Randall House Museum, Wolfville
Our family spent a wonderful afternoon at the Randall House Museum in Wolfville.
The Randall House Museum is operated by the Wolfville Historical Society. It is referred to as Wolfville’s Community Museum.
According to the Town of Wolfville’s website, the Randall House is a historic Horton farmhouse (circa 1800) and a community museum that reflects the way of life in Wolfville and its surrounding area in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Randall family owned the house for three generations before being opened to the public in May 1949. Now, the 200-year-old traditional colonial dwelling gives a glimpse into the lives of the Randall family and the many other inhabitants of this quaint farmhouse.
It displays the details of domestic and business life, and the contributions made by some of Wolfville’s leading families, farmers, merchants, artists, and clergy.
We headed to the museum on a Saturday afternoon to take in the weekly afternoon tea (more later). Along with the tea, comes a free tour of the museum.
Mercedes, our tour guide, met us at the door and started our tour of the museum.
The kids were given scavenger hunt of questions to answer and objects to find within the museum.
However, the kids were so enthralled with the tour of the museum that they totally forgot to fill in their sheets.
Mercedes was an incredible guide, telling great stories about the history of Wolfville and about the artefacts within the museum. She was so great with the kids and even showed them inside cupboards and under the stairs.
The kids loved the trip to the attic to see the haunted mannequin, Legs, and the vast array of artefacts on display. This was their favourite part of the visit!
The tour lasted about an hour, and we could have spent more time looking at all the artefacts and photographs. There is so much to learn and appreciate about our own area.
After our visit, we went to the dining room for an afternoon tea.
Here’s what the website says about the teas:
Randall House Museum, holds afternoon teas every Saturday from 2pm to 5pm! Come to 259 Main Street to enjoy elegant British afternoon tea in an authentic dining room circa 1809. Drink from our matching tea sets, and delight in the period-appropriate finger sandwiches and baked goods. Entrance is only $5, and comes with a complementary tour of the museum.
And, if you are unable to attend on a Saturday afternoon, contact them, and make arrangements for another day of the week (except for Mondays when they are closed).
The kids loved the tea party! They drank milky tea, had biscuits and jam, and an array of other sweets.
The tea was surprisingly good, said Daniel!
This is a great place for kids to be introduced to a British Tea, as it isn’t too formal, yet they can drink from tea cups and have dainty sandwiches and icecream in pretty bowls!
These tea parties run until August 29, 2015, and are definitely worth a visit with the kids, even if you don’t have time to have a full museum tour.
The museum is open from May 30th to September 7th.
The hours are 10:00 – 5:00 Tuesday to Saturday and 1:00 – 5:00 on Sunday.
They are closed on Monday
Admission is free or by donation
Randall House is located at 259 Main Street Wolfville
Please take time to visit our local museums, appreciate our history and learn a thing or two! You will be glad you did!
