Matthews Heritage Museum, 232 North Trade Street, Matthews, offers free admission the first Saturday of the month. Read on to learn about Matthews Heritage Museum’s free day, and its new temporary exhibit, Widgets and Thing-a-ma-Jigs, Part Three: An Exhibit of the Mostly Forgotten.
Add Matthews Heritage Museum to the list of Charlotte area museums offering a free day. (See the whole list here.)
On the first Saturday of every month you can visit the Matthews Heritage Museum, 232 North Trade Street in Matthews, for free. On other days admission is just $4 for adults and $2 for ages 11-17. Kids 10 and under are free. The museum is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Matthews Heritage Museum is a Blue Star Museum. Active duty military personnel, including National Guard and Reserve, and their families, get free admission from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2018. Read more about the Blue Star Museum program.
Here’s some information about the museum. Be sure to scroll down to read about the upcoming temporary exhibit, Widgets and Thing-a-ma-Jigs, Part Three: An Exhibit of the Mostly Forgotten.
Matthews Heritage Museum
Housed in the 1880 Massey-Clark House, one of the oldest buildings in downtown Matthews, the Matthews Heritage Museum is a step back in time. In the Early Commerce Gallery learn about King Cotton and the early days of the railroad. Imagine cashing a check at the Bank of Matthews, and see part of the original bank interior on display. Listen to telephone switchboard stories while looking at an old crank phone and switchboard.
Lifestyle Gallery
Children and adults will enjoy exploring the Lifestyles Gallery, imagining a time before electricity and running water. Schools were a vital part of the community. Porches were the center of living, particularly in the summer in an effort to stay cool. Learn what was different in the kitchen at the turn of the century.
Community Gallery
Our Community Gallery allows you to discover the many activities that happened at the local drug store. You can also investigate the early set up of the doctor’s office or hear wonderful stories about the local pool. A display of Outen Pottery, hand thrown pots made from local clay, is of great interest.
Snippets from the Matthews Remembered and Outen Pottery DVD play for the audience in the Lifestyles and Community Galleries. The hallway panels give visitors insight to early Matthews.
Tank Town: A Good Place to Live
Opens February 16th, 2019
After a year of research, the museum will present its findings on the area once known as Tank Town, now Crestdale, a neighborhood in Matthews. This area was settled by former slaves and freedmen after the Civil War. The exhibit will explore the people, lifestyles, jobs, schools and community organizations of this neighborhood.
The exhibit will bring to life the history of the churches of the area including Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church and the United House of Prayer. Learn about the “shot-gun school house” and the Matthews Colored School built with Rosenwald funding. Early residents will be highlighted in the jobs they held and the way they lived. It is an opportunity to learn how this community grew and developed, and its hope for the future.
The Museum, located at 232 N. Trade Street, is open Thursday to Saturday from
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To schedule a tour for school children, home-schoolers or
senior groups, please call 704-708-4996.
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