•         Individual tours - if you are in the area, stop in. If one of our volunteer docents is present, an informal tour may be given.

•        Group tours may be arranged and must be scheduled in advance.  Classroom size groups of students can be accommodated  Please contact our office at 606-242-0005

•  From 6:30 to 7:30 on the second Thursday of each month the museum is open to informal genealogy research. 
•  Research library is available with records pertinent to our area
•  Internet access for use in genealogy research
•  Members assist each other when possible
•  Development and presentation of genealogy workshops

Mining

Mining has historically been tied closely with the economy
of Bell County.

 Therefore, mining is prominent in our displays.

The Middlesboro crater may be the only city with a coal mine in the bounds of a crater.

Lost Squadron/P-38
"Glacier Girl"
The chronicle of Glacier Girl is now recorded and housed in
The Bell County Historical Museum

In 1942 the B-17 bomber and P-38 fighter were the most significant war planes of WWII. It was the P-38 that shot down the first German aircraft of that war.

The last operation for this specific plane was on July 15, 1942  with a group of six fighters and two bombers  which  flew  from a base on the west coast of Greenland. Near Iceland they encountered a massive North Atlantic storm and attempted to fly higher to go over the storm, but still accumulated ice and as a result of the weight, were forced to turn back. .  

This planes crash landed in the harsh environment, on the glacial wilderness of Greenland. The crews were rescued from the glacier, but the warplanes were left behind There they stayed for more than 50 years, the ice cap growing around and above them, until they were eventually covered by a 286 foot ice cap.

After their location was discovered, one plane was excavated and rescued by a local restaurant owner who spent some three million dollars in the recovery and rebuilding. of Glacier Girl. Middlesboro was privileged to have "Glacier Girl" Museum right here at the Middlesboro Airport for a number of years, and to see the plane occasionally fly over the city.

In that museum, until 2008 when it was flown to its new home in Texas, its remarkable historic story of recovery from that ice cap was preserved.

On a return visit to Middlesboro to say good-by, it dipped its wings, circled the city and flew westward, leaving Middlesboro with the legacy of its story. The memory of Glacier Girl will remain with the people of Middlesboro and Bell County.

The Iron Horse - Railcar of Yesteryear
and the railcars behind it.

   Engine, Coal Car, Boxcar, Flatcar,, Passenger Car, Pullman,  Freight car, Tanker, Caboose

http://www.ribbonrail.com/art/

Fabulous train collection!

The Football Career of Middlesboro's Own Super Stars
Clyde (Ig) Fuson
		Herschel (Ug) Fuson
The Fantastic
Fuson Brothers

Speaker at alternating monthly meetings
Book Signings
Picture Displays at local public affairs
Speakers of local interest