Miniature Island farm

The Bedeque Area Historical Museum was gifted a meticulously crafted large-scale model of the Michael Coady Farm in North Wiltshire, PEI. It was donated by the family of the late Bob and Noreen Hickman of Maynard, Massachusetts, who constructed it in the 1990s.

Noreen, born in 1931, grew up in Massachusetts but spent her summers on her Coady grandparents’ PEI farm. The couple were determined to recreate the house and barns from Noreen’s memories of the farm in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as from measurements they took in the 1990s. The house still stands in North Wiltshire, though the barns have long gone.

The farmhouse, dating from about 1860, is representative of many built on the Island in the mid-19th century.

The model is now permanently displayed at the museum as part of the Kinkora exhibit because the Coadys were an Irish Catholic family, and the last Mrs. Coady was from Kinkora.

The detail in Noreen’s furnishings and decoration of the five bedrooms, three sitting/dining rooms, and the farm kitchen is remarkable. Bob constructed all of the farm buildings and included models of all the animals that would have been found on a mixed farm in the early 20th century.

Through posters and picture screens, the exhibit also tells the story of the model’s makers and of the Coady family, who owned the farm for more than a century.

All are welcome to the official opening of the new exhibits on July 4 from 10 am–12 noon. Admission is free. The museum is located at 950 Callbeck Street, Bedeque.