Wilson Museum

Museum in Castine, Maine, United States
44°23′02″N 68°48′22″W / 44.3840°N 68.8060°W / 44.3840; -68.8060TypeNatural history, historyWebsitewww.wilsonmuseum.org

The Wilson Museum is a museum in Castine, Maine, United States. It was founded using the collection of Dr John Howard Wilson, a geologist.

History

Wilson lived in Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Nantucket during his youth. He arrived at Castine in 1891 with his mother, Cassine Cartwright Wilson. He received a PhD in geology from Columbia University.

In 1921, Mrs Wilson gave the western part of the land she owned to build a museum for John Wilson's collections. The building was designed by architects Milton See & Son of New York.[1] Three other buildings were added in the late 1960s, the Blacksmith Shop, Hearse House, and the John Perkins House.

Collections

  • Rocks, minerals, shells.
  • Pre-historic artifacts from North and South America.
  • Exhibits from Europe and Africa illustrating the development of tools during the early Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages.
  • Six dioramas constructed by Ned Burns of the American Museum of Natural History in 1926.
  • Cultures of Africa, Oceania, North and South America.
  • Early weapons and firearms.
  • Local history.
  • Ship models.
  • 19th century carpenter's tools, farm and household equipment.
  • Special exhibits every summer using the museum's collections.
  • Archival material on the history of Castine.

References

  1. ^ Handbook of American Museums. 1932.
  • The Wilson Museum website


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