The Billings Farm & Museum’s Farm Life Exhibits are housed in four original historic barns. The displays depict the seasonal activities on a typical Vermont hill farm of a century ago, and feature historic hand tools, farm equipment, typical family possessions, and oral histories.

Glimpse inside a country store, traditional farmhouse, and farm workshop, and learn about town meetings, one-room schoolhouses, and the daily chores of a typical Vermont farm family. Discover what it took to prepare the soil, plant and harvest the crops, and feed the livestock.

These engaging farm life exhibits help tell the story of rural life in Vermont at the turn of the 20th century, and the men and women whose lives were rooted in the rocks, forests, and fields of the Green Mountain State.

 

Museum Highlights

  • General Store

    General Store

    Discover the important role of the general store in rural communities during the 19th and early 20th centuries — as well as today, in some small villages. See authentic artifacts, including a well-stocked pharmacy and post office. Listen to the poignant tale of one Vermont family’s struggle with the land, as they debate whether to go West in search of a better life or to stay in their beloved state.
  • Rural Farm House

    Rural Farm House

    Discover what a “typical morning’s chores” would have been for a rural housewife in 1890 Vermont. Compare the basic living conditions here to our 1890 Farm House, considered state-of-the-art at the time of its construction.
  • Ice Cutting and Harvesting

    Ice Cutting and Harvesting

    This exhibit illustrates the hard work it took for a rural family to cool and store food throughout the summer. Undertaken during the coldest months of the year, cutting and harvesting ice was dangerous and difficult work.
  • Maple Sugaring

    Maple Sugaring

    Against the engaging background of authentic voice recordings from local sugar-makers, learn the early history and evolution of Vermont maple sugaring, and how Vermont has become the largest maple producer in the United States.