Historic Hudson museum puts out the welcome mat

Wall, a Hudson resident and former school teacher and administrator who assumed her duties in February, says her goal is to introduce the wonders of Greenwood to more people. “Greenwood is fairly low key even though it’s been in the community a long time,” she said, adding, “We have to hype up a little the things we do because they’re great and we haven’t had the best attendance in the past.”

Though the culturally rich living museum that is furnished and maintained in its historic glory has been open to the public for the past 11 years, not everyone knows about it.

A packed summer schedule that starts on June 6 with the popular Greenwood Singers may help get things humming along.

Wall also says the centre can be used to host on-going book groups, poetry readings and such, while they want to bring in more school kids on a regular basis.

Driving along Main Rd in Hudson, it is easy to miss the charming yellow house nestled on a lush piece of property bordering the Ottawa River.

From the outside, it looks like what it is - an ordinary home.

Yet the oldest portions of Greenwood date to 1732, when the hearth room was built by the Sabourin family.

The home later belonged to the Delesderniers/Shepherd family for five generations.

Over the years, the building was used as a country store, a local post office and as a summer cottage, and a primary residence.

All who’ve lived there have left behind every day household items, art, clothing, dishes, books and much more.

All are displayed on bookshelves and cupboards, in closets and on the walls.

Greenwood last mistress, Phoebe Erskine Hyde, loved the home and its history so much that she bequeathed it to the Canadian Heritage of Quebec when she died in 1994.

The living museum opened a year later and has been run by an endowment also left by Hyde, as well as through funds raised by local tours and annual events.

But Greenwood has been restricted over the years by the number of visitors it can welcome each week by an unresolved dispute over crowds and parking with at least two neighbours.

Though the issue was placated with “a gentlemen’s agreement,” keeping things quiet does cut into needed funds that could be generated by additional events and visits.

Wall is confident that things will soon be resolved, while the centre is ready to launch its busy summer season that will include:

Songs for A Midsummer Night: A Concert by the Greenwood Singers

Friday, June 6, 7:30 p.m., St. Mary's Church & Hall, 261 Main Rd. Hudson.