Wolfville Historical Society facts for kids
The Wolfville Historical Society is a group that helps keep history alive in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. They own and take care of the Randall House Museum. This old house was built around 1812. It opens as a museum from June to September each year.
The society collects and shows off old items and papers from the local area. They also teach people about the house, its rooms, and the garden. You can even look at old documents and photos in their archives. The society also helps publish books about Wolfville's past.
The Wolfville Historical Society started in 1941. A group of people rented an old house called the DeWolf house to save it. They turned it into a museum. Later, in 1946, the owners needed the land. So, the museum moved to the Randall House and opened there in 1949.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum has a library with many local history books. You can also find family records and old property papers. Other items are kept with the Esther Clark Wright Archives at Acadia University. This collection includes many letters, photos, and printed materials, mostly from the 1900s. There are also some old audio and video recordings.
You can see many old items displayed throughout the house. For example, there's a set of chairs brought to Nova Scotia by early settlers called New England Planters in 1760. The museum also stores old clothes, some from the 1700s. This includes clothing from the family of former prime minister Robert Borden.
Exploring the Randall House
The Randall House is a wooden, two-and-a-half-story farmhouse. It was built in the late 1700s in the Georgian style. This means the front of the house looks balanced, with five windows or doors across. It has a special porch with columns and a triangular shape above the front door. The front door also has a window above it and windows on its sides.
The house has a steep roof and its walls are covered with wooden boards called clapboard. It sits on a foundation made of dry stone. Inside, there are seven fireplaces!
Who Lived in the Randall House?
We don't know the exact year the house was built. But the first owner we know of was Aaron Cleveland, a tradesman in Wolfville around 1805. On November 14, 1812, Cleveland sold the house to a carpenter named Charles Randall.
When Charles Randall died in 1856, his son, Charles Dennison Randall, took over the property. He was a successful Baptist judge. After he passed away in 1893, the house was split between his daughters, Elizabeth and Annie. Annie was often sick and rarely left the house. Eardley Randall, a relative, spent a lot of time caring for her. You can still see Eardley Randall's initials carved into the attic staircase!
Under Eardley's care, the house started to look a bit run down. Local children sometimes thought it was a "spooky place." In 1927, Eardley and Elizabeth sold the land to a merchant named William C.B. Harris. He then sold it to a retired farmer, Charles Patriquin.
Charles Patriquin spent time and money making the area next to Randall House look nicer. This area is now known as Willow Park. Before, it was a swampy and messy spot. He passed the land to his son, Graham, in 1932. Graham Patriquin sold the Randall House in 1947. Today, the Wolfville Historical Society rents the property for just one dollar a year. The Randall House Museum officially opened in 1949. In 1987, it was recognized as a Nova Scotia Provincial Heritage Property, meaning it's an important historical building.
For the past few years, the Wolfville Historical Society has been working to fix up the Randall House Museum. This work is paid for by donations from its members and support from the local and provincial governments.
