The Tompkins Cottage Museum and the Thomas James Store, both in Mathews Court House, will open for the 2022 season on Saturday.
Both locations are maintained by the Mathews County Historical Society, which provides information about these structures which date from the early 19th century. Docents greet visitors to the Tompkins Cottage.
The cottage, a small c. 1820 building, located on Brickbat Road in downtown Mathews, is named for Christopher Tompkins, a local sea captain, planter, prominent local merchant, and member of the state legislature, who lived at Poplar Grove. Tompkins bought the property in 1837 and is the first known owner, a release said.
The east room, hall and rear shed room represent furnishings and personal items that would have been used by people who worked and lived there in the mid 1800s to early 1900s. The west shed room is dedicated to Tompkins’s daughter Capt. Sally L. Tompkins, who was the first commissioned officer in an American military unit. Historical artifacts in this room include Capt. Sally’s c. 1865 wool coat, a poplar bedstead used at the hospital she established in Richmond, her needlework and a 19th century wool coverlet.
The cottage, which is headquarters for Mathews County Historical Society, will be open from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. every Saturday through October. Trained docents will be available during those hours to guide visitors.
Thomas James Store Museum
The Thomas James Store Museum, located behind the Mathews County Visitor and Information Center, will open on April 2 as well, with the same hours as Tompkins Cottage. The store is one of a handful of best-preserved 19th century stores in the south and has been conserved as it was found. Visitors will encounter interpretive signage that explains what the various marks and features represent. The store museum was formally opened in May 2013.
Visiting both museums is free of charge.
The historical society is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization open to all. Membership information can be found at mathewscountyhistoricalsociety.org.