The Bancroft Historical Museum is housed in this authentic log house just across from the old train station. We took a tour last Sunday while we were waiting for the train station celebrations to begin.
The first display that caught my eye was this old studio camera. It was used by a professional photographer who had a studio on Hasting street back in the 1880s. It looked cumbersome to use but I'm sure the folks back then who could afford it were delighted to get their portrait taken.
Bancroft's has always been a mining and lumbering town. The mines have all closed as the minerals played out or the process became too costly. We still have numerous lumber mills in the area.
These wooden models were hand carved by a local lumberman without the use of any power tools. The detail and scale is impressive and he used only wooden pegs to hold everything together.
He lived back in the bush in a log cabin without electricity or running water until he was 85. Apparently concerned for his health and safety he was the forced to move into a nursing home. Without space for all his beautiful models he donated them to the museum. His work alone is reason enough to visit.
In the early days of lumbering trees were cut by hand and the logs hauled out to the rivers by teams of horses. It was a very dangerous industry back then with a lot of waste left to rot on the forest floor. Today everything is used, even the sawdust and bark are collected and turned into useful products.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you at the museum some day.
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