Isle of Wight County Museum

Isle of Wight County Museum, located in the Bank of Smithfield building

The Isle of Wight County Museum is located in Smithfield, Virginia.

History

The Isle of Wight County Museum was founded in 1976 by a group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation of county history.

Collections

The museum’s exhibits include prehistoric fossils, colonial and pre-colonial artifacts, a turn-of-the-century country store, displays interpreting the Smithfield ham industry and the museum’s most notable artifact: the world’s oldest, edible cured ham.

The World's Oldest Ham

P.D. Gwaltney's "pet ham", thought to be the world's oldest. Gwaltney used the ham to demonstrate his techniques for meat preservation.[1]

P.D. Gwaltney Jr.’s famous pet ham currently resides at the Isle of Wight County Museum. In 1902, a cured ham was overlooked, and for 20 years, the ham hung from a rafter in one of Gwaltney’s packing houses.[2] By 1924, the pet ham was kept in an iron safe which was opened daily for guests to view. Advertised as the world’s oldest Smithfield ham, Gwaltney fashioned a brass collar for the ham and took it to shows and expos to exhibit the preservative powers of his smoking method. The ham was featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! in 1929, 1932 and 2003.

Further reading

Historical Notes on Isle of Wight County, Virginia. Helen Haverty King, 1993.

References

  1. ↑ Germanotta, Tony (October 16, 2006). "Whatever happened to... P.D. Gwaltney's immortal 'pet' ham?". The Virginian-Pilot.
  2. ↑ "Who, what, why: What happens if you eat 112-year-old ham?". BBC News. July 15, 2014.
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Coordinates: 36°58′56″N 76°37′52″W / 36.98211°N 76.63113°W / 36.98211; -76.63113

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