American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

HISTORY MUSEUM · YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA

American Revolution
Museum at Yorktown

Experience the American Revolution through original artifacts, immersive galleries, films, a Continental Army encampment, a Revolution-era farm, and living-history interpretation.

Location
Yorktown, Virginia

Origins
1976

Gallery space
22,000 sq. ft.

Operated by
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is a history and living-history museum in Yorktown, Virginia, interpreting the American Revolution from the colonial era through the creation of the new United States.

The museum combines approximately 22,000 square feet of permanent exhibition galleries with films, interactive exhibits, nearly 500 period objects, immersive environments, a re-created Continental Army encampment, and a Revolution-era farm.

It is operated by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an educational agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The museum is separate from nearby Yorktown Battlefield, which preserves the actual landscape of the 1781 siege.

Why visit the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown?

The museum provides a broad introduction to the American Revolution rather than focusing only on the Battle of Yorktown.

Visitors can explore:

• Original 18th-century artifacts
• Immersive exhibition galleries
• Interactive displays
• Historical films
• The Siege of Yorktown theater
• A re-created Continental Army encampment
• Artillery demonstrations
• A Revolution-era farm
• Historical interpreters
• Military and civilian life
• The experiences of women
• African American history
• Loyalist and Patriot perspectives
• The creation of the new United States

The combination of museum exhibits and outdoor living history makes the attraction especially useful for visitors who want context before or after exploring the actual Yorktown Battlefield.

Major experiences

Exhibition Galleries

Explore 22,000 square feet of permanent galleries containing nearly 500 objects, immersive environments, films, interactive exhibits, maps, weapons, documents, paintings, furnishings, and personal possessions.

Continental Army Encampment

Enter a re-created military camp where historical interpreters demonstrate the routines, equipment, food, medical practices, discipline, and daily lives of Revolutionary War soldiers.

Revolution-Era Farm

Explore an 18th-century farm based on a real York County family, including a dwelling, kitchen, tobacco barn, crop fields, gardens, and quarters for enslaved people.

Siege of Yorktown Theater

Experience an immersive theater presentation using sound, wind, smoke, cannon fire, and dramatic interpretation to recreate elements of the decisive 1781 siege.

Liberty Fever

The museum's introductory film introduces visitors to Revolutionary America through the experiences of people who lived through the period.

Declaration of Independence

See a rare July 1776 broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence displayed among the museum's major Revolutionary-era artifacts.

Exhibition galleries

The permanent galleries trace the story of the American Revolution from the British colonies of the mid-18th century through independence and the creation of the United States.

Nearly 500 objects from the second half of the 18th century are displayed in the galleries.

The museum's broader collection contains more than 1,300 artifacts associated with the Revolutionary and early national periods.

Objects include:

• Military weapons and equipment
• Paintings
• Portraits
• Maps
• Engravings
• Furniture
• Documents
• Tools
• Personal possessions
• Decorative objects
• Political material
• Household objects

The British Empire and America

The opening portion of the galleries explores life in British North America before independence.

Topics include:

• British imperial government
• Colonial economies
• Trade
• Population
• American Indians
• Enslaved Africans
• Colonial society
• The Seven Years' War
• Britain's expanding North American empire

The museum places the Revolution within the broader political, economic, cultural, and international world of the 18th century.

Road to Revolution

The galleries trace the worsening relationship between Britain and its North American colonies during the years before the war.

Interpretation includes events and issues such as:

• Parliamentary taxation
• The Stamp Act
• Colonial protests
• British economic policies
• Political representation
• The Boston crisis
• The First Continental Congress
• Emerging arguments over independence

Artifacts and reconstructed environments help illustrate how political disagreement developed into armed conflict.

The American Revolution

The central galleries examine the Revolutionary War from the opening fighting in 1775 through Yorktown and the eventual peace settlement.

Topics include:

• Lexington and Concord
• The Continental Army
• George Washington
• British military strategy
• French involvement
• Loyalists
• American Indians
• African Americans
• Women and the home front
• Military medicine
• Weapons and tactics
• The Southern Campaign
• The Siege of Yorktown

The exhibits emphasize that the Revolution affected people whose experiences and political loyalties varied considerably.

Declaration of Independence broadside

Among the museum's major artifacts is a rare early broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence.

The broadside was printed in Boston in July 1776, shortly after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration.

It forms a centerpiece of the museum's interpretation of independence and the ideas associated with the Revolution.

Virginia Declaration of Rights

The museum also displays a June 1776 Philadelphia printing of the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

The document was adopted by Virginia in June 1776 and influenced later American statements about natural rights and representative government.

Siege of Yorktown experience

An immersive theater presentation recreates elements of the Siege of Yorktown.

The experience incorporates:

• Surround sound
• Cannon fire
• Wind
• Smoke
• Lighting
• Dramatic presentation

Characters represented include figures associated with the campaign such as George Washington, the Comte de Rochambeau, Charles Cornwallis, and Continental Army soldier Joseph Plumb Martin.

The attraction complements a visit to the actual Yorktown Battlefield nearby.

Continental Army encampment

The outdoor living-history area includes a reconstructed Continental Army encampment representing part of an American regiment.

Features include:

• Soldiers' tents
• Officers' quarters
• Quartermaster areas
• Medical interpretation
• Drill areas
• Military equipment
• Camp kitchens
• Artillery

Historical interpreters discuss and demonstrate daily military life.

Artillery demonstrations

The encampment includes an artillery amphitheater designed to resemble an earthwork redoubt.

Visitors may see demonstrations involving reproduction artillery representative of weapons used during the Revolutionary period.

Programs vary according to schedule, weather, staffing, and special events.

Military medicine

Interpretation in the Continental Army encampment addresses Revolutionary-era medicine and surgery.

Visitors may learn about:

• Battlefield injuries
• Surgical tools
• Medical practices
• Disease
• Camp sanitation
• Military hospitals
• Treatment available to soldiers

Disease frequently caused more military deaths during 18th-century warfare than battlefield wounds.

Revolution-era farm

The museum's outdoor farm interprets civilian life during the Revolutionary period.

The site is based on the household of an actual 18th-century York County family.

Features include:

• Farmhouse
• Kitchen
• Tobacco barn
• Crop fields
• Corncrib
• Kitchen garden
• Orchard
• Quarters for enslaved people

Historical interpreters demonstrate agricultural work, food preparation, textile production, and other activities associated with rural Virginia life.

Enslaved people and the Revolution

The museum addresses the experiences of enslaved African Americans during the Revolutionary era.

Virginia's economy and society depended heavily on enslaved labor.

The Revolution created profound contradictions between political arguments about liberty and the continued institution of slavery.

Interpretation examines the lives of enslaved people as well as the choices, opportunities, restrictions, and dangers they confronted during the Revolutionary period.

Patriots and Loyalists

Not every colonist supported independence.

The galleries examine both Patriot and Loyalist experiences.

Loyalists remained politically loyal to the British Crown for a variety of reasons, while other colonists supported independence or attempted to remain outside the conflict.

The Revolution frequently divided communities and families as well as political institutions.

Women and the Revolution

Women participated in and experienced the Revolution in numerous ways.

Museum interpretation includes:

• Household management
• Agricultural work
• Wartime displacement
• Camp life
• Political activity
• Production of clothing and supplies
• Family survival
• Property and economic responsibilities

The galleries place military events alongside the experiences of civilians and households.

French alliance

French participation was critical to the eventual American victory.

France formally allied with the United States in 1778.

French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau and French naval forces played decisive roles in the Yorktown campaign.

The allied American and French armies trapped Cornwallis's forces at Yorktown while the French victory at the Battle of the Chesapeake prevented effective British naval relief.

Siege of Yorktown

The 1781 Yorktown campaign forms an important part of the museum's story.

Combined American and French forces surrounded the British army under Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.

After siege operations and bombardment, British forces surrendered on October 19, 1781.

The victory effectively ended major British offensive operations in North America, although the war formally continued until the peace settlement of 1783.

Creating a new nation

The museum's story continues beyond Yorktown.

Exhibits examine:

• The 1783 Treaty of Paris
• The Articles of Confederation
• Postwar challenges
• The Constitutional Convention
• Creation of the federal government
• George Washington's presidency
• Development of American national identity

This makes the museum broader in scope than a battlefield museum focused solely on 1781.

Liberty Fever

Liberty Fever is the museum's introductory film.

The presentation uses the device of an early 19th-century traveling storyteller recounting experiences from the Revolutionary era.

The film introduces themes and individuals encountered throughout the galleries and outdoor living-history areas.

History of the museum

The institution opened on April 1, 1976 as the Yorktown Victory Center, one of Virginia's Bicentennial-era historical centers.

During the 1990s, the museum broadened its interpretation beyond Yorktown to encompass the entire Revolutionary period.

A major redevelopment of the 22-acre property began in 2012.

Museum operations moved into a new building in 2015.

The name American Revolution Museum at Yorktown debuted in 2016 along with new permanent galleries and an introductory film.

New outdoor living-history areas followed, and the museum's formal grand-opening dedication occurred on April 1, 2017.

50th anniversary

The institution marked the 50th anniversary of its original 1976 opening in 2026.

The anniversary coincided with the United States semiquincentennial period and a wider series of programs examining the American Revolution and the nation's founding.

American Revolution Museum vs. Yorktown Battlefield

The museum and battlefield are complementary but separate attractions.

Experience	American Revolution Museum	Yorktown Battlefield
Original battlefield	No	Yes
National Park Service site	No	Yes
Large museum galleries	Yes	Visitor center museum
Original period artifacts	Extensive	Yes
Continental Army encampment	Re-created	Archaeological/historic landscape
Revolution-era farm	Yes	No
Living-history interpreters	Extensive	Ranger programs vary
Battlefield driving tour	No	Yes

Visitors interested in the full Revolutionary story will generally benefit from seeing both.

Planning a visit

Begin with Liberty Fever
The introductory film provides historical context before entering the permanent galleries.

Visit the galleries before the outdoor areas
The museum's chronology makes the Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm easier to understand.

Allow several hours
The galleries, films, immersive theater, encampment, farm, and demonstrations can occupy a substantial part of a day.

Pair it with Yorktown Battlefield
The museum explains the broader Revolution; the battlefield allows visitors to explore the actual 1781 landscape.

Hours and admission

Operating hours, admission prices, demonstrations, special exhibitions, and programs can change.

Virginia.wiki therefore does not maintain static ticket prices or daily operating schedules.

Visitors should check the museum's official information before traveling.

Visiting with children

The museum is well suited to family visits because it mixes traditional exhibits with interactive and outdoor experiences.

Children can experience:

• Interactive galleries
• Films
• Immersive theater
• Military drill demonstrations
• Artillery demonstrations
• Continental Army tents
• Farm animals and agricultural interpretation
• 18th-century games
• Historical interpreters

See:

• Yorktown with kids
• Historic Triangle with kids
• Things to do in Williamsburg with kids

Food and amenities

The museum includes the 1781 Café and a museum shop.

Admission is not required simply to visit the café or museum shop.

Nearby Riverwalk Landing also provides restaurants and waterfront dining.

Accessibility

The museum provides accessible indoor galleries and visitor facilities.

Outdoor living-history areas include developed paths, although conditions and surfaces may differ from indoor museum spaces.

Visitors with specific accessibility needs should review current museum accessibility information before traveling.

Nearby attractions

Yorktown Battlefield
Explore the actual landscape of the decisive 1781 siege and British surrender.

Historic Yorktown
Colonial streets, historic buildings, monuments, and the York River waterfront.

Riverwalk Landing
Waterfront restaurants, shops, public piers, events, and York River views.

Yorktown Beach
Public riverfront beach beside Historic Yorktown and Riverwalk Landing.

Colonial Parkway
Scenic National Park Service roadway connecting Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Jamestown.

Colonial Williamsburg
Restored colonial capital with historic buildings, working trades, museums, and gardens.

Part of the Historic Triangle

The museum lies at the eastern end of Virginia's Historic Triangle:

• Jamestown
• Williamsburg
• Yorktown

The three destinations are connected by the Colonial Parkway.

See also

• Yorktown, Virginia
• Yorktown Battlefield
• Siege of Yorktown
• Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
• Jamestown Settlement
• Historic Triangle
• Colonial Parkway
• Riverwalk Landing
• History of Virginia
• American Revolution in Virginia

References