belle boyd house

Civil War buffs will enjoy visiting this house where Belle Boyd, the Confederate spy, lived for several years. The gentleman in charge was very helpful in explaining Belle's connection to General "Stonewall" Jackson. Their are photos and exhibits which are interesting. There is no charge.

I loved this house and the tour! The home itself and artifacts are fascinating, but best of all was my tour guide! He was so patient with me because I was on crutches, and his willingness to impart his knowledge was fabulous. I highly recommend a visit!

Kinda stuffy, but the cvb folks are nice. The history of Belle Boyd is very interesting. You could almost see her in the house still.

If you're in the Martinsburg area, it's worth a stop for some history and info. I'd never been in the area before and it was my first stop - good choice to then plan out my visit.

I was eager to see the house in which young Belle Boyd spent her younger days. I was expecting a well restored 19th century house filled with period furnishings and artifacts from Boyd's family. Instead I found an eclectic mishmash of seemingly unrelated items on display throughout the house, many of which would be of interest to residence of the city than to out of town visitors. The house is in need of a professional designer who, with insight from the Berkeley County Historical Society which owns the building, can create a more unified vision for the house and better displays with interpretive signage. There needs to be clarity as to whether the building is to be a house museum telling the story of the Boyd family or a museum that tells the story of Martinsburg. Grants are available to help the organization clarify the building's space. Besides the Berkeley County Historical Society, the structure also houses the county's CVB and a gift shop. Behind the house is a lovely garden. Next door is the county's archives and research center home of the Berkeley County Historic Landmark which also has a book store. Located behind the house is a herb. garden

Visited while in the area for the gadget geo trail this was stop number one and the last stop of the geo tour.Very friendly workers lots of info about the area.Lots of historic things to look at and you can get info about the area here.

This historic home now houses the Martinsburg-Berkeley Convention and Visitors Bureau. A great way to use a historic place. The museum displays that are on the 2nd and 3rd floors are great also

The friendly folks at the CVB (also located here) let me look around eventhough it was closed the day i was there. If an alluring damsel serving as a double agent during the civil war sound interesting, you'll find Belle Boyd House fascinating.

To really enjoy this venue, you have to be a history/Civil War enthusiast like myself or have time to kill. Belle Boyd was a Confederate spy whose activities were focused in Martinsburg and Front Royal. This is the family home built by Belle's father and used as a small business as well as the family dwelling. To be fair, the house has been maintained very well, and contains plenty of period pieces for authenticity. To a history junkie like me, touring any of these old houses is a good time, to tour the homestead for such a notable character is doubly satisfying. The tours are led by a town historian so there is more than enough detail to make the visit worth while. If I have any dislikes, it is the fact that the house is a catch-all museum, which detracts from the history of the house and family itself, and is a bit cramped on the second floor. However, a body cannot fault the historians for setting up a museum, and probably, that was the only location available to them. At least I can say that before the end of my tour I had touched an actual table once owned by Confederate General A.P. Hill. In any event, it is a decent little outing and I would recommend it. There is no fee, but contributions are accepted. Got some time on a Friday and want to do something educational and relaxing on your own or with the kids? Go there.

Living in this town, we have been to the Belle Boyd House several times. It's always a pleasure. It's an old house with several small exhibits from the local historic area, some of which rotate (like Victorian Toys, or the Valenltine collection) and some of which are permanent (like the Hack Wilson baseball exhibit and the Belle Boyd clothing and items). There is always a docent to give a brief tour, telling you about the history of the house, about Belle's story. It's a small house, a small museum, easily done in 45 minutes or so, so not too time-consuming. Personally, I love it because I love old houses. So while the docents speak, I'm checking out the architecture and wood molding, but the history is cool, too. My granddaughters loved the little Civil War dioramas, husband loved the baseball exhibit, something for everyone. There is a small gift shop. When you are in the room that housed the original kitchen, be sure and ask the docent to show you the unusual cellar door. Note: it has been a while since we visited, but at that time, it was operated on donations only. You might check before you go. It is not handicap accessible.

The Belle Boyd House, home of the Berkeley County Historical Society, looks like a regular house but is surprising for its size and scope of exhibits. It has by far the best Hack Wilson exhibit anywhere, period clothing from most wars, an extensive local indian artifacts collection from Thornton Hilleary, a train exhibit, a children's antique toy room, a room of local black history, and drawings from David Hunter Strother,Martinsburg's superb graphic artist of the 19th century. Of course there are several exhibits relating to Belle Boyd, the famous Confederate spy who aided Stonewall Jackson, and who was put on a boat to England to keep the North from having the nasty task of hanging a woman .The best part, is the Archives Building next door, which keeps local history alive and which is open to the public for research on Thurs., Fri., and Sat., from 10am to 4 pm. It includes dozens of unique and scholarly books and pamphlets researched, edited and published by the Society. The Archives used to beat the Belle Boyd House, but is now across the street, where its rare documents are now housed in climate controlled rooms.It is considered one of the premier research facilities in West Virginia.

Take time ti visit and learn the perils of a young girl that eaves dropped on General's Conversations and then would risk her life to deliver messages of the opposite side. You can't even imagine living during that time.

Like two other reviews I feel that the Boyd House is lacking in many ways. The tour and displays try to make up for the lack of represented history throughout the Eastern Panhandle, not the Boyd House. With a little professional help and public education about Boyd herself this house could be a great visit for everyone, especially parents of elementary and middle school students. Being born in Martinsburg and moving to Colorado made me realize how little most people know about the Civil War. This is a site that could spark interest and excitement in the hearts of young people if portrayed right. For instance the Hack Wilson display is history but in no way belongs in the Boyd House. This is a prime example of the "Well it's OK" attitude of the Eastern Panhandle citizens instead of making things great. I'm moving back to the Panhandle soon with my new child in tow, and will make sure I tell them the the truth about Boyd and other civil war heroes. Not just a nice house with random displays but a true revolutionary.

I visited the Belle Boyd house on a Saturday afternoon - a historic site that I had wanted to visit for years - to learn about the female "Confederate Spy." As a Civil War buff, I was very excited to finally get to visit the home of Belle Boyd. Unfortunately, the visit was a great disappointment. We entered the home and saw no one, but after a few minutes a voice from upstairs yelled down to us to have a seat and wait. After about 30 mins a staff person appeared and told us she had an appt and could not give us a tour so we left. While outside taking photographs another women came along and said she could give us a tour since the other women had to leave. While there were a few exhibits on Belle Boyd, most of the house was filled with unprofessional exhibits that had no historical relevancy to Belle Boyd or the Civil War or the 1800's time period. It's a great piece of property and history but it needs to be taken over by professional historians and trained staff. I believe this site could attract lots of visitors if it was done professionally.

I loved the fact that you can get an intimate tour of the Civil War house for only $5. The furniture and the pictures were beautiful. I also thought the old guns were great. They also have an exhibit on Hack Wilson, who played baseball back in the 20's. The best part of the tour was the very friendly tour guide.