The Annapolis Valley MacDonald Museum
The Annapolis Valley Macdonald Museum Well my sister, Judy & I were off on another day of exploring the Annapolis Valley. "Where should we go today?' she asked.”I'm not sure, how about the Macdonald Museum in Middleton", I replied. I hate to admit it but in all my travels I had never been to this museum before. Oh I drove by it several times but had never taken the time to stop in. Today was the day, we were going to find out about the museum we had heard so much about.
The Macdonald museum is located in the former Macdonald Consolidated School building at 21 School Street in Middleton, Nova Scotia. This school was built in 1903 and was the first consolidated school in Canada. It was built by Sir William Christopher Macdonald as the first of four such schools built in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Ontario. This school operated from 1901 until 1979. Today the museum is operated by the Annapolis Valley Historical Society, along with the help of several dedicated volunteers.
As we looked around we seen shelves with local Part of the Clock Display at the Macdonald Museum history books and local crafts for sale. As I love local history books I took a look at them while Judy checked out the crafts. We both ended up buying something before we left.
The first room we entered was the room set up with the Nova Scotia Clock collection. Wow, what a lot of fine beautiful clocks! This collection had been one of the reasons for opening the museum here in Middleton. There are over 150 clocks and watches that had been collected by the late Mr. Norman Phinney who sold them to the Nova Scotia Museum with the understanding that they be displayed somewhere in the Middleton area. There is a wide variety of clocks and watches in this collection, some dating back to the late 17th century. Many of them are still in working order. I especially liked the pocket watch collection, there were some really beautiful watches in there. Judy liked the grandfather and grandmother clocks the best. They even had a mantel clock very similar to my grandmother's old one that had been in her family for years.
They had the old school desks set up, the ones that looked like a church pew with a desk on the back of them. The teacher's work was laid out on her desk and Small School Display at the Macdonald Museum work was written on the old blackboard. Besides this schoolroom they had other displays set up, one showing a later school room display with the teacher and a little boy at the blackboard. There were also several displays showing different occupations that were found in the Annapolis Valley years ago. There was one display showing the apple industry in the valley, and ones showing the fishing and mining industries. There was a newspaper office set up and an optometrist office. They had vintage tools and items that were found around the house like butter churns, crank telephones, old washer machines and farm tools. Everything was nicely displayed; it was not crowded or cramped like some displays are.
A large old cash register sat on the counter along with vintage scales to weigh the goods. Even the floor looked The General Store Display at the Macdonald Museum genuine and along the wall sat an old wood stove to provide heat in the store.
In another room they have this rustic nail collection. Now I did not think nails were something I would find interesting, but it really was! Seeing all the different types of nails, over 500 items and how they have evolved over the years was interesting. This display had been assembled and catalogued by the students of the Middleton Regional Junior High School under the direction of their history teacher Mrs. Leonie Cumming. The collection moved from the school to the museum in 1980 and has added to the already great displays found here. We spent a couple hours in the museum looking at all the great displays, it was very interesting and very well set up. I would recommend a visit here to anyone interested in life as it used to be years ago.
Old Postcard Showing the Macdonald Consolidated School, Middleton, NS 1908 Besides the displays in the Macdonald Museum they have a large research and genealogy center located in the building. In their archives they hold a very large variety of records including family records, church registers, cemetery inscriptions, township books, newspapers, obituaries, funeral home records and photos of the local area and its people. If you are interested in local history or your family history in the Annapolis County then this is a great place for research. The staff is most helpful and will gladly help with your research or point you in the right direction to find what you want.
Another fantastic display at the museum is found outside in their 1500 sq. foot greenhouse. In here you will find displays of natural history of the Annapolis Valley through plants, shrubs and trees. You will learn what plants grow well here in the valley and why.
The Macdonald Museum is a great museum to visit while you are in the area. You will find lots of good parking and the museum is wheelchair accessible. They are open daily during the summer months, June to September and during the week only from October to May. There is a small admission but you will find it well worth the price. To find out more on the Macdonald Museum you can visit their website.
Leave The MacDonald Museum and return to see other Annapolis Valley Museums |
As we climbed the stairs and entered the building we had the feeling of being back in school. As we walked through the door we were greeted right away by a lady sitting in a cubicle in the middle of the hallway. She welcomed us to the museum and gave us pamphlet and told us a bit of the history. 
We finally left this room and entered a room that was set up as an old schoolroom. I'm talking back in the one room schoolhouse days; even though I think it could have been one of the rooms in this school to. 
Next we entered a room set up as an old general store. The shelves were full of old boxes and cans of different foods and medicines. Old vintage signs and advertisements hung on the walls just like I remember in the old general stores I had shopped in. 
Subscribe To My Ezine!
Sponsors
