Kings County Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1981 |
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| Location | 37 Cornwallis Street, Kentville, Nova Scotia |
| Type | Municipal Museum |
The Kings County Museum is a cool place in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada. It helps you learn all about the history of Kings County, Nova Scotia. The museum is inside a really old building that used to be the Kings County Courthouse, built way back in 1903.
At the museum, you can see lots of different exhibits. Some displays are always there, showing you what life was like long ago in Kings County. Other displays change often, so there's always something new to discover! It's also home to a special exhibit from Parks Canada about the New England Planters.
The Historic Courthouse Building
The building where the museum is now was built in 1903. It replaced an older wooden courthouse from 1850. That old building was so worn out, it ended up being used to store apples!
A builder and architect named Leslie R. Fairn from Wolfville designed and built the new courthouse. It was a very important building. It held the courts, offices for the county government, and a place to record land ownership. It also had offices for important people like the treasurer and sheriff.
The courthouse was built with strong, fireproof vaults inside its walls. People said these vaults were "the best in the province" for keeping important papers safe. The building cost $20,000 to build. It was made from bricks from Avonport, Kings County, and sandstone from nearby Cumberland County.
The new courthouse officially opened on January 12, 1904. The first big meeting of the Kings County Council happened there. The building was used for trials until 1980. After that, a new, modern building was built in Kentville for the courts and county offices.
Becoming the Kings County Museum
The Kings Historical Society started in 1978. This group is a non-profit organization that now owns and runs the Kings County Museum. When the old courthouse closed in 1980, the society worked hard to save it. They didn't want it to be torn down!
They raised a lot of money – $64,000 for restoration and $15,000 for repairs. Thanks to their efforts, the building was saved. It officially opened to the public as the "Old Kings Courthouse Museum" on May 27, 1981. This was just in time for the Apple Blossom Festival. The museum's first exhibit was about the festival and how the Dominion Atlantic Railway helped bring tourists to Kentville.
One of the coolest parts of the new museum was restoring the courtroom. The walls had a special kind of painted wood grain that was a lost art. Not much of the original paint was left. But a local person named Brad Forsyth knew how to do it. He learned the technique from his father. He repainted and restored the room's panels. He even hid secret figures of birds and animals in the grain patterns! Can you find them?
At first, the society rented the courthouse from the county. But in 1993, they bought the building. In 2002, the museum changed its name to the "Kings County Museum."
In the basement, where the old registry vaults were, a special Family History Committee created a huge research center. This center helps genealogists (people who study family history) find information. They even recorded and indexed every grave in Kings County!
In 1989, Parks Canada chose the museum to host its National New England Planters Commemorative Exhibit permanently. The museum has hosted many changing exhibits, usually about six a year.
In 2004, the museum celebrated two big milestones: the building's 100th birthday and the Historical Society's 25th anniversary. To celebrate, they invited the current Kings County Council to act out the very first meeting held in the building on January 12, 1904.
In recent years, the Kings County Museum has faced some challenges. They have received less support from the government. Also, fewer tourists have been visiting rural Nova Scotia. Because of this, the museum started closing during the winter months in 2006. However, the Kings Historical Society still offers historical programs and special events all year long. These events help raise money to keep the museum running.
Cool Artifacts to See
The museum has some amazing historical items, including:
- A sword that belonged to Captain William Bishop. He fought in the Battle off Cape Split during the American Revolution.
- The special handcrafted desk of Kentville's first mayor, John Warren King.
