The magnificence of the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Museum

By Lauren Rodgers, RealWV

HILLSBORO, W.Va — Pearl S. Buck’s first language was Chinese, her second language was English, and she spent half of her life in China. But Pearl S. Buck was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia, a place that she held close to her heart and revisited throughout her life.

 “This place had an impact on her, even when she was in China,” said Phylis Lubin-Tyler, head docent of the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Museum. 

The home is not only the birthplace of a Pulitzer Prize winning author and the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature — it also offers a rare and wonderful museum experience located in Hillsboro, West Virginia. 

The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Museum is a beautifully preserved and protected historic home where visitors can immerse themselves in Pearl S. Buck’s most formative American memories. It’s a hand-built home full of stories, where Buck’s family heirlooms remain intact and her spirit stays alive. Its rooms are completely open to walk through, some of its artifacts can be touched, and tours immerse visitors in the story of Pearl’s life.

“Pearl never wanted this to be called a museum,” Lubin-Tyler said. “It was her birthplace. I wanted the space to unfold from room to room, as it would pertain to Pearl’s own interaction with the home.” 

When Phylis began working at the Birthplace Museum, the rooms of the home were roped off, barring visitors from immersing themselves in the space. 

“I got permission from the foundation board to take down the ropes and engage people into the feeling of visiting a home,” Lubin-Tyler said. 

The absence of barriers in the museum allows visitors to move naturally through her home,  connecting the 19th-century world of Buck’s family with the present.

Phylis has curated a museum experience that contextualizes the importance of West Virginia in Buck’s adventurous life as a famed author and activist. 

“I encourage West Virginians to experience the story of an important woman born here, who maintained a connection with this place throughout her life,” said Lubin-Tyler. “She was the only sibling, out of seven, to be born in her ancestral home. She was a proud West Virginian.” 

The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Museum is open seasonally and closes its 2026 season on Oct. 11. Before the season ends, visitors can intimately experience the home that shaped the life of a legendary woman, author, humanitarian, and West Virginian — Pearl S. Buck.