Kings County Museum, Annapolis Valley
Kings County Courthouse Museum, Kentville Even though I have visited the Kings County Museum many times, it had been a few years since I had last been there so I decided to go again. Sure enough they had some new exhibits and displays, along with some of the old ones I had remembered. The Kings County Museum is housed in the old Kings County Courthouse located at 37 Cornwallis Street right in Kentville. The courthouse was built in 1903 and it served as the seat of justice and municipal government until 1980. After they closed down the jail, 1907 - 1979, they moved the court and municipal offices to a new building. The Kings Historical Society obtained the building and opened it as a museum and research centre in 1980. Judy, my sister and I entered the building and went up the short flight of stairs to the hallway where we were greeted by a receptionist. She gave us a pamphlet that was a self-guided-tour and told us some of the background of the building, museum and the Kings Historical Society. She also informed us that some of the exhibits are permanent and some are changed regularly. Admission was free into this museum, but we did make a donation to help
This was a very interesting display as they had lots of history of apple growing Kings County Museum Apple Blossom Exhibit 2007 in the valley and the apple blossom festival itself. I like the pictures the best, and they had several of them. Pictures included ones of previous parades, Queen Annapolisa Pageants, apple blossoms, the town and much more. There was even a manikin set up dressed in a long white gown worn by one of the apple blossom queens. Next we entered a room which held the Acadian Exhibit. The Acadians were the first Europeans to settle on the lands of Acadia, thus the name Acadians. They came from France in the 17th century and became experts at building dykes and farming the rich soil of the old salt marshes. The Acadians lived here in peace not wanting to be involved in the fighting between the French and British over the title of Acadia. Unfortunately the British were afraid that if another war broke out the Acadians would side with the French so they insisted that they sign an oath of allegiance. When the Acadians refused, they decided to deport the Acadians out of Acadia. The Expulsion of the Acadians lasted for eight years starting in 1755 and removed approximately 10,000 people from their homes. The Acadian exhibit at the Kings County Museum has several very interesting displays including a sluice box which was used under the dyke to help drain the salt water off the marshes. The sluice was made so that the marsh would drain during the low tide, but prevent the salt water from re-flooding the marsh during the high tides. The next exhibit we viewed was the Victorian Parlour Exhibit. Queen Victoria started her reign in 1837 and quickly became very popular with her subjects. She inspired many fashions that were sought after by the so called "middle class" population in her empire. These were fashions not only in dress, but in furniture, ornaments and even houses.
Victorian Parlour Exhibit at the Kings County Museum One exhibit I am always interested in is the New England Planters Exhibit. I guess that would be because our ancestors were New England Planters. They came from Connecticut in 1761 and settled in Horton Township, Kings County on lands that had been vacated by the Acadians. The Kings County Museum in conjunction with Parks Canada has a great National Commemorative Exhibit on the New England Planters. They also maintain the Center for the Study of New England Planters Life, the only major center that studies the New England Planters in North America. This Planter's Study Center is located on the lower level of the building. The New England Planter's exhibit at the museum has several interesting hands-on exhibits. These exhibits were designed towards children to help teach them what life was like for the Planter's and their children. There is also a film you can watch that covers the history of the New England Planters. We found this film very interesting and informative. It gave us a real feeling of what it had been like for these New England families to build a life here in Nova Scotia. The main exhibit at the Kings County Museum is the court room itself. Many cases were tried in this courtroom between 1903 and 1980. The Kings Historical Society had this courtroom completely refurbished in 1981. Bradford Forsyth of Millville, Kings County did the beautiful work on the paneling and other woodwork in the room. First he had to stripe away several layers of old paint that had built up over many years. Then he covered the wood with a white paint base and then he used a stain painted on top of that. His skill really came through as he grained the paneling to appear like naturally grained oak. As you look around the room see if you can find the animals he hid in amongst the graining. It took a bit but Judy and I found them all and took pictures of them. Some of the animals hidden include a fish, rabbit, bear, horse, squirrel, and a goat plus many more.
As I mentioned I had visited the Kings County Museum several times in the past, but it was not the museum I was visiting. I have spent several years Judy Tried Out The Judges Chair In The Courtroom researching my ancestors, who first settled in Horton Township and then moved to the Gaspereau Valley. The Kings Historical Society has a very good research and genealogy center located on the lower floor of the building where I found a lot of very helpful information. Their members have worked very hard to build up their archives on both community history and family history. Their community history includes books, photographs, newspapers and other documents covering every community in Kings County. The genealogy section includes many published family trees, files and family binders on families of the area, and gravestone inscriptions from the many graveyards in Kings County. They also have over 180 rolls of microfilm full of statistics like births, marriages, deaths, census and township book records. If you have ties to anywhere in Kings County then a visit to the Kings Historical Society Genealogy section is sure to provide you with loads of information. The Society also offers several general interest books from the area for sale through them. Genealogist will be interested in their more specialized material they also offer for sale. These can be ordered by email genealogy@okcm.ca, by phone 902 678 6237 or by writing them at Kings County Museum; 37 Cornwallis St.; Kentville; Nova Scotia; B4N 2E2. The summer hours of the Kings County Museum are in July & August - Monday to Saturday from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm. Off-season hours are from September 1 to mid December and mid March to June 30 - Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 4.00 pm. The museum is closed from mid December until mid March. The admission to the museum is free, with donations welcome. For genealogy research admission is $3.00 for non-members and free to members. Annual Membership is only $20.00 for an individual or $25.00 for a family or organization. For up-to-date information visit the Kings County Courthouse Museum Web Site. We enjoyed our trip to the Kings County Museum and I am sure you will also. The members have worked hard to provide the public with interesting and informative exhibits on different aspects of life in Kings County. Besides their permanent exhibits the society offers several special exhibits throughout the season, along with different events and fundraisers of local interest that are open to the public. They have also sponsored seminars for genealogist and local historians which are well attended. This is a hard working society and should be credited for their loyalties and hard work.
Link from Kings County Museum Page to Museum Page
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with their funding.The first room we went into was the "Apple Blossom Festival: Top 10 Memories" exhibit. This was a special exhibit set up for the summer of 2007 to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Apple Blossom Festival in the Annapolis Valley. 
The Victorian exhibit at the Kings County Museum depicts an average Victorian Parlour, a room where tea would be served to guest in the mid-afternoon. Everything in the room is from the Victorian era, including a magnificent Huntington organ that was manufactured in Quebec in 1886. You almost feel like sitting down yourself for a "spot of tea".
Judy decided to try out the judge’s chair while we were there, and I sat in the prisoner’s box as she pronounced me guilty. I still have not found out what I was guilty of. 
