Virginia State Folklore Center

The Blue Ridge Institute

Ferrum, Virginia

Adopted in 1986
 

For more than two decades Ferrum College's Blue Ridge Institute & Museum has documented, interpreted and presented the traditional life and culture of the Blue Ridge and its people. Designated the State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore by the Virginia General Assambly in 1986, the Institute promotes an understanding of regional folklore past and present for all ages.

The Institute highlights music, crafts and decorative arts. Visitors can witness folk culture through gallery exhibits and a 17th-Century German-American farmstead.

Visitors are often astounded that a small Methodist-related college in Franklin County, Virginia, has taken on the role of preserving a cultural heritage to the extent and level of visibility that Ferrum College has done. The result, the Blue Ridge Institute, along with the Blue Ridge Farm Museum and its Folklife Festival, places Ferrum among the nation's most important colleges culturally. Its archives contain thousands of photos, videotapes, phonograph records, vintage books and manuscripts, all treasure troves of Appalachian scenes and people, Shenandoah Valley beliefs, Southwest Virginia folktales and African-American and Caucasian folk music from throughout Virginia. People of English, Scot, Irish, African and German descent will be especially interested in the distinct identities reflected in Blue Ridge music, crafts, foods, beliefs and customs formed after their forebears came to America. The Institute is open Monday through Friday 8 AM to 4:30 PM. Archives are open by appointment

All buildings are authentic and were moved from their original Blue Ridge locations. Heirloom vegetables flourish in the gardens, vintage breeds of livestock shelter by the barn, and costumed interpreters work at farm and household chores true to early life in the region.

Both historical and contemporary folkways engage the visitor in the Institute's Museum Galleries. Two rotating exhibits showcase the rich texture of Virginia folklife in music, crafts, art and customs. The Museum Galleries are the only facilities in the Commonwealth dedicated exclusively to the presentation of traditional culture. The Farm Museum is open weekends from mid-May through mid-August, Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM and Sundays 1 to 5 PM. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for children and senior citizens. Museum Galleries are open year round Monday through Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM. Admission is free.

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