Fultz House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids (Bennett Daniel) Fultz House |
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Fultz House Museum
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| General information | |
| Location | 33 Sackville Drive, Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia |
| Coordinates | 44°45′10″N 63°39′54″W / 44.752804°N 63.664922°W |
| Construction started | 1863 |
| Completed | 1865 |
| Owner | Fultz Corner Restoration Society |
The Bennett Daniel Fultz House is a very old house in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. It is also the only museum in the community! This special house stands on the very same land where it was first built. It is located at a busy corner where important roads once met. These roads connected Halifax to Truro and the Annapolis Valley.
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The Fultz Family Story
Lower Sackville officially started in 1749 with Fort Sackville. Captain John Gorham was in charge then. The first piece of land in this area was given to Colonel Joseph Scott. His home, the Scott Manor House, was finished in the 1770s. It is located in what is now Bedford.
The Fultz family's story in Nova Scotia began in 1751. A man named Johann Fultz left Germany and sailed to Halifax. Records show he then went to Louisbourg. Before Louisbourg fell in 1758, Johann and his wife, Elizabeth, had two children. They had married while living in Nova Scotia.
The Twelve Mile House Inn
One of Johann's sons, Anthony Fultz, asked the government for land in Sackville in 1809. He had already received some land from his father's will in 1801. In 1812, Anthony successfully bought 150 acres (61 ha) of land. Soon after, Fultz's Twelve Mile House opened.
This inn was located at the busy crossroads. It served as a rest stop for horse-drawn carriages traveling to and from Halifax. Anthony's son, William, ran the inn. It even had a 40 by 25 ft (12 by 7.6 m) ballroom! The inn was a popular place for George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie. He was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1816 to 1820. Sadly, the inn burned down in 1890.
Building the Fultz House
In 1858, William's nephew, Bennett Daniel Fultz, bought land across from the Twelve Mile Inn. He bought it from his cousin, William Beresford Fultz. In 1863, Bennett began building what we now call the Fultz House. Bennett lived in the house starting in 1865. He lived there with his wife Mary and their eight children.
The house was changed quite a bit before the 1900s. A summer kitchen and a second floor were added. Bennett and Mary also ran a post office from their kitchen! Bennett passed away in 1910, and Mary in 1928.
Jane Emily Fultz was the sixth child of Bennett and Mary. She moved back to the family home after her father died. When she passed away in 1947, the Fultz family no longer owned the house. Another family then moved in.
The Fultz House Museum Today
In 1979, the government of Nova Scotia bought the Fultz House and the land around it. They planned to make the crossroads bigger for more traffic. In November 1979, six community groups in Sackville joined together. They formed the Fultz Corner Restoration Society. These groups included the Sackville Heritage Society and a garden club.
In 1980, the plans to tear down the house were stopped. The house and property were then leased to the society in August of that year.
The museum first opened in July and August of 1981. It was officially named the Fultz House Museum at a grand opening on Canada Day in 1982. Since then, it has been a place for many community events. These include teas and Canada Day celebrations. Even today, descendants of the Fultz family help with museum activities.
Adding to the Museum Site
In 1988, a building called the W.J. Grace cooperage was moved to the site. A cooperage is where people make wooden barrels. In 1995, a blacksmith's forge and tools were also moved there. These tools once belonged to A. J. Smeltzer.
The Fultz House site became fully owned by the society in 1990. In 2008, the society received even more land. This extra land was 17 Sackville Drive. The Premier of Nova Scotia, Rodney MacDonald, personally delivered the grant.
This important community museum is open from 10 AM to 5 PM. It is open every day of the week during July and August. The museum gets money from the province and federal government. This helps them hire college students for the summer. These students help keep history alive! Admission to the museum is free for everyone.
