The Old School House & Museum
2011 Exhibits:
Mystery Photos! 100 Photographs from the Mount Desert Island Historical Society
April 1 to May 31 Tues - Fri., 10am to 4pm
250 years, 250 items. Celebrate!250 with us, a commemoration of the years since Abraham Somes arrival in 1761.
July 1 to Sept 15 Tues. - Sat., 10am to 4pm
Children’s Art, Celebrating 250 years.
Nov 14 to Dec 2 Tues. - Sat., 10am to 4pm
The School House was opened in 1892 for the children of the quarrying and farming village of Sound. The building was used as a school for 34 years, closing in 1926. Until it was restored by the MDI Historical Society in 1999, it had served as a community center, a place for dances, suppers, and tag sales. When the Historical Society restored the building, a curatorial wing was added.
During the school year, "A School Day in 1894" is recreated for third and fourth grade students in the original classroom.
A visit to The Old Schoolhouse & Museum offers people of all ages an opportunity to step back in time and think about how education in a one-room school would differ from today's schooling.
Exhibits throughout the year focus on themes in MDI's history. Some exhibits blend contemporary arts and crafts with historical objects and photographs, demonstrating the connections between the past and the present.
The Ralph W. Stanley Library and the Society's collections of historic objects, preserved in a temperature and humidity-controlled room, are located in the curatorial wing adjacent to the school building.