Willowbrook Museum Village facts for kids
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| Location | Newfield, Maine |
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| Type | Living history |
The 19th Century Willowbrook Village was a special kind of museum called an open-air museum. It was located in Newfield, Maine, and showed what a village looked like in the 1800s. The museum covered about 10 acres and had 34 buildings. It was open five days a week from late May through October. Many of the museum's buildings are part of the Newfield (Willowbrook) Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
What Was Willowbrook Village?
Willowbrook Village was built near Chellis Brook, just north of the town center. It included a pond that was created by building a dam on the brook. The museum had many buildings located around this pond. This area used to be the main part of Newfield. However, a big wildfire in 1947 caused a lot of damage to this part of York County.
How the Museum Started
In the 1960s, a man named Don King from Massachusetts started buying properties around the mill pond. He wanted to fix up the old buildings and other historical items he had collected. The museum officially opened its doors on May 1, 1970.
The Museum's Closure and New Beginnings
On October 10, 2016, the 19th Century Willowbrook Village closed for good. It had been difficult for the museum to cover its costs for many years. On January 1, 2017, the Curran Homestead Village took over the former Willowbrook Museum.
The Curran Homestead Village is now growing its own museum at its main location in Orrington, Maine. This museum focuses on hands-on learning activities related to science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). They use a collection of items from the 1800s and early 1900s. At their Orrington location, they are creating a museum village similar to what Willowbrook used to be. The original museum in Newfield is now closed.
Amazing Collections at Willowbrook
Willowbrook Village had many interesting buildings and items. One of the most important buildings was the Amos Straw Country Store. This was a beautiful Greek Revival style building from the 1850s, with a meeting hall upstairs. Next to the store was a large barn used to display old tools and machines.
Key Buildings and Artifacts
There were five buildings at the museum that are part of the National Register of Historic Places. Other buildings included:
- The William Durgin House and its addition (from 1813)
- The Durgin Barn
- A Letterpress Printing Shop
- A One-Room Schoolhouse (a copy of the 1839 Fenderson Schoolhouse)
- An 1870s Cider Mill
- The Johnathan Pike Cooperage (where barrels were made)
- A Granary (for storing grain)
- A Hands-On History Building
- The Tom Flagg Smithy (a blacksmith's shop)
The Carousel and More
The museum also had a special 1894 Armitage-Herschell carousel. This carousel was kept in a round barn, which looked like the tent it used to be in. This carousel traveled around York and Cumberland counties in Maine from 1896 to 1922.
The collection also included many items from the 1850s to the 1920s. These included:
- Carriages and sleighs
- Farm equipment
- Early gas engines and tractors
- Tools for different trades
- Medical instruments
- Furniture
- Old store items
The museum also offered classes in traditional arts, like blacksmithing, knife making, woodworking, and metal casting.
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