Our Collections
Everyone who ever passed through this part of Kentucky or called it home left a story behind. Some are stories of courage and great achievement, others of love and everyday survival. The more we explore those struggles and dreams, the more we understand our own.
Mountain Preacher by James Roy Hopkins
Fine Art
The fine art collection is home to many paintings by Kentucky and local area artists such as Steve White, pioneer scenes, local landscapes, and more. One of our featured paintings in the Wormald Gallery is Mountain Preacher by James Roy Hopkins. We also have a self-portrait dated 1828 of noted Mason County artist Aaron Corwin, as well as a lithograph by Karl Bodmer and Jean-Francois Millet created in Paris, France around 1850 which depicts pioneer Simon Kenton’s torture after his capture by Shawnee Indians.
KSB Miniatures Collection…
From glorious mansions to small apartments, our miniature homes offer a glimpse of how people lived in different times and different cultures. Each one captures the essence of life, whether it was lived in the distant past, in some faraway place, or in the here-and now.
Personal Artifacts
19th century wedding gowns, military and band uniforms, jewelry, combs, quilts, shoes, eyeglasses, fans, snuffboxes, a case-on-frame chest made in Mason County, and tall case clocks from 1795 are just a selection of the more personal articles in the museum collection. We even display numerous items related to Maysville-native Rosemary Clooney.
Historic Maps, Tools & Equipment
Our collection houses a wide variety of paraphernalia, including: a Kentucky long rifle, swords from both the Revolutionary and Civil war, a skillet thought to have been used by Simon Kenton, assorted revolvers and knives, a quilt frame, knapping hammer, and prehistoric Native American artifacts. The research library has on display numerous historical maps of Kentucky and the Ohio river valley region including George Henri Victor Collot’s 1804 maps of the General Map of the Course of the Ohio river and Road from Limestone to Frankfort, Filson maps, and examples of the first use of color cartography.
The Old Pogue Experience…
A visit to The Old Pogue Experience at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center will take you back in time to the 1791 Whisky Tax Act Rebellion; the heyday of bourbon making in Mason County; the long thirst of Prohibition; and the rebirth of an original Kentucky Bourbon, Old Pogue Master’s Select Bourbon.