Findings from The Museum Store

The Museum Store & Welcome Center Get a Facelift
Meghan Goodwin, TMS & WC Manager

One of the biggest restoration projects at Hildene was the complete renovation of the Lincoln family’s 1905 carriage barn. A grand reopening marked the completion of the extensive work when the newly designated Oscar V. Johnson Welcome Center was unveiled to guests in the summer of 2007. The impressive 1500 sq ft space boasts original woodwork, vintage horse stalls, authentic gravity fed hayfeeders, and is home to The Museum Store--one of the best places to shop in southern Vermont.

Hildene welcomes 40,000 guests annually, and after 13 years it was time for another facelift. The Museum Store staff (with lots of cooperation from other departments) worked tirelessly to empty the space to make way for David Dupree and his team of antique flooring experts who painstakingly refinished the mix of vintage maple and pine flooring, bringing it back to its former glory.

In addition to the store, the Welcome Center is also home to some unique artifacts that are part of the estate’s permanent collection, as well as interactive displays that provide a taste of other facets of Hildene’s educational programming. The temporary closure has made time for these items to get some much deserved TLC as well.

Mary “Peggy” Lincoln Beckwith purchased the Russell Parachute (on permanent display) in early 1930 as backup when she flew her planes across the Bennington County area. The Russell Parachute Company was founded in 1924, producing parachutes in San Diego, CA. Primarily selling to the US Military, the Russell Parachute Company would also sell parachutes to private pilots for $250 to $350. To maintain proper parachute care and safety, the company provided a small instruction card: “The Ten Commandments of the ‘Parachute Wise'.” These commandments instructed the owner to keep the parachute clean, safe, and serviced. The last documented inspection on Peggy’s chute was performed on May 6, 1930. There is no known knowledge of Peggy's ever needing to deploy her parachute. It remains a treasured part of Hildene's collection.

The corridor on the far side of the carriage barn is home to a small portion of an extensive Lincoln stamp collection. Since Lincoln’s image first appeared on a US postage stamp in 1866, 74 different stamps have commemorated Robert’s father, the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln is the only president who also served as a postmaster general from May 7, 1833 until the closure of the New Salem, Illinois office on May 30, 1836. In addition to his pay, Abe could send and receive personal letters free of charge, along with one daily newspaper.

The Welcome Center is also home to not one, but two telegraph keys. Guests are encouraged to try their hand at sending a message by following along in one of the three different versions of morse code alphabet that would have been utilized by various branches of the military during the Civil War. Lincoln relied on this form of communication to stay updated on the status of the war, communicating with officers like General Grant, to whom Robert served as an aide in the final months of the conflict. School groups are often tasked with telegraphing a portion of the Emancipation Proclamation as part of Hildene’s educational programming. Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails is a great resource for learning more about the role the telegraph played in the president's wartime campaigns.

The Welcome Center staff looks forward to welcoming guests back to tread the boards of the newly refinished floors. Our re-opening was Thursday, April 29.  Stop by to see the floors, and to explore some of these artifacts, along with other features of the historic building. Tucked inside the entrance, the massive original pocket barn doors are once again open to greet you!