Colonel John Black Mansion Museum, Ellsworth

Regardless of the name..this hideaway museum up a long lane from the Surry Road in Ellsworth is a treasure. Tour the house for a glimpse into how people of wealth and substance lived...the house is just as it was left after 3 generations of habitation by the same family...and everything, EVERYTHING...is there...from eyeglasses to chamber pots, rugs, dishes furnishings...everything is there and in place just as the family used it. Must Sees are the huge but short bed in the Master Bedroom, and the unusual chair-bed in the parlor. The knowledgable staff will show you through the house for a modest fee, but you can see the carriages and sleighs in the barns for free during museum hours...and the grounds, including formal gardens, fields, and a 2 mile trail once used to exercise the Black family horses are open to the public, free of charge every day, dawn til dusk. A wonderful place...check it out.