CHARLES TOWN, WV-The Jefferson County Museum is celebrating the opening of the 2016 season with a free, public reception on Saturday, April 16. Beginning at 1 p.m., the reception will include light refreshments. The museum will remain open until 4 p.m.

With the 2016 opening, the museum will debut four new exhibits. Forging Ahead will explore the 18th 19th century iron industry in Jefferson County, and will feature the museum’s newly acquired cast-iron stove plate from Keeptryst Furnace. On the Move will focus on the movement of people and goods through Jefferson County in the 18th-20th centuries, owing to advances in transportation technology and infrastructure such as canals, railroads, and automobiles. Slavery-Our Great National Sin, curated in partnership with the Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society, will introduce the history of enslavement in Jefferson County in the decades leading up to the Civil War, as well as the abiding legacy of this institution on later generations. Finally, Late 19th-Early 20th century Images of Scenic Harpers Ferry, on display in the foyer of the Charles Town Library, is a selection of postcards, stereographs, and engravings from the Bruce and Geraldine Kiefer Collection featuring historic scenic vistas of Harpers Ferry.

The Jefferson County Museum was founded in 1965 with the mission to preserve the history and heritage of the county. Its extraordinary collection encompasses a wide range of artifacts and documents from early Native American activities and the European colonization in the 1700s through the 21st century war on terrorism. The museum is open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., through mid-December. Admission is $3; children under 18, students, and members of the Charles Town Library are free.

For more information, contact the museum’s director, Jane Rissler, at 304-725-8628 or jcmdirector@frontier.com. To learn more about the Jefferson County Museum, visit the museum’s website at www.jeffcomuseumwv.org, Facebook page at facebook.com/jeffersoncountymuseum, or Twitter page at twitter.com/jeffcomuseumwv.