Willowbrook at Newfield, scheduled to open to the public on July 1, was established for the young people of New England, according to its owner, Donald F. King, Sr., a Topsfield, Mass., industrial executive [ the museum became a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 1980].
ITS PRIMARY PURPOSE is to show them how their ancestors lived and worked in the 19th century. Other museums and artifact collections in New England area are mainly concerned with the colonial period.
King, who has been interested in antiques and especially in the Victorian period for many years, purchased the property five years ago to use as a vacation lodge.
He decided on the restoration project on learning the historical value of the property. the tract includes the William Durgin jr. homestead built in 1813, the Dr. Isaac Trafton homestead built in 1856, and the former Durgin barns, purchased by Amos Straw in 1932 [1832] and used as a general store, livery stable and town social hall.
The area was one of the few in the town spared by the 1947 forest fire.
THE FIRST PURCHASE for the museum was made on March 22, 1967. Construction work on the museum began 18 months ago. local cooperation and effort resulted in completion of the project a year ahead of time.
Two local ladies, Mrs. Georgia Perry and Mrs. Cecile LePage have spent two years scraping, refinishing, painting, upholstering, and plastering to restore the antiques and the interior of the buildings.
Neither one had done this type of work before, but the results prove that they have become experts.
Emphasis during restoration was on authenticity. Every item is a genuine period piece. There are no reproductions. Most were obtained from within a 100 mile radius of the museum.
THE RESULT IS the most complete Victorian museum in this part of the country and possibly in the entire United States, according to Mrs. Perry, now serving as museum director.
The homes are reconstructed as they were last lived in. Every aspect of life included, from the farming implements and tradesman's shops to the nursery complete with toys and the unmarried maiden's private bed and sitting room.
The Durgin homestead, where Straw once operated a tavern, reflects the higher social life of the era. It was noted for its red velvet parlor, faithfully re-created with furniture purchased in Alfred.
The most modest Dr. Trafton homestead is the typical country home of a man of high professional standing whose fees were often paid in produce rather than in cash. One room of the house has been set aside as a marine museum to honor the memory of Maine seafarers. Its walls are papered with nautical maps of the state's coastline.
STRAW'S STORE has been reopened, featuring penny candies, with a display of antique guns, swords and scales in the former post office.
The livery stable area displays the varied crafts and trades which once flourished here. tools on display were collected locally and are relics of the time when local craftsmen included 42 shoemakers, 21 blacksmiths and 11 carriage builders.
Included is a large wrought iron sign, "Black Smithing" in script, discovered lying in tall grass on the site. Featured in the harness shop is a saddle which reportedly once carried a local resident 100 miles to get a doctor.
The dance hall and meeting place, located over the store, was a focal point of social life. It was also, according to local rumor, the meeting place of a mysterious secret society. A blackball box and a ballot box found on the premises lend some credence to the rumor.
The collection also features, in gleaning black and silver, the last horse-drawn hearse in Newfield, a fire chief's sleigh from Berwick, a Thomaston State Prison sleigh, a children's goat wagon, a Park Buggy with the first rumble seat to be used in a vehicle, and a huckster's wagon used by travelling peddlers.
A NEW ADDITION is an inch-by-inch replica of the Little Red Schoolhouse, modeled after the Fenderson School House, built in South Parsonsfield in 1810, and still standing on its original site.
THE CLOTHING COLLECTION indicates that our Victorian ancestors, although smaller and slimmer than modern ladies, were not necessarily as prim and straight laced as depicted, but actually quite style conscious.
The extensive vehicle collection proves the existence of hot rodders and dragsters in those days. The buggies and sleighs designed for speed and racing contests were often driven by ladies.
The school has proven to be a big hit with visiting youngsters who first try out its seats, three to a desk, and then hastily "autograph" its blackboard before leaving.
MODERN INNOVATIONS include a restaurant, a craft house for the sale of Victorian items and varied modern handcrafts, and an antique salesroom. The restaurant is being directed by Mrs. Le Page.
Area residents responded enthusiastically to a preview opening earlier this month. The museum is open to the public weekends during June, with weekdays reserved for school tours to allow the youngsters full rein to take in the exhibits. A nominal admission fee is charged.
It will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. from July 1 through Labor Day this summer.
PROPOSED FUTURE ADDITIONS include five or six antique shops and an entire crafts village, staffed by artists, within five to ten years. More immediate plans include a picnic area for the school children who bring their lunches. local enthusiasm for the project is high. A direct economic and cultural effect on this part of the state is predicted and for this quiet village of 400, perhaps a return to the prosperity of 1880 when there were some 1,480 residents.
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