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Page Farm & Home Museum facts for kids
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| Location | Orono, Maine, United States |
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| Type | Farm museum |
The Page Farm & Home Museum is a cool museum located at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine. It's all about showing what life was like on farms and in farming towns in Maine between 1865 and 1940. The museum helps people learn about this important time in history. It also provides a place for researchers to study old farming ways. The University of Maine itself started in 1865. Back then, it was called the "Maine College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts." A very special part of the museum is the Maine Experiment Station Barn. This old barn from the 1800s is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's the last original farm building still standing on the university campus!
Contents
Exploring the Museum's Location
The Page Farm & Home Museum is found on the eastern side of the University of Maine campus. You can find it south of Sebago Street and east of Grove Street. The museum has four main buildings grouped together. They are located across the parking lot from Hitcher Hall.
The Main Barn Building
The biggest building is a three-story barn. It's built with a strong post-and-beam style. Because it's on a sloped piece of land, you can enter the lower two levels right from the ground! This barn is filled with interesting displays and items. They show what rural life in Maine was like in the 1800s and 1900s.
Other Cool Buildings
South of the main barn, there are three smaller buildings to explore:
- A one-room schoolhouse: This schoolhouse was built in 1855. It originally came from a town called Holden. Imagine learning in a classroom like that!
- The Winston E. Pullen Carriage House: This building was constructed in 2003.
- The Blacksmith Shop: Also built in 2003, this shop shows how blacksmiths used to work.
One special exhibit at the museum is called "Brownie's Kitchen." It looks like a farmhouse kitchen from the early 1900s. Many items for this kitchen were given by Mildred Brown Schrumpf. She was a famous food educator and recipe writer from Maine.
A Look at the Museum's History
The University of Maine began in 1865. Its main goal was to teach about farming and agricultural practices. In 1885, the state created the Maine Fertilizer Control and Agricultural Experiment Station. This station worked closely with the university's farm facilities. By 1887, it became a full department of the university.
The Journey of the Barn
There are different ideas about when the barn was first built. The university says it was built in 1833. However, official records from 1990, prepared for the National Register of Historic Places, say the barn dates to 1885. The barn wasn't always in its current spot. It was first located where Merrill Hall is today. In 1930, it was moved a few hundred feet south. Then, in the 1990s, it was moved again to its present location. This final move was done to get it ready for its new life as the Page Farm & Home Museum!