The Cold War Museum

The Cold War Museum® is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to education, preservation, and research on the global, ideological, and political confrontations between East and West from the end of World War II to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Museum is seeking to:

o Provide donors, staff, directors, and others the platform, chronology, and artifacts they need to educate about the Cold War;

o Recognize and honor the work of those who served professionally in Cold War activities; and

o Use the Museum's exhibits and eye-witness accounts to teach future generations, via Cold War history, about how intelligence informs American foreign policy, diplomacy, and military action.

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More About Us

Hours: Saturdays 11 AM-4 PM, Sundays 1-4 PM, and by appointment. Admission and the orientation tour during the public hours are free, but we welcome donations; there is a modest per-person fee for private tours by arrangement.

Location and Directions: The Museum is located at Vint Hill, the former Top Secret signals intelligence base just outside Gainesville, VA, in one of the former Vint Hill Farms Station buildings used during the Cold War by the US Army, the National Security Agency, and the Central Intelligence Agency to intercept and interpret coded messages. Our Street Address is 7172 Lineweaver Road, Vint Hill, VA 20187 (next to the Vint Hill Craft Winery). Our Mailing Address is P.O. Box 861526, Vint Hill, VA 20187.

Artifacts: Our collections are particularly strong with unusual artifacts in signals intelligence, image intelligence, aerial surveillance, civil defense, Berlin, the East German secret police (STASI), the Cuban Missile Crisis, and events such as the Pueblo and Liberty incidents.

Staff: Our tour and collections staff include people with direct and extensive experience in Cold War intelligence and military communities. When you visit, the real people explain the real artifacts.

Attractions: The Museum shares a campus with The Inn at Vint Hill, the Vint Hill Craft Winery, the Covert Café, and Old Bust Head Brewing Company.
For more information about the Museum and the Cold War, visit our website: www.coldwar.org.

The Real People Explaining the Real Things

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Testimonials

Here are some testimonials from YELP:

Alex W.
Fredericksburg, VA

Awesome!

The fellas that work here are true patriots. This is like walking into a couple dozen episodes of The History Channel all in one building.

Michael K.
Centreville, VA

Not sure how my wife found out about this museum in the first place but we stopped by on a Sunday afternoon for a visit. They are only open on the weekends which works for me. No admission fee but donations welcome.

They have fantastic Cold War artifacts on two floors of an old renovated barn. It was a hot day but their air conditioning was on high encouraging us to linger longer (which we did). Highlights for us were the numerous stories about the history of Vint Hill Farm and significant historical events of the Cold War, their vast collection of uniforms and all the old electronics from the 60s.

The folks working there are super friendly and like to talk about their museum and its contents. Going in I thought we would be through it in 15 minutes but we spent over an hour in there. With a nearby winery and brewery one can easily make it part of an entire afternoon out.

Neal E.
Haymarket, VA

I recently became aware of the existence of The Cold War Museum. It's located over in the Vint Hill complex, appropriately and ironically - part of the old Vint Hill military facility that housed a listening post for DoD and three letter Intel agencies during World War II and the Cold War era.

It's not a large facility, but it is packed to the gills with interesting exhibits and information. They are open on the weekends for visits and tours. You can also schedule appointments for tours at other times of the week.

The gentleman conducting our tour was a treasure trove of information and he related some interesting stories based on his own personal experiences in the military during the Korean War.

The museum is an old renovated barn structure with two floors. The tour covered the Atomic bomb testing in the Nevada dessert, interesting facts about Area 51, declassified CIA programs and documents, UFO's, the Cuban missile crisis, and Korean and Vietnam War stuff.

They have a ton of exhibits from uniforms from various foreign military and intel agencies from eras gone by, artwork, posters, equipment, and a lot more!

Admittance to the museum is free, but they request that folks sign a sign in sheet and make a donation. I donated $20.00. The tour and museum was well worth it! Very interesting and educational. I will probably need to come back to absorb and digest more of it!

Sarah R.
Bay St Louis, MS

I was only able to spend about an hour here. I had a plane to catch. I will definitely return for the full tour. The docent (his name escapes me now) was full of fascinating information. It started out with the origins of the location, much earlier than the cold war. So, do not let the name mislead you, it is much more than Cold War items and topic. Definitely a must see if you are in the area.