Located in the historic rock Armory, the Guntersville Museum includes exhibits about John Gunter, the city’s namesake; an impressive Native American exhibit and artifacts dating to the Paleo-Indian era; a permanent collection of work by nationally-acclaimed local artist Frank Nelson; a superb display of mostly native birds collected and mounted by the late Bessie Rayburn Samuel in the 1920s; and archival photos and historical documents provide a fascinating view of Guntersville before the lake came up. Exhibits also illustrate activities during construction of the dam that created almost a thousand miles of mountain-lakes shoreline.
The Guntersville Armory was constructed in 1936 under President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration as a military armory for Company E, 167th Infantry Division. After renovation in 2006, the Guntersville Museum was relocated here. The old rock armory building is now listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.