tours and public programs
Norlands through the Years - Site Tour
A walk through the Norlands historic buildings, including the 1867 Washburn mansion, with a discussion about the Washburn family and how the landscapes, the buildings and lives have changed through the years. Offered year-round; however, the buildings are not heated.
Length: 90 minutes
Price: $15 per adult
$6 ages 6-12, under age 6 free
Group Size: 8-30 people
Guided site tours are now being scheduled by advance reservation only, with 48 hours advance notice. Click here for more information and reservations.
Meal, Laugh and Learn
Enjoy a delicious homemade country meal and participate in two interactive programs – “The Busy Cradle: Story of the Washburn Family” and “A Country School, 1853” - visiting both the 1883 library and the one-room school house. Relax in rocking chairs on the piazza, enjoy this delightful Maine country setting, and visit the gift shop. The meal served at the “nooning” includes all the makings of an authentic supper complete with home-made chicken pie and apple pie or other seasonal dessert.
Length: 3 hours
Price: $28.00 per person with meal
or $15 per person without meal
Group Size: 20-60 people
Tea, Talk & Tour: A Taste of History
Enjoy a nice cup of tea and homemade cookies served up with an entertaining history talk of your choice:
School Days of the 1850s, A Visit with Patty Washburn, Meet Mercy Lovejoy, Under the Dress: Victorian Secrets, or Health Sanitation and Deadly Diseases of the 1800s.
Afterwards join us for a guided tour of the 1867 Washburn mansion house museum.
Length: 90 minutes
Price: $17.00 per person
Group Size: 8-30 people
Program descriptions for Meal, Laugh and Learn or for Tea, Talk and Tour:
School Days of the 1850's A schoolma'am tells of a typical day in a one room country school and reviews the basic of the three "R"s and she seeks a job for the upcoming term of school.
The Busy Cradle: Story of the Washburns Enjoy a lively interactive story where participants "become" the seven famous Washburn brothers and three sisters from this instrumental family who changed the face of politics and business for this grand estate.
A Visit with Patty Washburn Visit with Patty, devoted wife and mother, while she reflects on her life, ten children and their remarkable achievements.
Under the dress: Victorian Secrets See just how involved it was to look "picture-perfect" during the Civil War era. Hear about the ideal of beauty in the 19th-century and see how clothing construction and wired (yes, wired!) undergarments created the distinctive silhouette.
Meet Mercy Lovejoy, Livermore Town Pauper Mercy Lovejoy will visit the Washburns. She lives on the town farm (poor house), around the corner from Norlands. Mercy will share how she came to be "on the town," what life is like there, and gossip about the neighbors. Experience a lively presentation that is sure to make you laugh! And, bring to your attention how the elderly and the poor were cared for in the 1800s.
Health, Sanitation & Deadly Diseases in the 1800s A presentation on the home remedies, customs and beliefs related to 19th-century health care.
Book your public program or site tour today!
programs@norlands.org | 207-897-4366