The Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center in Clintwood, VA was founded in 2004, dedicated to preserving and promoting the music of Southwestern VA, in particular the contributions of Dr. Ralph Stanley.
The various interactive museum exhibits include films, displays and artifacts that help tell the story of the traditional mountain music styles which informed the music of The Stanley Brothers, a sound which continues in the recordings of surviving brother Ralph. Housed in a restored and redesigned century-old home, the museum is open daily, with a modest admission charge, and is a featured destination on the state of Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, popularly known as The Crooked Road.
Like any niche interest facility, The Stanley Museum can use the help of bluegrass and old time music enthusiasts to help them grow and maintain their facility. They hope that folks visiting in SW VA will consider paying them a visit, and they have made it very easy to make donations online using the trusted PayPal payment system.
The museum staff is also making a special appeal for assistance from music lovers as they seek to expand their collection of Stanley-related memorabilia. They are looking for such items as old record albums, 45 and 78 rpm recordings, photos, songbooks/folios, newspaper and magazine articles, recordings of live concerts and radio shows, video tapes of television appearances and personal appearances, and any similar or related items for their archives.
If you have artifacts such as these which you might be willing to donate, they ask that you contact Curator Aaron Davis (276-926-8550 or by email) to arrange for delivery. If you have an item which you treat as a treasured keepsake, perhaps you would consider making the donation effective through your will, which the museum staff can surely assist you in facilitating.
