Rowan County Veterans Museum in Morehead Kentucky

Morehead is a nice little town with more to do there than you might think.  So, on a recent Saturday we went down there just to explore a bit.

As we walked towards the campus in town, we noticed a small building with a sign up that said the Rowan County Veterans Museum was open.  AND it was free!  So, we went inside.

The museum is fit snugly into a historic 1937 WPA building.  It houses a video and book library locals can use too.

This was a totally unplanned side trip to a spot that wasn't on our radar, but we were so glad that we stopped by.

AND, what we thought might be a quick, "lets stick our head inside just to see whats going on" quickly turned in to a great couple of hours learning about this area's contributions to the military.

Korean War Veteran Danny Knipp was running the place.  He politely introduced himself and told us to yell if we had any questions.

He also told us that the museum was very hands on.  He invited us to pick up the various relics and take a look at them!  This was easily the most open and "hands on" military museum I have ever seen!

The museum in crammed with nice table and wall displays throughout.  Signs and labels tell you about the equipment, uniforms, and various other relics.

There is a small Civil War area, then a larger WW1 area moving on from there.  There are manikins throughout the building too, displayed wearing uniforms donated by locals.

As we looked around, Danny came by and was putting up a new framed display on a local who was at Pearl Harbor.  We started chatting and he ended up telling us the stories of many from the area who served in various conflicts.

The collection is mammoth, and could fill a building many times larger and still look packed.

I saw a lot of impressive relics too.  Purple Hearts, weapons, a piece of a scud missile, and a set of rations from Vietnam all impressed me.

Other than a few hats for sale, there wasn't really a gift shop.  There was a small, almost hidden donation box by the door.  You can tell that the guys running the museum are more concerned about telling the story of veterans in Rowan County than money.  I am sure that they appreciate any support they get though.

Like I said, this is a great, little known museum that is only open on Saturday from 10-2 (which is a convenient time for most people).  It is an obvious labor of love that is amazing.  It gets my highest recommendation.