As the United States’ semiquincentennial, or 250th, anniversary approaches in 2026, now is an ideal time to brush up your knowledge of our nation’s history and there’s no better place to do that than in Yorktown, where many of the battles to ensure our freedom were fought and won.
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The American Revolution Museum in Yorktown allows visitors to discover history through artifacts and interactive exhibits, short films and hands-on learning. Of course, the museum is ideal for school age children just learning about our nation’s history but it’s also a history buff’s Disneyland and for those of us—like myself—who may have forgotten a thing or two about our founding fathers, it makes relearning exciting.
I ventured from the Northern Neck through the Middle Peninsula and across the York River a few weeks ago to spend about four hours at the expansive museum, which includes over 22,000 square feet of permanent exhibit galleries. According to media relations manager Tracy Perkins, there are close to 500 artifacts on exhibit including a Declaration of Independence broadside dating to July 1776; a June 1776 Philadelphia printing of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, one of the inspirations for the U.S. Declaration of Independence; a coronation portrait of King George III from the studio of Allan Ramsay; one of the two earliest known portraits done from the life of an African who had been enslaved in the 13 British colonies that became the United States; and an extremely rare early southern American long rifle.
Yorktown is the ideal location for an American Revolution museum since the Siege of Yorktown resulted in the decisive surrender of British General Lord Cornwallis’ army to General George Washington’s combined American and French forces, effectively ending the war. In fact, the US Army celebrated its 250th birthday on June 14, marking the anniversary of the Continental Army’s formation on that date in 1775.
Galleries
The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown replaced the Victory Center and was renamed in October 2016. After undergoing a major renovation, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation launched the new museum with a grand opening in the spring of 2017. The museum is a massive 80,000-square-foot building which includes five major galleries, education center with five classrooms, a gift shop and cafe.
Start your museum adventure in the 170-seat theater, where the short film “Liberty Fever” introduces visitors to the world of Revolutionary America with an early 19th century storyteller who’s traveled the country gathering stories about the American Revolution.
The museum features several short films scattered throughout the galleries. My favorite was the Siege of Yorktown shown in an experiential theater with wind, lighting effects and the surround sound boom of cannon fire. Don’t miss that one!
Technology helps to make learning fun as evidenced by the multiple interactive learning stations throughout the museum, one of which is a two-person battle game. A hologram of soldiers recalling their stories of battle and a Battle of Great Bridge exhibit with lights flickering as the sound of guns and cannons fire were my hi-tech favorites.
The galleries have five major themes including The British Empire and America, The Changing Relationship—Britain and North America, Revolution, The New Nation and The American People. A rotating exhibit gallery currently features Patron & Patriots: The Legacy of Nick and Mary Mathews. Spread throughout several rooms, the exhibit features artifacts, wedding attire and portraits of the couple, who donated the land where the museum now stands. The couple also owned the iconic Riverwalk restaurant, Nick’s Seafood Pavilion.
The museum is also the setting for the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission signature exhibition,“GiveMe Liberty: Virginia & the Forging of a Nation,” in partnership with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, in July 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Outdoor settings
Learning continues on the museum grounds with a living history Continental Army encampment and a Revolution-era farm. The encampment area includes tents for soldiers and officers and a surgeon’s and quartermaster’s quarters, along with a drill field and cooking area. The museum offers daily “special experiences,” and on the day I visited that included an historic cooking demonstration, 18th century medicine demonstration and an artillery demo.
Located just beyond the encampment is a traditional and working Revolution-era farm with a kitchen, tobacco barn, small house, crop fields, garden, orchard and a building representing quarters for enslaved people. Interpreters can be found throughout the encampment and farm areas, telling stories, cooking, woodworking and gardening.
July at the museum:
July at the museum:Patrons & Patriots: The Legacy of Nick and Mary Mathews, through July 27. Exhibit celebrating the lives and philanthropy of restauranteurs Nick and Mary Mathews, who donated the land of the Yorktown Victory Center, now known as the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. The couple emigrated to the U.S. from Greece separately and met in New York City before moving to Yorktown where they opened up Nick’s Seafood Pavilion.
Liberty Celebration: July 4, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Interpretive programs, Continental army encampment, artillery demonstrations.
Talking History Lectures: July 5, 2 p.m. Andrew Lawler discusses his book, “A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution.”
Citizen Science Family Day: July 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., part of the Youth and Homeschool activity days offered by the Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum. Fun history-based programs for children age 4 and older. Youth programs for pre-teens and teens explore 17th century life at Jamestown and 18th-century Colonial America and the Revolution. Engage with galleries and living history exhibits.
American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
200 Water Street • Yorktown, VA 23690
Open year round, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days. Allow two to four hours to thoroughly explore the museum.
