Heritage Museums & Gardens celebrates American culture and inspires people of all ages to explore, discover and learn together. We do this through excellence in horticulture, garden design, outdoor discovery and the exhibition of great collections.
Heritage Museums and Gardens
Heritage Museums and Gardens is comprised of three galleries and expansive gardens located in historic Sandwich, Massachusetts. It includes galleries for American Folk Art, a vintage carousel, automobiles and traveling exhibitions.
The gardens feature a collection of thousands of rhododendrons, including a collection of the world-renowned Dexter variety. Their typical bloom time is from Memorial Day Weekend to mid-June. Other horticultural areas of interest include: holly, daylily, herb, hosta, and heather gardens, as well as more than a thousand varieties of trees, shrubs and flowers.
The grounds also include the Old East Mill, a windmill built in Orleans, Massachusetts in 1800, and extensively restored in 1999-2000. In 2002, a labyrinth was also added to the grounds, designed by Marty Cain, one of the best-known labyrinth designers in North America. Also located on the grounds is the Hart Family Maze Garden and the Cape Cod Hydrangea Garden.
The Special Exhibitions Gallery is a replica of the Revolutionary War building known as The Temple of Virtue in New Windsor, New York which is known as the location where George Washington bestowed the first Purple Heart to a wounded soldier.
This Gallery hosts Special Traveling Exhibitions. The 2013 season is featuring the exhibition: Driving Our Dreams: Imagination in Motion, opening on April 13, 2013.
The American Art & Carousel Gallery houses our working 1912 carousel that was manufactured by Charles Looff and features hand-carved animal figures including an ostrich, frog, zebra, cat and deer. In addition, this gallery hosts a large collection of New England folk art – paintings, weather vanes, Nantucket baskets, scrimshaw, shop signs and more.
The Automobile Gallery includes an impressive collection of automobiles within a replica of the Shaker Round Barn in Hancock, Massachusetts. For the 2013 season, the Automobile Gallery will feature the special exhibition: Driving Our Dreams: Imagination in Motion.
