News Release Archive
NS MUSEUM--HALIBURTON HOUSE CELEBRATES THE BIRTH OF A MUSEUM
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In celebration of Museums' Day, July 13, Haliburton House Museum,
Windsor, is hosting a special reunion.
When Judge Haliburton moved to England in 1856 he auctioned off
his belongings in Windsor. More than 80 years later, when the
Nova Scotia government became the new owner of Haliburton House,
it recruited Hants County residents to help find and acquire
anything related to Judge Haliburton and his time.
This Saturday, donors or their relatives are invited to visit
Haliburton House Museum and bring their memories of a birth of a
museum with them.
The two people responsible for tracking and collecting much of
the initial collection were Robert MacMillan, the MLA for Hants
county at the time, and Florence Anslow, the first curator of the
museum. They found items in Chester, Halifax, Falmouth, Windsor,
Stewiacke, Annapolis Royal, Saint John, Moncton, Ottawa and many
other places.
Through their efforts and the community's forthcoming generosity,
the museum acquired a collection of Haliburton memorabilia. Some
of the Weldon collection of china is on display. Mrs. J. W.
Weldon was Haliburton's daughter. Also in the house is
Haliburton's writing desk, at which he wrote the famous Sam Slick
stories.
One Hants County resident donated the whale oil lamp that
Haliburton used while writing. The lamp had been purchased by the
donor's father at the Haliburton auction, and was handed over to
the donor with explicit instructions never to sell it.
Haliburton's great granddaughter, the Countess of Mayo, sent from
Scotland an engraved silver platter given to Judge Haliburton by
a London publisher as a kind of payment for having printed
Haliburton's work without permission.
Because of the enthusiastic response the museum houses many
artifacts from the area, that although not directly related to
Haliburton, date back to his time.
A massive round table, said to be used for playing poker, once
used at The Chronicle-Herald office, an eight foot mirror from
the Halifax Ladies' College that once belonged to the Uniacke
family, the Vice President of King's College's "lug" chair, and
the first-place trophy from the first horse race run in Windsor
in 1815, can be viewed.
This eclectic collection of Nova Scotian artifacts is fitting for
Haliburton House. The house itself is also a mix of tastes and
styles. Judge Haliburton named the house "Clifton" when it was
built in 1830's. Since then Clifton has been passed through many
hands, undergone a fire, renovations, and additions, and has
served as many uses including a tearoom and a bed and breakfast.
Just prior to becoming a museum, the house was empty and in
disrepair to the chagrin of many of Haliburton's fans. Letters
came into the local papers from concerned people as far away as
Ohio, stating their dismay regarding the state of the house. Now
200 years after Haliburton was born, Haliburton House, though not
exactly as the judge left it, has captured his 19th century
lifestyle for good, thanks in a large part to the citizens of
Hants County.
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Contacts: Joan Waldron 902-424-7398
Emma McKennirey 902-424-6435
trp July 08, 1996 - 10:30 a.m.
