Collections

Peerless Gem Paper Cutter, from William Cram’s Letterpress Office, Haverhill, MA, Willowbrook Legacy
Original Center Panel of 1894 Armitage Herschell Riding Gallery. It depicts Edwin Booth, America’s most famous actor in the mid to late 19th century. Here he is seen as Hamlet. The panel may be a memorial to the actor who died in 1894.
The interior of our line shaft pulley powered Machine Shop. Many of the 1880s=1890s machinery was once the working equipment of Larry Cook of Meriden, CT. In addition to machinists jobs Cook created armaments including Civil War replica guns, swords and cannons. He was a metal caster and blacksmith as well as a machinist. One of the forges in the Tom Flaff Smithy was Cook’s own.
Women’s Safety Bicycle, c. 1890s
Wooden Tricycle, c. 1870s
This blacksmith forged velocipede may be one of the first US licensed examples of Pierre Lallemant’s original patent, The carriage makers Kimball & Larkin of Portland, ME began producing the velocipede after securing a licensing deal with Lallemant in 1868-1869.
Fairbanks Morse Gasoline Engine on Steel Wheel Carriage, Donation of Vernon Shaw, Eddington, ME
John Billings & Co., Chicago, No. 999, Safety Bicycle, c. 1896
Brass Stencils
D.A. Moore Milk Delivery Wagon. One of several commercial panel wagons in the collection originating from Maine.
Farmer’s Portable Blacksmithing Forge with Bellows
Goat, Sheep or Dog Treadmill. Used to power washing machines, butter churns, and other small machines.
Post Toasties Advertisement with articulated figures, c. 1915, This is nailed to the interior of the Curran barn ell and presumably dates from the Curran family habitation of the farm.
Cobbler’s Bench and Tools
Hay Baler. This machine compressed loose hay that was bound together with wire. These large bales were transported by rail and retailed in urban areas.
Museum Build, Crystal Radio Set, 2019
Telegraph Set, Willowbrook Legacy, Rebuilt in 2019 as demonstration model.
Excaliber Cigar Box Crystal Radio Set, Built by Bruce Fleming, Old Orchard Beach, ME
Homemade Radio, Built by Bruce Fleming, Old Orchard Beach, ME
Hybrid Crystal Radio Set, Built by Bruce Fleming, Old Orchard Beach, ME
Trench Radio ( World War II type) Built by Bruce Fleming, Old Orchard Beach, ME
Tea Box Crystal Radio Set, Built by Bruce Fleming, Old Orchard Beach,, ME
Brass Stencil Maker, c. 1905
Edison Disc Record, c.1905. We have more than 50 unique examples of this early disc record.
Dayes & Kidder Electromagnetic Shock Machine, c.1850s
Cira 1909 Kerrihard Power Hammer
Cast Iron Boston Terrier Doorstop
The Caligraph Typewriter, c.1880
Ivory Fenderson’s Movie Projector, Circa 1895
3 Gallon Stoneware Cider Jug, Bennington, VT
Circa 1872 Chandler & Price Letterpress. This was once steam-powered and used by the Ellsworth American. Donation of Alan Baker.
Little Giant Steam Engine.
Little Giant Steam Engine. Side View.
1915 Ford Model T Tractor Conversion; known affectionately as “Wandering Jane” .
1924 Ford Model TT. This vehicle is currently one of many projects. It was donated by Isaac Hughes of Fayetteville, NY.
1928 Ford Model A with Montgomery-Ward tractor conversion kit.
Barn Weaving Loom. This came from the second floor of a barn in Lamoine, ME.. We have an extensive weaving and textile collection.
Victorian Mourning Dress. We have an extensive clothing collection, 1840s-1920s, that we hope to exhibit soon, we are looking for volunteers to train with us and assist with this particular collection. Contact us.
Child’s Cutter
We have many examples of patent medicines from the 19th and early 20th century.
There are examples of marketed homeopathic medicines in the collection.
This head lice ‘medicine” was criticized for consisting largely of sawdust and other ingredients identifying it as quack medicine. This company still exists. This and other examples of this new/old stock medicine were recently discovered in the Curran barn.
Iconic Victorian button up boots are one pair among many in the collection. our Cobbler’s Shop will be re-exhibited soon.
This microphone belonged to Phillip Sprague of Brewer, ME who started his own amateur radio station W1UP in 1913 and continued to operate it into the 1970s.
Our 1917 Ford Model T Depot Hack affectionately known as “Tetley”. Get a ride in this at our events.
Canned food was a new innovation in the 19th century, but the lead solder they used wasn’t very healthy. We have many circa 1910s examples gifted by the Maine Maritime Museum originating from the Clark family house in Bath, ME.
Braided rug collection.
These Ford Model Ts were donated by Isaac Hughes of Fayetteville, NY in 2017.
Fordson tractors. The furthest example is a survivor of the Maine Coastal Fire of 1947 that burned from Bar Harbor to southern Maine places like Newfield and Shapleigh. This was parked in a farmer’s field in Shapleigh and escaped the fire unlike the rest of the farm.
This a wood splitter in the style of the Hildreth wood splitter model, which we have an example in the collection as well. The hot and miss is a 6 horsepower Fairbanks Morse.
Our broom maker’s shop.
An Eddy Ice Box. We use this with ice from our Ice Harvest.
Gray Line Barn Floor Thresher
Ordinary, “Penny Farthing”, Columbia Bicycle, c. 1870s
This Steam Traction Engine was purchased from Lloyd Holland of Corinth, ME. It was reconditioned in 2022, and we demonstrate live steam power at two events in 2022. This is a homemade replica created by Mr. Holland in 1969. It includes a 1870s Waterville, NY horizontal steam engine mounted to a 1920s IH Farmhall tractor undercarriage. The nationally certified boiler was purchased and adapted to this construction. Given current law regarding steam power and boiler certification this tractor serves our desire to present live steam at our 19th century museum village.
This is the 7 horsepower vertical Armitage-Herschell steam engine, boiler, and steel wheel transport carriage that accompanied our horse carousel powering it from 1896-1922. In 1991, Willowbrook Museum resumed operation of this engine in a permanent setting by bypassing the boiler and running it with compressed air. In 2022, after relocation of the entire carousel and the building that housed it in Newfield, ME, CV reinstalled and updated the compressed air system. The offering of rides resumed in July 2022.
This Little Giant Steam Engine is a donation, and we plan to do a mechanical restoration powering it initially with compressed air, as the original boiler is riveted rather than welded as is required by law in the State of Maine.
This 1925 3 horsepower Fairbanks Morse gas engine was long exhibited at Willowbrook Museum. It had been painted but little else to make it functional was attempted. in 2015, Willowbrook began offering classes in engine repair. This was the first candidate for a mechanical restoration. The piston was stuck and paint had seized up linkage and other parts. We cast new governor weights in bronze, replaced gas tank, and created a new oak skid. It runs!
This broadcasting microphone belonged to Phillip Sprague of Brewer, ME who founded his own amateur radio station in 1913. It was donated by the Brewer Historical Society in 2017.
This was long touted by Willowbrook Museum as the first silent movie projector in Maine. Ivory Fenderson of Saco, ME purchased this in 1897 ( the original catalog accompanied it). Fenderson, who bought and operated our 1896 carousel, also offered public movie viewing and gramophone listening concerts when this technology was first made available.
This cider press and grinder was re-wooded in 2014. The horizontal Elm wood beam is original to the press. The hardware was cast in Waterville, Maine in the 1870s by Webber & Havilland. The drum of the grinder was re-sheathed with stainless steel replacing the original galvanized material. The back side of the metal sheeting has been pieced through creating the jagged teeth for masticating the apples.
This is our largest gas engine, a 1919 7 horsepower Economy. It was also painted for exhibit at Willowbrook Museum but non-functional. After un-sticking the piston, work was done on the magneto and linkage making it operational. See a YouTube video of it in action.
This was I.H. Fenderson’s, a furniture and cabinet maker and original owner of the carousel, market wagon.
Larkin Soap Company, Buffalo, NY. This company was one of the top mail order catalogue companies at one time. Their twist on the concept was that everyone could take on the role of a salesperson and earn coupon points via sales of their soup products using these to purchase furniture and household products. The coupons could also be saved by the individual to eventually purchase catalogue items. The museum has a large sampling of soap product containers circa 1910 that include their original contents. In addition, we have a collection of their catalogues and examples of their catalogue furniture.
Larkin Oil Mop, c.1910, contains a cloth mop head with an oily saturation that cleans finished wood surfaces.
Larkin Bay Rum was an essential after shave, c. 1910
Sawyer’s Crystal Ammonia, c. 1910
Number Seven Gonorrhea “Gleet”, an over-the-counter remedy to condition as yet not remedied by penicillin, c.1910.
This original color lithograph was the inspiration for Ivory Fenderson’s original purchase of our 1894 Armitage Herschell Riding Gallery
This is a replica of a 1901 Oldsmobile produced in 1959. It is a Cushman engine powered horseless carriage. This car was purchased and donated to the museum as a representation of America’s earliest automobiles. During the season we run this on the museum grounds.
Dyer & Sons, Foxcroft, Maine, Reed Organ

Victorian, Edwardian and Roaring 20s Dress, Footwear, and Accessories

Circa 1920s Black Dress
Circa 1920s Blacks Dress, 2
Circa 1920s Black Dress, 3
Circa 1920s White Dress, Front
Circa 1920s White Dress, Back
Circa 1920s White Dress, Front Detail
Edwardian Dress, Front
Edwardian Dress, Front, Detail
Edwardian Dress, Back
This Enterprise Coffee Grinder can be found in our Country Store. Always looking for someone to suggest grinding up some coffee beans with it.
This is one of our prized possessions, With it we can give LIVE STEAM demonstrations. It burns wood. It takes about 3 hours to get up to boil. It is homemade. It was constructed by the late doodlebug aficionado Lloyd Holland of Corinth, ME around 1969. It includes an 1872 Watertown NY horizontal steam engine, a custom built, a nationally certified steam boiler, and the undercarriage and rolling stock of a 1920s IH Farmall. This was purchased through a donation from board member Ron Sucy.
This 1880s horse treadmill is a centerpiece of our hands-on experiential learning. Many school visitors through the years have climbed aboard and served as “horsepower”. We have two functioning versions of one horse treadmill on exhibit and functioning.
This is the power source of the 1894 Armitage Herschell Riding Gallery. Mounted on a steel wheel horse drawn carriage this includes the original riveted coal-burning boiler that has been bypassed to power the engine with compressed air.
This 1885 Model Chase Shingle Mill is one of two shingle mills in our collection. Both are currently not functioning but our goal is to do a mechanical restoration on both machines.