I do have to admit that I was a little excited while walking up to the house, even though I’ve only read a few chapters in the first book. This house, part of the Anne of Green Gables Museum, belonged to her cousins, and Lucy Maud Montgomery visited them so often that this house became Anne’s home in the books.
Green Gables
side view
lovely flowers out front
Did you notice how low the entrance is? All of the doorways are this way. Entrances are made to look big, but the top is really low—helps save on cost of heating the home.
layout of the house
We’ll be following this map as we walk through the house.
first floor
entry hallway decorated with flower wallpaper
See low door frame going into the parlor? They must have been shorter than we are today.
The house is decorated with pieces found locally and from the right time period.
dining room
All set for an afternoon tea.
The wallpaper in this room is pretty busy too.
Matthew’s room
Looks like a lovely hand-made quilt.
Wallpaper is more muted in this room.
dairy porch
The dairy porch was also used for drying laundry.
It was a good place for storing kitchen utensils and storage containers.
pantry
A good place in which the cook could work.
Practical hutch for storing dishes and linens.
kitchen
Room is filled with the stove, bin for firewood, working table, and an ironing board.
Stove is for heating and cooking.
Another view of the ironing board in the kitchen shows the sleeve form.
second floor
Wallpaper in the entry and and upstairs hall is so colorful and busy (to me).
sewing room
Yarn can be prepared for use on the 2 machines in the corner. The treadle sewing machine by the window provides plenty of light when it’s being used.
I’m not sure what the device in the corner is used for. Do you know?
Hallway off of the sewing room leads to the storage areas.
storage areas
Trunks and baskets need their own room for storage.
I would have thought that they’d have shelves on the walls for more storage.
Marilla’s room
Seems like a lovey room to me.
A bed, washbasin, closet, and chair make a comfortable room.
guest room
This guest room is a welcoming space for visitors.
and Anne’s room
The other rooms had linoleum on the floors with rugs on top.
This room had a full length carpet.
hired hand’s room
No wallpaper or rugs on the floor—pretty plain.
Room leads to the back stairs.
back stairs to kitchen and back porch
Again, pretty plain—no wallpaper.
Sitting bench by the back door.
outside
The barn is close to the house.
On the Island, turnips were almost as important as potatoes for both people and livestock. The turnips wintered well if they were kept from freezing in a pit or root cellar.
One of the farm tools in the barn is this turnip pulper and seeder.
Some farmers fed turnips whole to their livestock. Others chopped them in a pulper, added grain and chaff for filler, and boiled the mixture to make a delicious (?) mash. Special seeders were used to plant fields of turnips.
We loved looking at the Island and the time period through the eyes of the L.M. Montgomery and her Anne of Green Gables books!
