From our 25^th anniversary to the debut of new artifacts for Presidents Day, there’s a lot to celebrate!

We are celebrating all year long

  This year, the National Museum of Funeral History celebrates its 25^th anniversary. It all began with an idea that grew from Robert L. Waltrip’s 25-year dream of establishing an institution to educate the public on man’s oldest profession and preserve the heritage of the death care industry. The Museum became a place to collect and preserve the history of the industry, including how it began and how it has evolved over time. The first major exhibit was a collection of vintage hearses, which is still a popular component of the Museum that continues to expand and fascinate visitors.

  To date, the Museum’s 14 permanent exhibits include Thanks for the Memories, Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes, Day of the Dead/Dia De Los Muertos, History of Embalming, 19^th Century Mourning, Presidential Funerals, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Reflections on the Wall, Coffins and Caskets of the Past, Historical Hearses, A Life Well Lived: Fantasy Coffins from Ghana, Japanese Funerals, 9/11 and Fallen Heroes Tribute and Marsellus Casket Company.

  We invite you to visit the Museum.  We would love to hear which exhibit was your favorite. Have you “liked” us on Facebook or followed us on Twitter or Instagram? If not, be sure to check us out soon and tell us all about your museum adventures and experiences.

  More exhibits are in the planning stage, including “The History of Cremation,” a new permanent exhibit slated to open in 2018 in collaboration with the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). Stay tuned for more info on this exciting new addition to the Museum in the months to come.

Three-day weekends are a great time to visit

  Always celebrated on the third Monday of February, Presidents Day was originally celebrated in honor of George Washington’s birthday. The federal holiday is popularly recognized as also honoring Abraham Lincoln, born on February 12, and sometimes all the U.S. presidents. 

  February is a great time to connect with key moments in U.S. history by exploring the Museum’s extensive display of artifacts and original items used in the state funerals and burials of some of America’s great presidents.

  In the Presidential Funerals exhibit, visitors will see the authentic bill from President George Washington’s funeral and pay respects to President Abraham Lincoln, as they take in the full-scale recreation of Lincoln lying in repose, peer at an actual lock of his hair and check out an authentic mourning badge worn by a guest at his funeral in 1865. Photo galleries of presidential funerals and original news reports from the Museum’s archives provide a historical perspective on the chain of events set in motion upon the death of a U.S. president.

  Lee Ward, a collector of funeral artifacts, recently donated his collection to the National Museum of Funeral History, which included a number of President Harry Truman artifacts, including the embalming machine used to embalm the deceased president. The President Truman artifacts will be added to the museum’s permanent Presidential Funerals exhibit and debuted in honor of Presidents Day 2017.

  Also in the Presidential Funerals exhibit, museum visitors can view the original eternal flame from President John F. Kennedy's gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery, the hearse used to carry the bodies of President Ronald Reagan and President Gerald R. Ford in the California precession of their state funeral and the ammo case from the 21-cannon salutes rendered during the ascend and descend of Air Force One while it carried the body of President Gerald R. Ford in 2006.