The National Museum of Liberia, housed in a colonial-era building on Broad Street in central Monrovia, holds the country's main collection of historical artefacts, photographs, and documents. The collection covers Liberia's founding by freed American slaves, the country's indigenous peoples and their material culture, and the Americo-Liberian period of the 19th century.
Highlights include traditional Poro and Sande society objects, ceremonial masks, and early photographs of the settlement period. The museum is modest by international standards — the collection suffered losses during the civil wars — but it is the most complete introduction to Liberian history available in the country. Staff are knowledgeable and often willing to give informal commentary on the major pieces.