Isle of Wight County Museum

In 1979, the museum moved into its second historic building, the Bank of Smithfield, built in 1913 and located at 103 Main Street.

Shortly thereafter, the division became part of the Smithfield and Isle of Wight County Tourism Department.

The museum's growth continued through October 2006 when a nor’easter left the basement flooded with three feet of standing water.

On June 30, 2014, Isle of Wight County Historic Resources Division was dissolved, and the museum staff members became employees of the Town of Smithfield.

Staffed with a full-time director and curator and several part-time docents, it is open seven days a week and offers special events, research opportunities, public outreach and educational programming to both in-person visitors and social media followers.

The museum's exhibits include prehistoric fossils, colonial and pre-colonial artifacts, a turn-of-the-century country store, displays interpreting the Smithfield ham industry and the museum's most notable artifact: the world's oldest, edible cured ham.