The Red Barn Museum

Our mission is to preserve and display the history of the Bedeque area of Prince Edward Island. 

Howard Clark, Collector Extraordinaire

Unfortunately, on 1 April 2017, Howard Clark passed away at the age of 92.  Howard lived most of his life in nearby Chelton where he inherited the family farm which was directly on the shores of Northumberland Strait. He also fished in its waters.  During World War II Howard served on the hospital ship Lady Nelson and made many dangerous crossings carrying wounded soldiers across the Atlantic.  On returning home after the war, Howard began to collect obsolete objects connected with the past history of Chelton and the wider area.  He accumulated so many objects that he converted his barn and outbuildings into ‘The Red Barn Museum’, and there he meticulously organized his collection into rooms portraying the tools and implements of many different crafts and industries, such as blacksmithing, fishing, boating, farming, carpentry, shoe-making and dairying.  On entering a seniors’ care home, Howard generously donated his entire collection to the Bedeque Area Historical Society and it now forms the greater part of the items on display in the Museum, where we have tried in part to reproduce Howard’s system of display.  Without Howard’s donation, the Bedeque Museum would have a very limited display of items, and the Museum commemorates Howard’s life and career in a Special Display. 

---