Wilson Museum

The Wilson Museum is a museum in Castine, Maine, United States. It was founded using the collection of Dr John Howard Wilson, a geologist.

History
Wilson lived in Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Nantucket during his youth. He arrived at Castine in 1891 with his mother, Cassine Cartwright Wilson. He received a PhD in geology from Columbia University.

In 1921, Mrs Wilson gave the western part of the land she owned to build a museum for John Wilson's collections. The building was designed by architects Milton See & Son of New York. Three other buildings were added in the late 1960s, the Blacksmith Shop, Hearse House, and the John Perkins House.

Collections

 * Rocks, minerals, shells.
 * Pre-historic artifacts from North and South America.
 * Exhibits from Europe and Africa illustrating the development of tools during the early Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages.
 * Six dioramas constructed by Ned Burns of the American Museum of Natural History in 1926.
 * Cultures of Africa, Oceania, North and South America.
 * Early weapons and firearms.
 * Local history.
 * Ship models.
 * 19th century carpenter's tools, farm and household equipment.
 * Special exhibits every summer using the museum's collections.
 * Archival material on the history of Castine.