New Hampshire Farm Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Plumer-Jones Farm
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Location | 1305 White Mountain Highway, Milton, New Hampshire |
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Area | 30 acres (12 ha) |
Built | 1782 |
NRHP reference No. | 79000212 |
Added to NRHP | March 23, 1979 |
The New Hampshire Farm Museum is a super cool place in Milton, New Hampshire. It's a farm museum where you can learn about old farm life. You can explore a historic farmhouse that shows what life was like for farmers over 300 years!
There's a huge three-story barn, about 104 feet (31.7 meters) long. It's filled with old farm machines, tools, sleighs, and wagons. You can even see live farm animals and walk on a nature trail. Don't forget to check out the museum shop!
This museum is built on the old Plumer-Jones Farm. It has many connected buildings. The farmhouse is from the late 1700s, and the barns are from the mid-1800s. The farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Contents
Exploring the Farm Museum's Location
The New Hampshire Farm Museum sits on more than 60 acres (24 hectares) of land. It's located between Route 125 and the Spaulding Turnpike. This land was first settled in the 1780s by Joseph and Beard Plumer. They were some of the first people to live in this area.
Most of the farm property is covered in woods. About 10 acres (4 hectares) are open fields. The museum uses these fields as a working farm. This means they grow crops and raise animals, just like old farms did.
The Historic Farm Buildings
The most important part of the museum is the connected farmstead. This is a group of buildings from the 1800s. They start with a small barn near the road and end with the Great Barn. The Great Barn is one of the biggest barns in southeastern New Hampshire!
One of the buildings in the middle is Joseph Plumer's house. It was built in 1782. This might be one of the first wooden houses built in this part of Milton. The main part of the farmstead was built around 1810. It used to be a local tavern, a place where people could eat and drink.
The museum also owns the Plummer Homestead next door. Beard Plumer built this house.
What You Can See and Do at the Museum
The museum works like a real farm from the past. You can see how things were done long ago.
Inside the Great Barn
The Great Barn has three floors packed with exhibits. You'll find lots of old farm tools and machines there. It's amazing to see how farmers worked without modern technology!
Tours of the Farmhouses
You can take a guided tour of the main farmhouse and the Plummer farmhouse. Different parts of the Jones house are decorated to show how people lived in different time periods. It's like stepping back in time!
Other Cool Spots
There's also a blacksmith's shop on the property. On weekends, you can watch demonstrations and see how a blacksmith makes things from metal. There's also a cider mill barn, which is used for educational programs. You can walk on trails through the woods at the back of the property.
A Look at the Museum's History
The Plumer family (whose name was later spelled "Plummer") first owned this land in the 1700s. Generations of Joneses and Plummers farmed here for many years.
In 1973, the Jones family gave over 300 acres (121 hectares) of land to the University of New Hampshire. They also gave the main farm buildings to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. The museum officially became the permanent home for these buildings in 1979.