For more than seven decades, The Darby Collection has been one of Davis & Elkins College’s best kept secrets. Now, the collection of nearly 10,000 North American treasures is on display for public view in its new permanent home, The Stirrup Gallery of the Myles Center for the Arts.
The Stirrup Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and weekends by appointment.
A dedication ceremony for the Collection took place in March and the Gallery was named in honor of Board of Trustees Chairman Paul Stirrup and his wife, Karen, who over the years provided support and encouragement for assembling the collection in one location.
Mark Lanham, a D&E student and veteran of the United States Marine Corps, was recently named coordinator of The Darby Collection. “It’s a great way to teach history,” Lanham says. “They can see and touch a part of American history.”
The artifacts, representing everyday items used by mankind from the Stone Age through the early 20th century, were donated to the College in 1942 by collector Hosea M. Darby. The Elkins architect, building contractor and businessman had a fascination with the “rare and unusual,” which inspired him to collect the array of items.
Perhaps one of the most notable portions of the collection are the 300-plus Spanish, French, English and American powder horns, considered by experts to be among the top five collections in the country, aside from those displayed at the Smithsonian Institution. The collection also contains approximately 90 guns, including rifles and pistols, dating from the 1600s to the Civil War era; 800 to 900 pieces of Indian pottery; a rope bed dating back to 1795; and various weapons, tools and cooking utensils.
Not all of the items are yet on display, and some are awaiting repair. In the future, an area of the museum will be designated for rotating displays. Lanham says he wants to “keep it evolving to make it even bigger and better.”
