The renowned Heritage Collection Museum, under the curatorship of Colville Petty, OBE, an authority on Anguilla’s history, will reopen on Monday 18th November after its annual break. Located in East End, next to the East End Pond Bird Sanctuary, the museum’s operating hours are: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm – Monday to Friday.
Heritage Collection provides a stimulating insight into the Anguilla of old.
It is a journey through time. Its impressive array of archaeological and historical artefacts spans many years of Anguillian history from the golden age of the Arawak Indians (who had a rich culture and established about forty villages here) to the 1967 – 1969 Anguilla Revolution which was a turning point in the history of Anguillian people.
The museum covers a broad sweep of Anguilla’s history, including plantation and slavery, migration to the Dominican Republic and Britain – and twentieth century life.
Because of the island’s limited land mass and natural resources its people were forced, during the latter years of the 1800s and throughout the first half of the 1900s, to take to the sea to supplement their slender earnings from their provision grounds and from labouring in the salt ponds. As a consequence, they became expert sailors, fishermen and boat builders. The museum highlights the island’s fishing and boat building industries as well as the salt industry which collapsed in the 1980s.
Apart from its interest to students, researchers and the public in general, Heritage Collection Museum has been a great attraction to visitors in search of a better appreciation of the Anguillian people and their culture. It has also caught the attention of the international media and received excellent reviews from the travel trade press.
A visit to Heritage Collection is an education in Anguilla’s history. There is no better place to get it.
