Annapolis Valley: New Ross Farm Museum

A few weeks ago, a large rodent crawled out of the ground not far from here and whispered in the town drunk’s ear that we would have an early spring. We have not received much snow this winter but that does not mean the weather has been good. Yesterday we ventured out of hibernation, on a bitterly cool and windy day to visit the New Ross Farm Museum.The museum is included in our provincial museum annual family pass so for us it was an affordable day out. For our family it would have cost $19 but if you really want to go on the cheap, admission is free on Sunday mornings.

We took the chance of being in the country to take a horse carriage ride. Every city we have been in, the kids want to take a tour by horse carriage. We relented in Vienna last year and they were less than enthused. On the farm on this brisk day, they seemed to enjoy the ride. Our nine year old even explained his entire life story to the driver…if only I could get that many words out of him occasionally.

After the ride we walked throughout the working farm. We had the opportunity to get up close to cows, horses, sheep, chickens, and hogs. There were also exhibits on the evolution of farming equipment which was well presented and interesting. Many of the other buildings also contained historical artifacts from the region from housewares to tools.We enjoyed speaking with the wood worker of the museum who was in the process of crafting fence pieces all by hand. He also explained that they did most of the work for similar open air museums of the region.The whole barn had a wonderful smell of freshly carved wood and the wood fire in the stove only added to the ambience.

The highlight of our cold day was the open hearth cooking demonstration. After walking around outside for 90 minutes, it was a welcome refuge to head indoors by the fire and enjoy a bowl of homemade chicken soup and fresh biscuits. Our only regret was that the pumpkin pie needed time to cool and we needed to start our journey home again. My nine year old after watching them bake a pie even derived that the cooked it near the fire rather than over it because it would have burned directly over the fire. Applied learning is always exciting!

The Rundown

If you find yourself in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley and want to learn more about the agricultural heritage of the region, check out the Ross Farm Museum. We are planning a return visit in the summer, when hopefully we can stop for some roadside ice cream rather than huddling over warm soup.

Happy Travels!