Experience Virginia Beach's Rich Heritage

Virginia Beach History Museums

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Newly Restored with Refreshed Exhibitions

Francis Land House

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One of the Oldest Surviving Colonial Homes in Virginia Beach

Thoroughgood House

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A Legacy of Education, Determination and Community

PACTS/UKHS Museum

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One of the Most Well-Preserved Examples of Early Virginia Vernacular Architecture

Lynnhaven House

Learn about the Lynnhaven House

Upcoming Events

Old Francis Land Had a Farm

Free First Saturday Community Day: Old Francis Land Had a Farm

Event Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026

Come learn a little about the process of making cloth from a plant and getting milk from a cow, and make a seed bomb to grow a little something in your own backyard.

Free First Saturday Community Day: Old Francis Land Had a Farm
John Ericson image

History Lunch and Learn: Parish and Power: Religion and Government in Colonial Virginia

Event Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026

More than a place of worship, the colonial Virginia parish was the foundation of community life. This lecture explores how the parish became one of the most influential institutions in early Virginia.

History Lunch and Learn: Parish and Power
Halloween

Free First Saturday Community Day: Halloween

Event Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026

Come celebrate the spooky season at the Francis Land House. We will have Halloween-themed crafts for kids and the young-at heart. Enjoy story time at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Activities available while supplies last.

Free First Saturday Community Day: Halloween

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Virginia Beach History Museums

History happened here. Through historic places, exhibitions, collections, tours, and programs, Virginia Beach History Museums connects residents and visitors with the people, places and stories that shaped a community.

Explore four distinctive museum sites — Francis Land House, Lynnhaven House, Thoroughgood House and the Princess Anne County Training School/Union Kempsville High School Museum — with stories spanning from Colonial Virginia through the 20th century.

About Virginia Beach History Museums

Experience the Museums

Discover Museum Tours

Individuals and groups are welcome to visit our historic museums, including free standard tours and special group packages.

Francis Land House

Francis Land House

Newly restored and reinterpreted, with stories spanning plantation life, enslavement, fashion, agriculture and the 20th-century Rose Hall era.

Explore Francis Land House
Thoroughgood House with Trees in Background

Thoroughgood House

Explore one of Virginia Beach’s oldest surviving colonial homes and the people and communities connected to this early landscape.

Explore Thoroughgood House
interior of the Lynnhaven house under restoration

Lynnhaven House

Discover a remarkable early Virginia house and follow the ongoing work to preserve it for future generations.

Explore Lynnhaven House
Visitors Viewing Clothes Behind a Glass Display

PACTS/UKHS Museum

Explore the legacy of the first high school for Black students in Princess Anne County and the community that made it possible.

Explore PACTS/UKHS Museum

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Group Visits

Planning a visit for an organization, tour group, traveling bus tour or other large group? Virginia Beach History Museums offers special guided experiences and educational programs designed for groups of all ages.

Group Visits Information

Museum Blog

Stories from the Museums