A visit to the Bala’s Museum will take you back to Canada in the 1920s. The museum focuses on the famous Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery and her books but also showcases historical artifacts from the Muskoka region.
The story behind the establishment of the museum started in 1990 when Linda and Jack Hutton honeymooned on Prince Eduard Island following Linda’s wish to visit the place where Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables. There, they learned that Lucy Maud Montgomery spent her two-week holiday in Bala during the summer of 1922. Not only did Montgomery loved it, but she was also inspired to set there the only novel she set outside Prince Eduard Island, The Blue Castle in Muskoka. When they discovered that the Tree Lawn Tourist Home, where Montgomery ate her meals during her vacation, stands for sale, they bought it. After extensive restoration, on July 24th, 1992, the museum was opened.
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) set almost all of her books at Prince Eduard Island, where she grew up and lived most of her life. Her first novel Anne of Green Gables (published in 1908), became an immediate bestseller and brought her worldwide fame. It was adapted to any possible media type and translated into more than 36 languages.
During her lifetime, she became one of the most popular authors in the world and published 20 novels, 500 poems, 530 short stories, and 30 essays.
Montgomery’s books have created a travel industry, bringing local and foreign tourists to follow her landmarks across Canada, visiting the sets of the books and other locations related to her in Prince Eduard Island and Ontario, such as this museum.
The Bala’s Museum showcases vintage furniture from the 1920s, unique copies of Montgomery’s books from different editions and different languages, dioramas from the novel Anne of Green Gables, the world’s biggest Anne of Green Gables dollhouse, and personal items of Montgomery, including a silver tea set gifted for her 1911 wedding, her correspondence basket, and excerpts from her diary during her visit to Bala.
Kids can explore the museum wearing costumes, play in Anne’s school room, enjoy Anne’s tea party with Diana, and host Anne of Green Gable’s birthday party.
While at the museum, make sure not to miss a visit to the gift shop that carries a vast collection of Anne’s souvenirs and Montgomery’s books.
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