When I first started Miles Through Time Automotive Museum, I didn’t have a clue about museums. In fact, the first and only “car museum” I had ever been to prior to MTT was the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

The only reason I visited the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame was because it was right next to where I bought a cargo trailer to move from North Carolina to Georgia, where I would eventually create a museum of my own in less than a year. Funny how things work out like that.

I was not intentionally avoiding visiting museums and, to be fair, I was only 31 years old when I finally visited my first automotive museum. At the time, I had moved several times, I still had a very young family, and I had only had my grandpa’s 59 Cadillac for a very short period, which occupied any leftover free time I had.

My point is, I was no automotive museum expert in 2016. When I opened Miles Through Time Automotive Museum and researched other museums, which eventually led to the creation of Automotive Museum Guide, I did what most people do: I searched for “car museum.”

This search term immediately produced results. I very quickly learned all about amazing museums, like The Petersen, Gilmore and The Henry Ford. While these museums sounded amazing, they were light years ahead of what I was trying to create, but I took what information I could from all of them. 

Interesting side note, I’ve been to two of the three museums since then and two of the three museums have donated to Miles Through Time, which is pretty cool.

Tying to find information about museums that were more relatable to what I was trying to create was a massive challenge. It actually took years of research to eventually find all the museums.

Over the years, some of the museums have closed, some have been dwarfed by Miles Through Time and have really prospered. The key to finding some really great museums is realizing they aren’t all “car museums.”

This week I want to share with you three local county museums worth visiting. The surprise to each of them is their vehicle collections.

Graham County Auto & Arts Museum came to life when the founder, Fred Pratt, gained support from the collector Stephen Tebo and local community members who came together to purchase an old gas station and renovated it to become the museum.

The Washington County Rural Heritage Museum is also home to the Early Roads Transportation Museum. This museum has a collection of all types of early transportation that was used in the local area.

The last one for this week is the Wayne County Historical Museum. This museum started in 1930 when Julia Meek Gaar donated an extensive collection to the Indiana Historical Society. Julia also gifted the historical Friends Meeting House.

Over the years, numerous artifacts and cash donations have been made to the museum, significantly enhancing its local presence. If you were visiting near the area, you may not realize how substantial this museum actually is.

There’s a lot more out there to see than just the small handful of well-known car museums. You can use the Automotive Museum Guide to discover them all.

Have a great week!

SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S 3 AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS.

Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum

 Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum

P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.