19th Century toys on exhibit at Pownalborough Court House
A rare complete set of Punch and Judy puppets (Germany c. 1900) from a special exhibit of toys at the Pownalborough Court House will welcome visitors until Columbus Day. Courtesy photo
A selection of dolls arranged before a painting of children who lived at the Pownalborough Court House in the mid-1800s were common over the course of nearly 100 years.Courtesy photo
“Goops and How to be Them, A Manual of Manners for Polite Infants,” is included in a collection of books, toys and games that held children’s interest for almost 100 years. Courtesy photo
A rare complete set of Punch and Judy puppets (Germany c. 1900) from a special exhibit of toys at the Pownalborough Court House will welcome visitors until Columbus Day. Courtesy photo
A selection of dolls arranged before a painting of children who lived at the Pownalborough Court House in the mid-1800s were common over the course of nearly 100 years.Courtesy photo
“Goops and How to be Them, A Manual of Manners for Polite Infants,” is included in a collection of books, toys and games that held children’s interest for almost 100 years. Courtesy photo
Maine’s only Pre-Revolutionary court house always captivates visitors with its lovely Kennebec River setting and its carefully curated furnishings, but a new exhibit of children’s toys makes the site even more appealing. The Pownalborough Court House, which served as a family home in addition to its vital role in the legal history of Lincoln County and Maine, is open to visitors until Columbus Day with this truly delightful exhibit.
The family of Kennebec Proprietor Captain Samuel Goodwin and his descendants lived in the building from 1761 until 1954. Over the years, it also served as a tavern, a place for church services, a dancing school, and the Dresden Post Office. In 1954, the Court House was opened as a museum under the stewardship of the Lincoln County Historical Association (LCHA).
LCHA volunteers Faye Snyder and Perry Palmer, both avid historians and collectors, were inspired to create the special toy exhibit by a painting of the Hooper children, Alice and Harrie, who lived in the house in the mid 1800s. Snyder and Palmer added to the museum’s collection, located in an upstairs bedroom, with toys, books, games and dolls from their own collections.
Pownalborough Court House on Courthouse Road off Route 128 in Dresden is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. during the month of August. From September 1 until Columbus Day it is open Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays from noon-4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults. Children 16 and under and LCHA members are admitted free.
The LCHA is a nonprofit that provides stewardship for the 1754 Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta, the 1761 Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, and the 1811 Old Jail and Museum in Wiscasset. For more information, please visit www.lincolncountyhistory.orgor Facebook at Lincoln County Historical Association (Maine).
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