Beamish was envisioned as the museum’s figurehead by Frank Atkinson, the museum’s founder and first director.

Frank visited Scandinavian folk museums in the early 1950s, and his visit influenced his desire to create an open-air museum in the Northeast. He saw that the region’s industrial heritage was fast eroding. Traditional industrial companies, such as coal mining, shipbuilding, and iron and steel manufacturing, are all disappearing, as are the cities that depended on them.

Through the new museum, Frank hoped to highlight ordinary people’s lives while also bringing the area’s history to life.

Each year, hundreds, if not thousands, of people are taught and entertained by Beamish’s re-enactments of true historical events while remaining true to his principles.