South County Museum
The South County Museum is among one of the popular attractions in Rhode Island. Exhibits at the museum have assisted in keeping the history of the rural, village, and maritime heritage of this area from being lost in a world filled with technology.
Founded in 1933, the South County Museum located with the Canonchet farm after two other moves in it’s short history of existence. The South County Museum is located within a 174 acre town park that was the estate of Rhode Island’s Civil War-era governor and post-war senator, William Sprague. The current exhibition at the South County Museum includes the office building, caretaker’s cottage and outbuildings for animals, and other areas.
Several new exhibits area planned to open to the public this year at South County Museum. A new Coastal life, Agriculture, and Industry area highlights the rural character of Rhode Island’s coastal and village life through various eras in history. The Life of a Caretaker’s House is also a new attraction to South County Museum. This attraction displays the history of the life of the Museum’s 19th-century caretaker’s farmhouse. It give a look into the lives of the people who have lived as a caretaker.
Animals on the Farm, Past and Present will offer an after-school farm stewardship program with a poultry yard, demonstration garden and a barn that includes an education room. The South County Museum is open for school tours from May through November although educational programs, historic workshops and lectures are available throughout the year. The museum is completely handicapped-accessible and offers picnic tables and hiking trails. The South County Museum is open on Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, and on Sunday noon to 4 pm, for the months of May, June, September and October. In July and August, the South County Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday with the same hours. Admission to the South County Museum is $5 for adults, $4 for senior, $2 for children 6-12, and free to members.
