Every other week on NHPR, we like to highlight a local non-profit that’s providing a great service for the Granite State. On this week’s episode of Give Back New Hampshire, we’ll focus on the Woodman Museum in Dover, New Hampshire. Founded in 1916, The Woodman is a traditional early 20th-century style natural science, history, and art museum with exhibits for all ages.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Jonathan Nichols: My name is Jonathan Nichols. I'm the executive director of the Woodman Museum here in Dover, New Hampshire.
Jonathan Nichols: The Woodman Museum was founded in 1916 following the death of Annie E Woodman, who in her will, left $100,000 to set up a museum that showcased art, history, and science, and connect Dover to the greater world. So using that $100,000, the original trustee set up for this museum purchased her former home, so that's what we're standing in now, as well as the Hale House next door that was owned by Senator John Parker Hale.
And then through donation, we acquired the Damm Garrison from Ellen Peavey Rounds for the opening of the museum in 1916, and so that was the original campus. And then in 2004, we acquired the Keefe House out back, which is our rotating art gallery, carriage barn and office spaces.
Jonathan Nichols: There's a little bit of everything in here. We've been called the most eclectic museum in New Hampshire. I tell people that come through, if you don't like what you're seeing, give it about three minutes and we'll find something that you like.
Jonathan Nichols: The Woodman House. We have a lot of the science side in there and through natural science, so a lot of taxidermy and minerals are in this house. One of the objects that we're probably best known for is our ten foot tall taxidermied polar bear. This was brought to us by a gentleman from Dover who went to Siberia and was a big game hunter, and hunted this polar bear back in the 1960s, and then this came to us in the 70s, and it's been sitting here in front of the main staircase ever since, greeting guests as they walk into the museum.
Recently, we've decided we want to expand our children's program as well. So you'll see this placard here, that's Woody the Woodman polar bear. He is a cartoon mascot that kind of takes kids around the museum, highlights some special exhibits, we have some scavenger hunts, and then we actually have a mascot that will come to some of our more family events and kind of hang out with and take pictures with the kids.
Jonathan Nichols: Down on the first floor, we have larger land and sea animals. Up on the second it's all birds and bugs and reptiles and amphibians. Some of our larger display pieces is this American alligator here, the manatee, bison and a moose. The last recorded mountain lion shot in New Hampshire in 1853 is that one down under the newer looking mountain lion at the corner there. Very creepy looking. It's, uh, it kind of shows the progress of taxidermy from the mid 1800s up to about 2017 is when this one was brought to us.
Note: You can read more of NHPR's mountain lion coverage here.
Jonathan Nichols: This is kind of a big one for new galleries here at the museum. It opened up just in August. This is our birthplace of the Ninja Turtles gallery. And so we worked on this with Kevin Eastman and Kevin Eastman Studios, among various other artists and collectors, to build this history of the Ninja Turtles and them being created here in Dover on Union Street. We have a little bit of artwork, memorabilia.
We wanted some interactive elements as well, so we have a large TV, movie, video game area. We also have a tabletop video game area that you can come play the original Ninja Turtles 1 and 2. And there's there's more stuff coming. We've already had a bunch of, uh, donors, uh, already sent us some stuff, and we're just looking to get it on display here shortly.
Jonathan Nichols: There's just something special about this place, the amount of history that we have here. I mean, it's just a little bit of everything. I can see just how special this place is, and I want to see it grow. And I want to see more people come and experience the same things that I have. You know, we're working very hard to get the word out that this museum exists and that, you know, you could come here and learn about the Ninja Turtles or learn about Abraham Lincoln and his involvement here in Dover.
The ties Dover has to, like I said, the greater world, that's our mission, and, uh, you'd be shocked to see just what little bits of, uh, you know, history pop out here. And there's even more as we keep going.
