To tell the story of these immigrants, the museum has moved examples of traditional rural builidings from Germany, England, Ireland, West Africa and America. The Old World exhibits show rural life and culture in the four homelands of early immigrants. The American exhibits show the life that the colonists and their descendants created in the early United States.
1700s Ireland
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| Gathered around the fire listening about life in rural Ireland |
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| Trying on wooden shoes that German children wore to gather firewood and do other outdoor chores |
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| Straining milk for curds and whey |
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| Drawing water from a well |
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| Not so sure about having to draw water from the well for every need |
1600s England
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| 1600s English farm house |
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| Fertilizing the garden with manure |
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| Shoveling manure for the garden |
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| The English farmhouse we saw was from an upper middle class family and had real glass! |
1700s West Africa
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| Carrying baskets |
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| Entrance |
1700s Native American Encampment
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| Hollowing out a tree trunk to have a canoe |
1740s American Settlement
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| Early American "starter house". These houses were temporary and built to last until the settlers were able to tell if they would be able to survive by farming their new land. |
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| Sawing logs to build a house |
1820s America
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| Hearing about English, German, and Irish influences to American houses |
1850s American School House
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| The boys writing on slates |
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| The school teacher |
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| The girls trying their hand at writing on slates |
We had a great time exploring the early beginnings of Virginia and the United States!
