Frazier International History Museum: Blades, Bullets, Battles and More

Whether your taste runs to knights on horseback, live reenactments, Civil War dioramas or cowboys and buffalo, the Frazier International History Museum is for you. To be sure, there's an extensive collection of ancient muskets, pistols, swords, lances, knives and other armaments. But the Frazier International History Museum is more than instruments of warfare.

Located on West Main Street, the 100,000-square-foot museum has three floors of exhibits featuring more than 1,000 years of of American and European history, with event space available for rental.

In operation since 2004, the museum is home to pioneer Daniel Boone’s family Bible, the finest medieval chain mail in existence, Apache Chief Geronimo’s bow and General George Armstrong Custer’s pistols.

Displays highlight the battles that changed history, such as the especially brutal 1746 Battle of Culloden, which ended the Scottish hope of ruling England, or the massacre of the Zulu in southern Africa. But others highlight the long-forgotten foot soldier or adventurer, whether through a Union drum, a grave marker from the Battle of Little Big Horn or a cowboy’s wooly chaps.

The Frazier Museum prides itself on making history come alive. Skilled interpreters in period costume reenact historical events, such as the Lincoln-Douglas debate of 1858. Historical interpreters also recreate historical figures as diverse as Boudica, the German queen who took on the Romans in A.D. 60; a survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn (known as “Custer’s Last Stand”), a medieval archer, Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark and a 19th century suffragette.

Each of the day’s five different historical interpretation takes 15 to 30 minutes, and different ones are scheduled every day.

Youngsters get to handle some of the museum's holdings. For example, they get to experience the heaviness of a helmet or lift a sword. And they can interact with the historical interpreters following their presentations.

museum history arms weapons education fun kids historical interpretation medieval Civil War Revolutionary War