The ExhibitsIn touring the museum, Don King’s style of displaying the objects he loved so much becomes readily visible. He organized and arrayed tools and other items so that subtle differences between items used for the same purpose became evident, as can be seen in the Blacksmith and Carpenter shops. Don was keenly interested in how tools and machines were improved on over time as the people who used them found ways to make them work more efficiently. Examples of this can be seen in the display of butter making devices in the creamery and laundry exhibits, and perhaps most clearly in the Bicycle Shop. |
Don’s personal design aesthetic is apparent in many of the display tables and structures, most of which he built himself. He rarely used straight legs perpendicular to the floor. Rather, the legs were splayed, wider at the floor and then tapered to the table or bin top, to provide better support. Don King stated that his dream was “to preserve the Victorian charm of a bygone era for young and old alike.” He wanted to show how our ancestors lived and worked in the 19th century. He was also intrigued by the transition in America from a rural, agricultural society to an industrial one and the impact of the advancement of tools and manufacturing on rural life. |
Many of his displays demonstrate the application of “good old Yankee ingenuity” to the betterment of everyday domestic tasks, farming and trades.
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19th Century Willowbrook Village is a nonprofit 501(c)3 charitable organization
listed on the National Register of Historic Places
19th Century Willowbrook Village • P.O. Box 28, Newfield, Maine 04056 207-793-2784
