Louisa County Historical Society

Founded in 1966, the Louisa County Historical Society (LCHS) is a 501©3 non-profit organization with a mission to bring to light, preserve and promote the history of Louisa County. Our vision is to enlighten the present by illuminating the past in order to inspire the future. We share the stories of past Louisans through our museum exhibitions, educational programs, publications, research assistance, digital resources, and care of our growing collection of buildings, documents and artifacts. LCHS operates the Sargeant Museum of Louisa County History and the Heritage Farm Living History Site located in Louisa, Virginia. LCHS holds over 20,000 records and over 1,000 artifacts in its collections as well as a growing number of oral histories. The Purcell Research Library located in the Sargeant Museum contains numerous resources on local history and genealogy. In 2024, LCHS hosted over 63 public outreach events and participated in 22 others in the county and surrounding countries. These educational programs and special events throughout the year have bolstered our impact in the community and we are engaging groups that we have never before been successful at reaching. The Louisa County Historical Society houses and oversees two grant-funded projects: the Archive Digitization Project and the African American History Project. Our Archive Digitization Project uses high resolution camera imaging to digitally capture the items in our collection for upload to a publicly accessible website for viewing. Our African American History Project, steered by a diverse group of Black residents and leaders, works to tell a truer and more inclusive historical narrative while bolstering representation in our archives through photographs, family documents, and oral histories.