Exhibits
Heritage Museums & Gardens celebrates American art and history in four buildings offering both seasonal exhibitions and exhibitions of the museum's permanent collections.
The J.K. Lilly III Antique Automobile Museum showcases the museum's extensive collection of American antique automobiles.
The American History Museum has galleries for seasonal exhibitions as well as exhibits featuring American military miniatures and firearms, and the bird carvings of Elmer and Cleon Crowell.
The Art Museum features the museum's hand carved carousel, as well as a seasonal exhibition space and the Folk Art Gallery.
The Old East Windmill was moved to the property from Orleans, Massachusetts and is open on selected days.
Check out our seasonal exhibits!
Carriages - not cars - once ruled the road. These forerunners of automobiles and trucks were absolutely essential to American life in the 1800s. Going Places explores the culture, evolution, and eventual demise of horse-drawn transportation, from the early nineteenth century, through the industrial revolution, and into the 1900s and the dawn of the automobile age.
Along the way, diverse artifacts - including a full-sized carriage, children's carriages, and assorted harness and tack - speak volumes about our insatiable desire for travel, speed and new technology. The exhibition also covers a broad range of questions: How were carriages made and repaired? Where were they sold and who could afford them? The answers are surprising, and frequent parallels to today's car culture makes Going Places a fascinating journey.
This exhibit has been made possible through NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is brought to you by the Mid-America Arts Alliance. Going Places was organized by the Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages at Stony Brook, New York.
The Art of A. Elmer and Cleon Crowell
A Bird in the Hand:The Carvings of Elmer and Cleon Crowell
Heritage Museums & Gardens is pleased to present its second exhibit in the newly renovated American History Museum. A Bird in the Hand: The Carvings of Elmer and Cleon Crowell highlights the museum’s large collection of Crowell bird carvings.
As a boy in East Harwich, Elmer Crowell was interested in birds, hunting and art. He began his career by making a few carvings for friends and eventually began to carve full-time. He opened his workshop just as tourists were beginning to come to the Cape and many bought his carvings as souvenirs. It wasn’t long before he and his son Cleon were working in a factory-type way to keep up with all the orders.
Along the way, Elmer Crowell carved some of the best bird carvings ever made. His work is highly regarded not only for the quality of the carving but also the fine painting. Heritage is fortunate to care for hundreds of carvings, as well as the materials the Crowells used to create their masterpieces including paper patterns, source materials, and tools. The exhibit includes many fine examples of carvings, as well as a replica of his workshop. An activity center for children is also included where they can dress as a birdwatcher, scout for particular birds in the exhibit, hear bird calls and more.
Photo Caption: Cleon and Elmer Crowell standing in the doorway of their workshop, c. 1927-1930, holding recently completed carvings.
Heritage is proud to present its impressive collection of decoys carved by the legendary A. Elmer Crowell of East Harwich