Harpers Ferry Wax Museum Closes, Collection’s Fate Uncertain

The 92 wax figures that fill the John Brown Wax Museum will soon need a new home.

That’s because the museum’s owner, Ted Staley, sold the venue to a private retailer last week, closing the museum permanently. Staley said the retailer has not made public how it will use the space. 

Since it was established by local real estate tycoon Dixie Kilham in 1963, the museum has been a mainstay for tourists visiting downtown Harpers Ferry, visually depicting abolitionist John Brown’s life and 1859 uprising.

But Staley, who bought the museum in 2010, said upkeep has been difficult. He lived in Maryland when he acquired the exhibit, but has since moved to North Carolina and entered “retirement age.”

“Those forces and my proclivity to micromanage makes it difficult,” he said. “So I thought it was time to sell.”

Staley said announcing the museum’s closure brought a mix of anger and understanding from the local community. Many were upset to learn of the tourist attraction’s sudden end, but others had hope for the preservation of the collection.

Staley said he is currently in talks with several potential buyers within the greater Harpers Ferry area, as well as Washington, D.C. He hopes to sell the collection in one piece.

Ideally, Staley also wants someone to buy the entire collection outright, but said most interested parties have asked to display the collection on a loan until they can reimburse him for the sale.

Regardless, Staley said he hopes news of the sale can ease concerns that a piece of cultural history will remain accessible to the Harpers Ferry community.

“I’ve given them hope. I made it clear that I’m entertaining other people who are interested in keeping it alive, and there have been a lot of people responding,” he said.

In the 14 years he’s run the museum, Staley said he’s learned a lot about both running a business and local tourism. The wax museum marked the first business he owned, but it also marked a longtime passion project.

“The most enjoyable part is when I would actually work the museum myself, because people from all over the world come to Harpers Ferry,” Staley said.

“You get to talk with them about the museum before they go in,” he continued. “I enjoyed that the most.”