About Us
The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum had its grand opening in June, 2021 at the first annual West Virginia Bigfoot Festival in Sutton, West Virginia. The museum’s grand opening and festival was wildly successful garnering an approximate 1200-1500 attendees! The museum was organized and launched after the owners of the Mountain Laurel Country Store, Louis and Laurel and son, David Petolicchio, learned about sightings, not only in Braxton County, but throughout West Virginia. The Bigfoot legend was further highlighted when a (now famous) six-foot tall, solid hemlock carving of Bigfoot, was delivered to the store by a local carver. This carving drew significant interest and encouraged people to share their personal experiences, or the experiences of friends and family, regarding Bigfoot. It wasn’t long before David decided that this was a significant point of interest both locally, and across the state. Thus, The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum was born.
David Petolicchio, has done years of research in cryptozoology and paleontology and has always had an interest in unknown or previously thought extinct animals. David believes that Bigfoot, if it indeed exists, may be a large, intelligent, North American primate and should be a protected species if it can be proven to exist.
The museum currently includes a large collection of original Bigfoot footprint casts from around West Virginia as well as cast copies from around the rest of the United States. The museum also has posters of local and statewide Bigfoot accounts, a compiled binder of Bigfoot sightings, a Bigfoot sightings map, and museum quality replica skulls of an Orangutan, a mountain gorilla, and a Gigantopithecus.
Home to one of the largest bigfoot cast collections on the east coast!
Museum Founders
Louis R . Petolicchio
Louis R . Petolicchio
Louis R . Petolicchio
Louis R. Petolicchio and his son David S. Petolicchio founded The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum in 2021, after interacting with numerous eyewitnesses and meeting with West Virginia researcher Les O'Dell. Louis, who is originally from Pennsylvania, moved to Sutton to start a small business, the Mountain Laurel Country Store, with his wife
Louis R. Petolicchio and his son David S. Petolicchio founded The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum in 2021, after interacting with numerous eyewitnesses and meeting with West Virginia researcher Les O'Dell. Louis, who is originally from Pennsylvania, moved to Sutton to start a small business, the Mountain Laurel Country Store, with his wife and business partner, Laurel, and one of his sons, David.
The subject of cryptozoology has always been an intriguing topic for Mr. Petolicchio, and he fostered this interest along with the rest of his family. Once he saw an opportunity to delve into a fascinating subject and promote the community, he made the easy decision to open the first-ever West Virginia Bigfoot Museum.
Louis wrote much of the museum's content and even authored a book that compiles historic Bigfoot accounts from around Appalachia. Unfortunately, in 2022, Louis R. Petolicchio passed away suddenly, leaving the museum as one of his many successful projects. It continues to thrive and grow, in no small part due to his hard work and professionalism.
David S. Petolicchio
Louis R . Petolicchio
Louis R . Petolicchio
David S. Petolicchio originally conceived the idea of the West Virginia Bigfoot Museum in the winter of 2021, recognizing a need for the community to have a tourism draw and a unifying subject matter for the region.
David has been interested in cryptozoology his entire life and has found the subject of unknown wildlife to be incredibly fa
David S. Petolicchio originally conceived the idea of the West Virginia Bigfoot Museum in the winter of 2021, recognizing a need for the community to have a tourism draw and a unifying subject matter for the region.
David has been interested in cryptozoology his entire life and has found the subject of unknown wildlife to be incredibly fascinating. Although David has an educational background in criminal psychology and abnormal psychology, he has studied cryptozoology, paleontology, and primatology as a side interest for over a decade.
Today, David continues to manage the museum and determine what displays and information are available. He hopes to provide valuable and accurate information about Bigfoot while also serving as a free resource to educate the general public about Bigfoot, cryptozoology, paleontology, and primatology.
Les O'Dell
Louis R . Petolicchio
Les O'Dell
Les Odell first met Louis and David Petolicchio in 2021 when he visited the Mountain Laurel Country Store and struck up a conversation about Bigfoot sightings in the state of West Virginia. From there, Les built a good working relationship with Louis and David and brought in his own collection of Bigfoot footprint casts that are now on d
Les Odell first met Louis and David Petolicchio in 2021 when he visited the Mountain Laurel Country Store and struck up a conversation about Bigfoot sightings in the state of West Virginia. From there, Les built a good working relationship with Louis and David and brought in his own collection of Bigfoot footprint casts that are now on display in the museum.
Les is one of the founders of West Virginia Cryptids and Strange Encounters (WVCASE) and has been involved in countless expeditions. He has also been featured in podcasts, TV shows, and manages his own YouTube channel. Les is extremely down-to-earth, easy to communicate with, and has gained a lot of respect in the cryptid community in West Virginia.
In 2021, Les published a book called "West Virginia Cryptids: A Visual Travel Guide for Traversing the Mountain State," featuring artwork by Mark A. Randall.
To stay up to date with the latest content, visit the WVCASE Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/wvcryptidsandstrangeencounters
About Our Cast Collections
Les O'Dell Collection
Doctor Jeff Meldrum Collection
Doctor Jeff Meldrum Collection
Les O'Dell is one of our museum founders as well as the owner of one of our core collections of original casts from West Virginia.
His display features his casts, a bio, a collection of sighting accounts, and a map of sightings around the state.
Doctor Jeff Meldrum Collection
Doctor Jeff Meldrum Collection
Doctor Jeff Meldrum Collection
Dr. Jeff Meldrum is a Full Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology at Idaho State University (since 1993). His research encompasses questions of vertebrate evolutionary morphology generally, primate locomotor adaptations more particularly, and especially the emergence of modern human bipedalism.
Our museum worked with Doctor Meldrum to acquire
Dr. Jeff Meldrum is a Full Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology at Idaho State University (since 1993). His research encompasses questions of vertebrate evolutionary morphology generally, primate locomotor adaptations more particularly, and especially the emergence of modern human bipedalism.
Our museum worked with Doctor Meldrum to acquire a large collection of cast copies from all over the United States as well as informational posters about the history of Bigfoot and his theories on Bigfoot's bipedalism.
Daniel Smith Collection
Doctor Jeff Meldrum Collection
Daniel Smith Collection
Daniel "Daniel Boone" Smith was one of our first cast collections and joined our museum in our second year of operation. Daniel has a large collection of casts from around West Virginia, varying in size and shape and even includes a rare example that has a deer print inside of the alleged Bigfoot print.
Daniel's collection is located in th
Daniel "Daniel Boone" Smith was one of our first cast collections and joined our museum in our second year of operation. Daniel has a large collection of casts from around West Virginia, varying in size and shape and even includes a rare example that has a deer print inside of the alleged Bigfoot print.
Daniel's collection is located in the same section as our collection of primate skulls and is also our largest collection.
