LIVERMORE — Norlands Living History Museum hosted its annual Christmas celebration Saturday in hopes of helping their over 300 visitors experience an 1890 Christmas.
Stepping outside on the property, it immediately feels like being transported to an older and simpler time. Even the trees felt Victorian.
Norlands is the site of the Washburn Mansion, meeting hall, library and schoolhouse. The land also includes the beginnings of a new barn and an active gift shop.
Tickets cost $10 for adults and $6 for kids, with a discounted group rate for families. All proceeds from the event were to help fund “Raise the Barn,” a project to rebuild the barn originally attached to the mansion and farmer’s cottage.
The tour greeter, Kathy Beauregard, welcomed every visitor while they waited to enter the mansion. She shared the history of the house and the Washburn family.
Inside the mansion was a self-guided tour, where groups of 10-12 people at a time were let in to walk around the first floor of the building. Each room had someone to share stories and answer questions about the Washburn Mansion.
According to Beauregard, this was the Washburn’s third home in Maine, as the first two burnt down. The house was built by the Washburn brothers in 1867.
Beauregard explained that the seven Washburn brothers came to Maine in the 1800s and built the house in a year. They started out poor and tried to start both a farm and a store, which were unsuccessful.
Each brother and their two sisters were ambitious, though, so they all received an education and studied a trade. They were able to eventually find wealth and political influence due to the post-Civil War expansion. Four of the brothers were even congressmen, all at the same time.
Beauregard explained that the museum’s goal is to “try to bring you back in time by reliving the lives of people in the 1860s.”
The mansion is all original and in beautiful condition. Each room has paintings, furniture and well-preserved family artifacts. The ceilings were also all hand-painted with gold accents.
Old-fashioned toys and Christmas decorations were displayed on the staircase.
John White, a character actor aiding in the tour, explained the intricacies of the dining room: The table was set up for Christmas dinner, with the original china individually engraved for the Washburn brothers. Each brother had a different color paint on their set.
The etched painting on the wall came from artists in Central America and Mexico, and other drawings hung around the room depicted mirrored scenery.
White said that the room was set up as it would have been at a Christmas dinner in 1890.
Inside the mansion, there were carolers, storytellers and cooks preparing fresh cider and hot soup for the visitors.
Children could also string popcorn and make paper chains in the kitchen to decorate a traditional Christmas tree.
Activities in addition to the tour included a lesson from the schoolhouse’s schoolmaster and a horse-drawn wagon ride.
Jen Colby-Morse and Shelley Cox, volunteers in charge of the gift shop, said they’ve been hosting a Christmas tour since the property has been open as a museum.
Sheri Leahan, executive director of the museum, said there were 25 volunteers helping out for the Christmas celebration.
“We certainly couldn’t do it without them,” she said.
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