the purchase of works of art.
    Rankin Museum, North Carolina
  131 W. Church Street - Ellerbe, NC           
The Rankin Museum of American and Natural History is recognized for its diverse and unique collections, focusing on the history and cultures of Early American life; beginning with the Native American occupation and continuing to the present.
    New Hope Valley Railway, North Carolina
  5121 Daisey St - New Hill, NC           
Come experience the thrill of riding the rails - see, hear, and feel a part of railroad history. The New Hope Valley Railway at the North Carolina Railroad Museum has operating days in season from May to December, with activities, themes, and events for visitors of all ages to enjoy. Purchase train ride tickets for our scheduled operating days or you can charter group train rides, schedule operate-a-loco, or have a birthday party in a historic caboose.
    Children's Museum of South Carolina, South Carolina
  2501 North Kings Highway - Myrtle Beach, SC            
Come "Touch, Explore, and Play..." while learning about your world through the interactive exhibits and programs at The Children's Museum of South Carolina. The Children's Museum of South Carolina serves our state and local communities, as well as visitors to Myrtle Beach's Grand Strand area.
    South Carolina State Museum, South Carolina
  301 Gervais Street - Columbia, SC           
The Museum has four large floors devoted to the disciplines of art, history, natural history and science/technology. It houses both long-term exhibits and five changing exhibit galleries. On Oct. 29, 1988, the South Carolina State Museum opened its doors, bringing to the citizens of the Palmetto State the newest, and one of the finest, state museums in America. Since that day it has awed, delighted and enlightened millions of visitors. The State Museum has more than 70,000 artifacts in its collection, and it is still a very young institution. The State Museum has been voted Best Museum in the Midlands five years in a row by Columbia Metropolitan magazine, and was designated Best Museum of 2007 by the readers of the Free Times newspaper.
    Summerville-Dorchester Museum, South Carolina
  100 East Doty Avenue - Summerville, SC           
The Summerville-Dorchester Museum is located in the former Summerville Police station. It is a tribute to the vision of our Board of Directors, members and volunteers; and is a successful example of recycling an old building into a useful community facility.
    Booth Western Art Museum, Georgia
  501 Museum Drive - Downtown Cartersville - Cartersville, GA           
This 80,000 square foot Museum opened in August 2003 with main galleries featuring contemporary Western American art. Other galleries feature Civil War art, Presidential portraits and letters, Western movie posters, and Western illustration. Sagebrush Ranch is an interactive gallery where children of all ages can learn about art and Western America. The Museum’s Special Exhibit Gallery hosts three to five temporary exhibits per year.
The Museum Store offers books on art and the West, as well as prints and other items featuring Western American art images. The Café offers light lunches to guests and members visiting the Museum. A multimedia theatre, with seating for 60, shows the orientation film “The American West” every 20 minutes.
    Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum, Florida
  829 N. Davis Street - Jacksonville, FL           
The Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum Celebrates the rich legacy of the African-American community that thrived in LaVilla for more than 100 years. The theatre and museum are revered as the premiere cultural institution in Jacksonville, Florida, showcasing art, music, drama, poetry, and African American history.
The stories and legends of LaVilla, known as the "Harlem of the South," live on within the walls of the refurbished museum and theatre. Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum is committed to reclaiming the past, celebrating the present, and embracing the future.
    Hands on Children's Museum, Florida
  8580 Beach Blvd - Jacksonville, FL           
With bright colors and a building shaped like a castle, the Hands On Children's Museum opened it's doors in October 2000 , with generous community support. Funding is now provided by the Jacksonville community through admissions and sponsorships from individuals, small businesses and corporations.
By Summer 2008 the Hands On Children's Museum will have served over 275,000 visitors from all over. Including over 3500 school groups, with teachers from public and private schools in Duval, St. Johns, Nassau, Clay and surrounding counties enjoying all the interactive hands-on exhibits.
    Around the Bend Nature Tours, Florida
  1815 Palma Sola Blvd. - Bradenton, FL           
Join a local naturalist guide for short walks, group tours and educational field trips to discover the rich natural and cultural heritage of Manatee County. Interactive programs, games and storytelling are included. Discover the secrets of our local natural and cultural history at Around the Bend Nature Tours.
    The Gibbes Museum, South Carolina
  135 Meeting Street - Charleston, SC           
The mission of the Carolina Art Association (the Gibbes Museum of Art) is to offer through collection, exhibition and interpretation a thorough knowledge of the visual culture of Charleston, the Lowcountry and the American South from the colonial era through today.
    Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum, Alabama
  P.O. Box 727 - Calera, AL           
    Knoxville Museum of Art, Tennessee
  1050 World’s Fair Park - Knoxville, TN           
The KMA’s predecessor, the Dulin Gallery of Art, opened in 1961 in a beaux-arts mansion in West Knoxville. By the middle 1980s the Dulin had outgrown its quarters, and a major community effort raised $11 million for a new museum in downtown Knoxville at the site of the 1982 World’s Fair. The Knoxville Museum of Art opened in March 1990 in a state-of-the-art, 53,200 square-foot facility designed by renowned museum architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. The building, clad in Tennessee marble, is named in honor of local philanthropist Jim Clayton, the largest donor to the building fund.
    Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Mississippi
  510 Washington Avenue - Ocean Springs, MS           
    Lane Motor Museum, Tennessee
  702 Murfreesboro Pike - Nashville, TN           
In 2002, Jeff and Susan Lane established Lane Motor Museum. Jeff has been an automotive enthusiast since an early age. He began restoring his first car—a 1955 MG TF—when he was a teen. His personal collection was the donation that began the foundation. Lane Motor Museum unveiled its collection to the public in October of 2003. As director, Jeff Lane continues to search out cars for the collection that are technically significant or uniquely different. The goal of Lane Motor Museum is to share in the mission of collection and preserving automotive history for future generations.
The Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
    Mississippi Museum of Art, Mississippi
  201 East Pascagoula Street - Jackson, MS           
    Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama
  2000 Eighth Avenue Nort - Birmingham, AL           
    High Museum of Art, Georgia
  1280 Peachtree Street, NE - Atlanta, GA           
From a stately home on Peachtree Street to its current award-winning buildings in a spectacular setting, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has grown to become the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States with its renowned collection of classic and contemporary art and renowned architecture by Richard Meier and Renzo Piano.
    New World of Coca­Cola, Georgia
  121 Baker Street NW - Atlanta, GA           
"The NEW World of Coca­Cola is the only place where visitors can explore the complete story—past, present and future—of the world's best-known brand! For over 120 years, we've been putting our secret formula into bottles. Now, we've put it all in one amazing place—the NEW World of Coca­Cola.
With 62,000 square feet of guest areas, the NEW World of Coca­Cola is approximately twice the size of the previous World of Coca­Cola.
We will feature more than 1,200 artifacts from around the world that have never been displayed to the public before. In fact, only about 50 artifacts from the previous World of Coca­Cola will be showcased at the NEW World of Coca­Cola.
A visit of the entire facility lasts an average of 90 minutes."
    Georgia Museum of Natural History, Georgia
  University of Georgia - Athens, GA           
The science portion of the museum has fourteen different collections in Archaeology, Arthropod, Botany Herbarium, Economic Geology, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Invertebrate, Mammalogy, Mycological Herbarium, Ornithology, Paleontology, Pollen and Plant Microspore, Rocks and Minerals, and Zooarchaeology as well as more than 325,000 alcohol-preserved fish specimens. In addition, there are exhibits, archives, and entertainment for children.[4] Its more than four million objects makes it one of the largest museums in the Southeast. Source
    Tennessee State Museum, Tennessee
  505 Deaderick Street - Nashville, TN           
The beginnings of the Tennessee State Museum can be traced back to a museum opened on the Nashville public square in 1817 by a portrait artist, Ralph E.W. Earl. A young boy who visited that museum in 1823 wrote home that he had seen a life-size painting of then General Andrew Jackson. That same painting hangs today in the State Museum, now located at the corner of Fifth and Deaderick streets.
In 1937 the General Assembly created a state museum to house World War I mementoes and other collections from the state, the Tennessee Historical Society and other groups. This museum was located in the lower level of the War Memorial Building until it was moved into the new James K. Polk Center in 1981. The Tennessee State Museum currently occupies three floors, covering approximately 120,000 square feet with more than 60,000 square feet devoted to exhibits.
    Frank H. McClung Museum, Tennessee
  1327 Circle Park Drive - Knoxville, TN           
The museum is an important component of The University of Tennessee, and participates in the implementation of the University's mission. The University of Tennessee is committed to the development of individuals and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. This is to be accomplished through teaching, scholarship, artistic creation, public service, and professional practice.
The complementary mission of the Frank H. McClung Museum is to advance understanding and appreciation of the earth and its peoples through the collection, preservation, study, interpretation, and exhibition of objects and data. The Museum is dedicated to the support of the academic programs of The University and to the attraction and education of the broadest spectrum of participants.
    Delta Blues Museum, Mississippi
  #1 Blues Alley - P.O. Box 459 - Clarksdale, MS