Heritage Museums and Gardens facts for kids
Heritage Museums and Gardens is a big, fun place in Sandwich, Massachusetts. It covers 100 acres! It used to be called Heritage Plantation of Sandwich. Here, you can explore beautiful gardens. You'll also find three special buildings. These buildings show off cool American cars, amazing folk art, and a working old carousel. It's a great spot for families to visit!
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This special place was once the home of Charles O. Dexter. He was famous for growing many types of rhododendrons. Between 1921 and 1943, he grew thousands of new plants each year. He planted many of them right here. Later, in 1969, Josiah K. Lilly III and his wife started Heritage Plantation of Sandwich on this land. They wanted to share its beauty and history with everyone.
Fun Things to See and Do
Exploring the Gardens and Grounds
The gardens are famous for their huge collection of rhododendrons. These are beautiful flowering bushes. There are 125 different types that Charles Dexter created! They usually bloom from late May to mid-June. It took a lot of work to find all these special plants again. They were gathered from gardens all over the East Coast. Now, they are fully grown and look amazing.
You can also see many other interesting plants here. There are gardens filled with holly, daylilys, herbs, hostas, and heather. Plus, there are over a thousand different kinds of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Many of them have labels so you can learn their names.
The grounds also have an old windmill called the Old East Mill. It was built in Orleans, Massachusetts, in 1800. It was carefully fixed up between 1999 and 2000. Sometimes, you can even go inside to see how it works! In 2002, a labyrinth was added. It was designed by Marty Cain, a famous labyrinth artist. The Hart Family Maze Garden opened in 2005. A Cape Cod Hydrangea garden was added in 2008.
For kids and families, there's a special area called Hidden Hollow. It opened in 2010. This is a Certified Outdoor Nature Classroom. It's a wonderful place where children and families can have fun outdoors together. In 2015, an adventure park was also added to the grounds.
Riding the 1908 Charles Looff Carousel
Heritage Museums & Gardens has a real, old-fashioned Looff Carousel. It was made in 1908 at Looff's factory in Riverside, Rhode Island. This carousel first went to an amusement park in Meridian, Mississippi. It moved to a few different places over the years. Then, Josiah Lilly, who started Heritage Museums & Gardens, bought it in 1968. A special building was built just for the carousel. It opened to the public in 1972.
In September 2018, the museum celebrated the carousel's 110th birthday! It was a special event. Some of Charles Looff's own family members even came to the party.
