SMITHFIELD, Va. — Housed in the old Bank of Smithfield, it holds the entire county's tale on the corner of Main and Church Streets.
It's most famous attraction is over 100 years old and has been in 'Ripley's Believe It or Not' multiple times — the world's oldest ham.
Tracey Neikirk, curator of the Isle of Wight County Museum, explains that the oldest ham might be the most famous but the other two on display have bragging rights of their own.
She describes it as 'imposing' since it comes from a 900-pound hog, "we also have what I consider the largest ham in the world on exhibit, a 65-pound ham cured in Smithfield."
Heading toward the back of the museum, more artifacts telling the county's narrative are on display for county residents and more.
There's something in the works near the windows that face the intersection of Main and Church Streets, "we’re working on an exhibit hopefully to be opened in August called 'Between Two Rivers.' Isle of Wight County sits on the edge of the James River and the other edge is the Blackwater River."
This exhibit will represent the oystering and fishing communities from all backgrounds. The team must finalize the labels, displays and artifacts.
"We put them up there to see how we like it ‘oh we need to fix this picture’ or ‘we need to add a picture there’ um we need to change the size," Neikirk said.
The exhibit will hold both interactive and strictly display elements — hands-on and hands-off.
"It’s kind of a challenge to see how to put those together to tell the story of the county."