Avon River Heritage Society
  • About
    • Avon River Heritage Society
    • Artifacts & Archives
    • The Avon River
    • Meet the People in our Neighbourhood >
      • Dawn Allen, August 21st, 2020
      • Sara Beanlands, July 22nd, 2021
      • Carolyn Connors, July 30th, 2020
      • Carolyn Connors, July 21st, 2021
      • Louis Countinho, August 13th, 2020
      • Sean Countinho, January 13th, 2021
      • Eva Evans, July 24th, 2020
      • Elizabeth Ferguson, July 27th, 2020
      • Nicholas Hughes, August 6th, 2020
      • Olwynn Hughes, August 11th, 2020
      • Kim Lake, January 18th & 21st, 2021
      • Trudy Lake, March 13th, 2022
      • Raymond Parker, August 12th, 2020
      • Raymond Parker, July 7th, 2021
      • Zacchary Paul, August 21st, 2021
      • Tacha Reed, August 27th, 2020
      • Allen Shaw, January 18th, 2021
      • Carolyn vanGurp, July 16th, 2020
      • Abraham Zebian, August 24th, 2020
    • Avondale Walking Tour
    • Fundraising
    • Book an Appointment
  • History
    • Natural History >
      • Highest Tides in the World
      • Tidal Bore
      • Avon Peninsula Ecology
      • Birds of the Avon
      • Marine and Freshwater Species of the Avon
      • Karst Environment
      • Gypsum
      • Avon Peninsula Watershed Preservation Society >
        • Avon Peninsula Watershed Preservation Society, Interview with President, Raymond Parker
    • Mi'kmaq >
      • Mi'kmaq Birch Bark Canoes
      • Mi'kmaq of the Avon River >
        • Treaty Truckhouse 2 & Zacchary Paul
    • The Coming of the Europeans
    • The North American Colonies
    • Acadians >
      • Pisiquit
      • Acadians of the Avon River
      • Village Thibodeau (Poplar Grove)
      • Acadian Families After Expulsion
    • New England Planters >
      • New England Planters in Avondale >
        • Genealogy
        • James and Lydia Mosher
    • Loyalists
    • African Nova Scotians
    • Local Home Histories >
      • 28 Chip Hill Road
      • 51 Avondale Road
      • 38 Avondale Road: The Clifford Mosher House
      • 58 Avondale Road
      • 60 Avondale Cross Road
      • 71 Avondale Road: The John A. Harvie House
      • 354 Belmont Road: The Yellow House
      • 603 Belmont Road: Wallace Point
      • 801 Avondale Road
      • The Acadia House
      • The Avondale Church
      • The Avondale Parsonage
      • The Church Farm
      • The Fred Robart House
      • The Henry Lyon House
      • The House Across From The Church
      • The John E.F. Mosher House
      • The Knowles Homestead
      • The Mounce Mansions >
        • Captain George R. Mounce House
        • The Thomas A. Mounce House (Honeymoon House) >
          • Interior of the Honeymoon House
      • The Mrs. Dunham Hotel
      • The Old Newton Mosher House
      • The Old Stone House >
        • The Mystery of the Fieldstone House
      • The Roley Mosher House
      • The W.H. Mosher House
    • The Avondale School
    • Golden Age of Sail >
      • The Rise and Fall of the Golden Age of Sail in Newport
      • The Mosher Shipyards
      • Sailing Ships, Sugar, and Salt
      • Vessels of the Avon River
      • Shipbuilding Process
      • Shipbuilding Tools
      • Ship Directories
      • The Avon Spirit
      • Kings Wharf
      • The Hamburg >
        • Obituary Capt. Andrew B. Coldwell
        • The Hamburg and Alice Coalfleet’s Diary
      • Captain George Richard Mounce Sr
      • Annie Armstrong Mounce Correspondence 1875-1892
      • Captain Daniel William Dexter & The Emma Payzant >
        • Captain Daniel William Dexter and Family, Interview with Debbie Siler, July 21st, 2021
        • Diary of Sarah Dexter, 1892-1893
      • The Rotundus
    • Avondale Wharf & The Landing
    • Community Orchard
    • Edmund McCarthy
  • Arts & Culture
    • The Great Little Art Show >
      • Great Little Art Show 2021 - Artists
      • Great Little Art Show 2021 - Artwork
      • Great Little Art Show 2022 - Artists
      • Great Little Art Show 2022 - Artwork
    • Artists Landing Art Gallery
    • Open Studio at the Museum
    • Full Circle Festival >
      • Sofa Sundays
      • Solstice Market
    • Artisans in Action >
      • Artist in Residence 2022
      • Paint Avondale
    • Avondale Wharf Day
    • Honey Harvest Festival
    • Yoga, Meditation, Free Writing Series
    • Lyrics & Letters Concert/Workshop
  • Events Calendar
  • Planters Sea Chest Gift Shop
  • Lydia & Sally Cafe
  • Rentals
  • Volunteer and Employment Opportunities
  • How to find us!
The Avon River Heritage Society operates the Avon Heritage Museum and Avon Spirit Shipyard in Newport Landing, on the scenic shores of the Avon River on the site where Planter sloops, The Lydia and The Sally, landed in 1760. During the 19th century the Avon River area became one of the great square-rigged wooden shipbuilding centres in Nova Scotia. Where our museum now sits in Newport Landing was once the location of the Harvie and Mosher shipyards; between them, they built and launched 165 sailing ships during the “Golden Age of Sail”.

Our museum features exhibits on the New England Planters, African Nova Scotians, Acadian settlers, the Mi'kmaw people, local house histories, family histories, Avon River ecology and is home to the Avon River Arts Society, the Full Circle Festival, the Honey Harvest Festival and the North Along the Shore Jamboree. Together with the arts society we host a number of arts related events, including Artisans in Action and Hants County's flagship art show, the Great Little Art Show, established in 1998.

Modeled after a late 18th century general store, our Planters Sea Chest Gift Shop features  a wide variety of handmade products, all crafted by local Nova Scotian Artists and Artisans, as well as a selection of books on local history and the unique ecology of the Avon River area.

With a stunning view of the Avon river our Lydia and Sally Café features a simple menu of traditional Nova Scotian home cooked meals, including our famous Atlantic haddock chowder and seasonal shortcake. Serving lunch from noon until 4pm, our licensed café is open weekends in May, June, September and October and Wednesday through Sunday, July through August. 

During the summer months we host a community BBQ on our patio every Friday evening starting at 7pm and throughout the season many events take place in our rustic Avon Spirit Shipyard. Visit our rentals page for information on booking the boathouse for weddings, performances and festivals.
​
Museum entry by donation.



Hours of Operation for 2023
April by appointment and for special events
May & June, Saturday & Sunday, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
July & August, Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
September & October, Saturday & Sunday, 10 am to 5:00 pm
November & December by appointment and for special events

To book an appointment please email infoavonriver@gmail.com to book  or visit our Calendar of Events for the full schedule of planned activities.

The Avon River Heritage Society is a non-profit, registered charity and organization dedicated to engaging our community through preserving, sharing, and celebrating Avon River area stories, heritage, arts, culture, ecology, and interrelationships among all peoples of this area and their environment. We acknowledge that we are in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq.


​L’Avon River Heritage Society est une organisation et charité à but non lucratif, consacré à la préservation est promotion des Planteurs de la Nouvelle-Angleterre et l’histoire Acadienne par ouverture généalogique locale, l’histoire de la construction navale, l’écologie locale, et le patrimoine culturel.   

L’Avon River Heritage Society intervient l’Avon Heritage Museum et le Chantier Naval de l’Avon Spirit à Newport Landing, sur les rivages pittoresques de la Rivière Avon sur le site ou les sloops de Planteurs, La Lydia et La Sally, ont débarqué en 1760. La région de la Rivière Avon a devient un des grands centres de construction navale en bois carrés gréé en Nouvelle-Écosse au 19e siècle. Où notre musée se trouve maintenant à Newport Landing était autrefois l'emplacement des chantiers navals, Harvie et Mosher; entre eux, ils ont construit et lancé 165 navires au cours du "âge d’or de la voile ».

Notre musée présente des expositions sur les des Planteurs de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, les colons Acadiens, des histoires de maisons locales, les antécédents familiaux, la Rivière Avon écologie et abrite le Société Artistique Avon River. En collaboration avec le conseil des arts, nous accueillons un nombre des événements liées à des arts, y compris les Artisanats en Action et la vedette exposition d’art du Hants County, le Great Little Art Show.

Nous intervenons  aussi le Planters Sea Chest Boutique de cadeaux, qui propose une sélection de livres couvrant notre histoire Acadienne et l’histoire du Nouvelle-Angleterre et de l'écologie unique de la région de la Rivière Avon. Modelé après un magasin générale de la 18th siècle tard, complète avec une vitrine sculpté à la main par un constructeur de navires local, notre boutique de cadeaux pittoresque propose d'une grande variété de produits faits à la main, tous fabriqués par les artistes et artisanats locale de la Nouvelle-Écosse. 

Notre Lydia and Sally Cafe présente les déjeuners frais a cuisine maison, y compris notre célèbre soupe épaisse de haddock. Notre café est ouvert Juillet jusqu’à fin d’Août, du mercredi au dimanche, de midi jusqu’à 4pm et seulement les fins de semaines en Mai, Juin, Septembre et Octobre.


Heures d’ouverture du musée:

Mai, Juin, Septembre et Octobre : Samedi et Dimanche, 10 :00 am à 5 :00 pm
Juillet & Août : Mercredi à Dimanche, 10 :00 am à 5 :00 pm ​
Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Avondale/Newport Landing, Hants County, Nova Scotia, B0N 2A0
Email us at infoavonriver@gmail.com
Telephone us, May through October, at (902) 757-1718