What’s New at Cockayne!
We’re looking for an AmeriCorps Member!
Do you love creating digital content that brings history to new audiences? The Cockayne Farmstead is a 19th century historic property owned and managed by the Marshall County Historical Society, a grassroots organization charged with preserving historic buildings and a vast collection of over 3500 19th and early 20th century artifacts. Join their team as the AmeriCorps Heritage Coordinator where you can make a positive impact on the local community by planning, expanding, and developing digital content for social media, YouTube, and websites that fits with the Farmstead’s mission to educate the next generation through telling the story of Marshall county’s past. Find more info and apply here!
Hours
All year: Monday - Friday 10:00-4:00
July through September - second and third Saturday of the month, 10:00-4:00
Walk-in tours welcome!
Admission $5 (ages 12 and under free)
Also open by appointment - call us and let us know when you’d like to stop by!
Please call us to schedule if you plan to bring a group of more than 10. Thank you!
Owned by the City of Glen Dale and operated through a partnership with the Marshall County Historical Society, the Historic Cockayne Farmstead is a unique historic site unlike any other in Marshall County, West Virginia.
The 1850 farmhouse has been described as "frozen in time," with the last major renovation occurring around the turn of the 20th century. The exterior of the house has been restored, but the interior has been preserved in place. The collection inside the house, consisting of only original items amassed by four generations of the Cockayne family, spans the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries ending with the death of the last owner in 2001, and includes over 3000 objects and over 15,000 documents.
Guided tours of this amazing property are offered Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tour is approximately 1 hour. Walk-in tours are more than welcome, although advance notice is appreciated for any groups and required for groups over 10 people.
Each of the four generations of the Cockayne family left its mark on the house and farm. Bennett Benjamin built his family’s new home in 1850 and took an active role in establishing the community of Elizabethtown, serving as its postmaster and one of the original twelve trustees tasked with laying out its streets and sidewalks. Samuel Andrew Jackson took his father’s farm and brought it international recognition through his expert cultivation of Merino sheep and a premium award for wool from the International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. Samuel Alexander “Zan” continued the farm’s influence in the wool industry by marketing wool between local farmers and eastern markets, serving as a county wool dealer during the First World War. And finally the second Samuel Andrew Jackson, often simply known as Sam, left a continuing legacy to Marshall County by deciding to leave his farm the way it was, even as everything changed around him.
Also visit the Marshall County Historical Society website to learn about our other projects!
Our Mission
To create an educational and cultural center from a unique historic property that will nurture individual creativity and artistic expression, encourage the development of leadership skills and community pride through the rich cultural heritage of West Virginia, and promote tourism and economic development for the betterment of the citizens of our state and our nation.
Please enjoy looking through our website and learning more about our unique historic property. If you would like to learn more please visit us and check out Right Beside the River, a 2009 Documentary by Rick Sebak which features a section on the Cockayne Farmstead.
