Northeastern Kentucky Museum

This is a small museum and store near Carter Caves State Park. The collection is housed in an older building that gives little indication after ones initial observations to separate it in time from the 1940’s or 1950’s. On closer inspection a single window air conditioner connects the property to more recent times. Our excitement builds! This is the kind of place that excited me as a child — the kind of place that has not been commercialized and sterilized by the expectations of modern pampering — the kind of place we anticipate exhibiting and selling unique items.
My sons and I pulled into the gravel parking lot and could not have been more excited to stop. We were on our way to meets my parents for a visit at Carter Caves and decided to stop in just for a moment to give things a quick look. If it checked out we’d come back in a couple of hours for a complete tour.
We were the only ones there at about 12:30PM. Wide variety of items immediately drew us in. The collection ranged from Native American through WWI, WWII, and Vietnam (and more and more). Some of the collection is exhibited in a library fashion such as the large collection of magazines and posters. The magazines and some of the exhibited items are for sale. Other portions of the collection, like most or all of the Native American exhibits are strictly not for sale. We spoke briefly with the owner, Mr. Jim Plummer, and we promised to return in time to enjoy the whole collection before he closed at 5PM.
When we returned we went through the place as carefully as we could for perhaps 90 minutes. The boys enjoyed the dinosaur teeth and Megalodon teeth and began putting together their purchase requests. I spent a decent amount of time admiring the Nazi Germany items and the American Civil War items, but my real interest was with the Native American collection. I have been through many of Ohio’s Native American museums many times including the Ohio Historical Society Museum, Serpent Mound, Fort Ancient, and the Hopewell Cultural National Historical Park (as well as Ohio County Museums) and this collection was spectacular in comparison. The artisan artifacts made of pottery, copper, and slate were fascinating. The emphasis of the collection was ceremonial items though a wonderful collection off utilitarian items was exhibited as well.
This time we were one of perhaps three or four groups of people touring the museum and store. We we now required to share Mr. Plummer’s attention with other folks interested in the original issues of Life magazine, Nazi knives, and a group of ladies very much interested in the modern collection of jewelry Mr. Plummer has for sale with the assistance of his girlfriend’s artistic eye. Each lady seemed excited about their purchase and successively vied for Mr. Plummer’s attention and his Southern charm.
We look forward to returning soon and speaking more with Mr. Plummer. If you plan a visit, please be sure to engage him with questions about the exhibits. If you do you will be welcomed with a wealth of information from a knowledgeable historian.
I am certainly a fan of this place, my rating is based off of the expectations and location. Obviously this museum in not on par with the Smithsonian Museum or the Musée du Louvre but my rating is based on comparable exhibits. The Native American collection would rate 5 stars.