Acadian House Museum
| L’Acadie de Chezzetcook | |
| Location | 79 Hill Road West Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia |
|---|---|
| Type | Open air museum |
| Collection size | +1,000 |
| Visitors | 1,000 (2013) |
| President | Beverly Hugli, Chair |
| Website |
http://www.acadiedechezzetcook.ca/en/ http://acadiantearoom.com/ |
Acadian House Museum is a museum in West Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia, Canada. It opened in 1997 and is both a living and interpretive museum. The house is believed to have been built in 1850 by Joseph Bellefontaine. It passed through seven different owners before coming into the hands of the West Chezzetcook & Grand Desert Community Interest Group, who then converted the house into a museum.
The Acadian House was built in 1850 by Joseph Bellefontaine, who left the house to his wife, Céleste (Bonnevie) Bellefontaine upon his death in 1897. Céleste then passed the house to her brothers, Georges and Oliver Bonnevie. Georges' daughter, Jenny, bought the house from her father and uncle in 1919. Jenny and her husband ran a small store from the side porch from 1919 until 1946. In 1946, Jenny passed the house on to James Redmond, who was a distant relative. In 1960, Eugène Bellefontaine bought the house, and then passed it on to his son, Benjamin Bellefontaine, in 1973. The West Chezzetcook & Grand Desert Community Interest Group bought the house from Benjamin in 1997, converting it into a museum and officially opening in 2000.
Very little renovation has been done to the house since it was purchased in 1997. The upstairs, which was unfinished, was finished to be used as storage for artifacts. Ceilings and floors have been redone, all under the advice of a consultant's report and the research of a local historian. Fortunately, the layout of the house remains untouched.
The museum is a combination living and interpretive museum. The kitchen and pantry make for the living section. Careful research went into recreating an accurate representation of what was common of a kitchen and pantry in the 1850s. What were once bedrooms and a parlour are now interpretive rooms, containing information regarding the genealogy, industries, way of life and traditions of the local Acadian families.
The Museum has a tradition of hiring bilingual, local students for their summer tour-giving staff.
Though the museum's regular season only runs from June to August, it hosts many local events throughout the year. During the summer, an open house is often held, as well as Canada Day and Feast of Assumption celebrations. Day camps for children, focusing on teaching the French language and local history, are also held during the summer. During the fall and winter, Halloween, Christmas and New Year celebrations are had. Most events hosted at the museum feature live music from local talents, butter-making, clam-shelling and outdoor oven-baking demonstrations, and free museum tours.
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