The Poquoson Museum finalized the purchase of the 15 acre Dryden Farm tract on December 23, 2003. One of the few working farms remaining in this once thriving agrarian community, the Dryden Farm provides the new Poquoson Museum with a perfect place on which to establish its campus.

Tommie Turner, president of the Poquoson Museum, commented that the acquisition of the Dryden Farm was "such a wonderful start for our new museum."

The 15 acre Dryden Farm is located on Poquoson Avenue and has footage along Topping Creek. The farm contains several historic structures such as the c. 1910 farm house, c. 1940 "Miss. Becky's Store" and other significant agricultural outbuildings. While sections of the Dryden Farm will continue to be farmed, the landscape offers adequate space for several important museum functions including an interpretative center, a Boat Building for an already ever-increasing collection of small craft, an environmental trail along Topping Creek, and for the relocation of the c. 1880 Tom Hunt's Store. Hunt's Store has been deemed eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places and must be moved to the Dryden Farm to insure its preservation. Manfred Freeman, Jr., chairman of the Poquoson Museum Foundation, stated that "the Dryden Farm gives the Poquoson Museum great space in which to grow and reflect upon the many changes in our community's history."

The Poquoson Museum would not have made such great strides without the dedication and support of the museum's volunteers and patrons. Everyone's help enabled the Poquoson Museum to rapidly fulfill its Phase I goals. The Dryden Farm acquisition was only achieved through volunteer assistance.

The Poquoson Museum is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to preserving and interpreting Poquoson history. Museum volunteers will begin renovating the Dryden Farm in January and plans to open to the public on a limited basis in late 2004

Your donations help:
The donations will be used for exhibit design, collections management, and to rebuild a barn building recently destroyed by fire.

http://www.poquoson.com/museum/index.shtml

There are many ways you can get involved.

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http://www.poquoson.com/museum/merchandise.shtml

http://www.poquoson.com/museum/MarshWalk-0a.shtml