National Museum of Funeral History

About

The National Museum of Funeral History houses the largest collection of funeral artifacts in the U.S., traces the history of funeral services, displays historic hearses and provides memorabilia from funerals of the famous such as Michael Jackson and JFK.

Story

Initially, it was believed the Museum’s target audience would primarily consist of persons engaged in death care professions, such as funeral directors, embalmers, and cemeterians, as well as providing historical base and a sustaining element of professional pride for instructors and students of Commonwealth. As the Museum evolved, the national museum of Funeral History’s mission broadened to encompass public education-in effect, bringing the mysterious and frequently taboo topic of death into accessible, non-threatening, and non-macabre setting for kindergarten students through senior citizens. Currently, the Museum is in its fifth development evolution since inception eighteen years ago-that of expanding acquisitions and exhibits to encompass a comprehensive multicultural and multinational offering to better serve its heterogeneous constituency.

Mission

It is the mission and goal of the National Museum of Funeral History to preserve 19th and 20th century funerary artifacts, including death memorabilia of global heads of state; provide public education about death customs the world over; and ensure that all exhibits accurately depict the evolution of death care in an appropriate international historical and sociological context accessible to visitors of all ages and cultures.

Products

Find some of the most unique, one-of-a-kind funeral, death, and Halloween-themed souvenirs in our gift shop. Customized "Over The Hill" birthday and retirement gift baskets and "Any Day Above Ground is a Good One" merchandise.