» Anne of Green Gables Museum at Silver Bush . lmm-anne.net

Anne of Green Gables Museum at Silver Bush

Address: Route 20, Park Corner
Link: http://www.annesociety.org/anne/home.cfm

I lifted my eyes at suppertime and saw the picture of Park Corner on the wall. There it was - the big beautiful, orchard-bowered house that was the wonder-castle of my childhood, where Aunt Annie reigned as queen, dispensing the lavish and gracious hospitality for which she was famous. — Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Tuesday, June 17, 1924

The big grove of white birch on the hill behind it which gave Silver Bush its name and which was full of dear little screech owls that hardly ever screeched but purred and laughed. Beyond it all the dells and slopes and fields of the old farm, some of them fenced in with the barbed wire Pat hated, others still surrounded by the snake fences of silvery-grey “longers,” with golden-rod and aster thick in their angles. — Pat of Silver Bush, ch. 2

The Campbell home at Park Corner is the setting for Pat of Silver Bush. LMM’s Aunt Annie and Uncle John Campbell, and their children Clara, Stella, Frede and George lived at Park Corner. LMM was very close to the Campbells, and their home was “always a second home to me” (Journals, Jan. 28 1912). Some of her fondest childhood memories are of times spent at Park Corner with her “merry Campbell cousins,” with whom she was very intimate. She visited frequently, and lived with the Campbells for short periods, once during her teens to give music lessons, and also after her grandmother’s death. LMM was married from Aunt Annie’s home. After her marriage and move to Ontario, LMM remained involved in the lives of the Campbell family, and contributed to the upkeep of the farm. She always spent part of her vacations in PEI at the Campbell home.

The house is now a museum run by the Campbell family. It houses items from the Macneill homestead in Cavendish where Montgomery grew up (Aunt Annie Campbell was the daughter of Montgomery’s Macneill grandparents), most notably Katie Maurice’s bookcase, and a crazy quilt that Montgomery made. The Blue Chest of Rachel Ward can also be seen here. The house is furnished as it was when Montgomery knew it. The Lake of Shining Waters lies just across the road from the house. The museum offers carriage rides and package wedding services, with music played on the organ where Montomery’s wedding march was played.

Silver Bush, photo by L. M. Montgomery c.1900 (Selected Journals, v.2)