About Us
We are proudly a hub of recreation, heritage, art, and culture for Bridgewater and Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. The DesBrisay museum building serves as a vibrant community space offering an affordable Community Room rental area, recreational programming, and special events throughout the year. We provide residents with a safe inviting space to learn new skills, meet new people, and enjoy curated historical displays with a priority to showcase local art experiences and artists.
Visit us to learn new stories about Bridgewater and Lunenburg County. We welcome you to experience the magic of internationally celebrated local folk art; book an appointment to research your heritage home; dig in to answering some historical questions; or build your family tree. Visit regularly to explore new exhibits, in both the museum area, our rotating Bridgewater Photo Society gallery wall, and Heritage Art Gallery. Visit our temporary gift shop location, courtesy of the South Shore Centre and operated by the Friends of DesBrisay Museum Society, at the South Shore Centre, 421 Lahave St, in Bridgewater. Contact desbrisaymuseumgiftshop@gmail.com for up-to-date open hours.
Our multi-functional building is situated in the beautiful Woodland Gardens – a great place to walk your dog, have a picnic, or throw the frisbee. We are wheelchair accessible, and a designated senior-friendly facility. Through feedback and facility assessments from our various community partners, we continue to improve upon our space to deliver accessible and sensory friendly best practices.
You can visit the DesBrisay Museum and gallery space for free all year long! Donations are still kindly accepted. Please note, there may still be fees associated with specific programming or events. Please contact the Lunenburg Lifestyle Centre in person, by phone, or www.connect2rec.com for more information or to register for our extensive recreational programming.
Purpose
The goal of our community based approach to recreation is to support a healthy, active, inclusive quality of life for residents of all ages, incomes, and abilities. This involves working to ensure all people living in, working in, or visiting our town have access to open space, parks, leisure and active living opportunities and facilities Our heritage and art spaces enrich our community by offering meaningful heritage education; accessible artistic opportunities; and encourages a deeper knowledge and pride in both our past, present and all the possibilities for our future.
Mandate
Our building will contribute to the vision of recreation, arts, heritage, and culture opportunities by hosting recreational workshops and events; undertaking historical interpretation and professional research; and by providing resources which enable the public to undertake their own research. The museum collects, documents, and preserves records and artifacts which promote and conserve our local heritage while fostering strong relationships with community partners.
Arts, Culture, & Museums Advisory Committee (2025)
The Arts, Culture & Museums Advisory Committee (ACMAC) is a newly established committee to advise Council on policies, programs, and strategic planning related to arts, culture, and museums. Its mandate includes storytelling, sponsorships, equity and inclusion efforts, decolonization, and cultural programming. The committee will also provide a space for public engagement and collaboration with other advisory groups.
Membership will prioritize diverse voices, including seats for a youth representative, a Mi’kmaq community representative, and a member from the Friends of the DesBrisay Museum Society. Former Commission members will also join to ensure continuity. The committee’s work will include reviewing collection management policies, supporting strategic planning, and fostering inclusive participation to reflect the needs and identities of all residents.
Current Committee Members:
Amanda Rhodenizer (Co-Chair); Christine Bell (Friends of the DesBrisay Museum Society Rep.); William Rodger (Co-Chair); Emily Kashul (Community Committee Member); Minthe Rudderham (Community Youth Representative); Castian Renouf (Community Youth Representative); Stacey Colwell (ToB Council Member); Istvan Molnar-Szakacs (Community Committee Member), Gem Roberts (Anti-Racism & Diversity Advisor & Community Committee Member)
Staff Resources:
Jessica McDonald, Director of Community Development
Kara Highfield, Recreation & Culture Manager
For more information, contact us at museum@bridgewater.ca or by phoning 902-543-4033.
Our Team
Morgan MacDonald
Recreation & Culture Program Coordinator
Pronouns: he/him
Coming Soon
Museum Coordinator
Pronouns:
coming soon
History of the Museum
DesBrisay Museum began in 1860 when a young lawyer, Mather Byles DesBrisay, born in Chester, Lunenburg County in 1828 (who later became M.L.A. and Judge of County Courts), started an artifact collection.
Unfortunately, most of that small collection was destroyed by fire in the boarding house in which he lived in the Town of Bridgewater.
DesBrisay slowly added to those few salvaged artifacts and eventually assembled another reputable collection in his residence on Pleasant Street, “Ivy Banks.”
By 1880, this collection had grown to such proportions that it attracted the attention of local citizens, students, and tourists.
A letter dated 1880, written by a school teacher thanking Judge DesBrisay for the courtesies extended to her class during a visitation to his museum, sets the founding year of the DesBrisay Museum.
Following the death of Judge DesBrisay in April 1900, the collection was purchased by Mayor Edward Doran Davison Jr. from Ada DesBrisay (Judge DesBrisay’s wife) in 1901, and presented to the Town of Bridgewater.
It was then moved from the DesBrisay residence to the Court House in Bridgewater and placed under the care of William E. Marshall, L.L.B. In 1938, the need for extra space at the Court House made it necessary to move the collection elsewhere, and, thus, the Women’s Institute of Bridgewater took care of the collection on the second floor of a building they occupied on King Street.
In the early 1950s, a committee consisting of one member each from the Women’s Institute, the Lunenburg County Historical Society, and the Town of Bridgewater, constituted an advisory executive supported by a yearly grant from the Town of Bridgewater. In 1961, when the building was condemned and dismantled, the collection was put into storage at Acadia Gas Engine’s warehouse in Bridgewater. It remained there until 1966 when it was moved to Bridgewater’s completed Centennial Project, and the Museum’s current location, on Jubilee Road. In the same year, Town Council appointed a Board of Trustees and Glen I.K. Feindel as Curator.
At an inaugural meeting of the newly appointed Board on February 18, 1966, a resolution was passed that the museum’s theme should be “Interpreting and communicating to the general public the history of our country (especially Lunenburg County), our cultural growth, and our achievements in the field of arts and crafts.” To this end, through the assistance and guidance of the Nova Scotia Museum, the museum collection was arranged chronologically to tell a story of Lunenburg County and its people. The museum has the distinction of having the oldest municipally owned collection in the Province of Nova Scotia. Canada’s Centennial Commissioner, John Fisher, officially opened the new museum building on June 7th, 1967.
In 1972, the Chair of the Board and the Curator of the DesBrisay Museum were chosen as a committee to investigate the need for additional facilities to the existing building. And construction of a new wing encompassing an exhibit centre, workshop, storage facilities, etc. was completed in 1974.
In October 1987, members of the community met to form the Friends of the DesBrisay Museum, a volunteer organization to support the museum and its programs. They were officially incorporated in January 1988 with Brook Taylor as Chair.
The need for more space to hold meetings and events was again realized with a fundraising campaign undertaken by the Museum Commission and Friends’ volunteers. On May 14, 1997, the campaign to enclose the breezeway and make a Multipurpose Room was officially opened. A new Gift Shop area and Reception was reconfigured, and a new entrance door was installed with a glass foyer.
Lt. Governor Myra Freeman visited the museum on July 9, 2002, and presented the museum with a certificate for recognition of outstanding efforts over the past 100 years.
Today the museum has evolved into a vibrant community hub; housing an art gallery, a permanent curated museum space, collections storage, a built heritage and genealogical research area, a community kitchen space, public accessible washrooms, staff offices, and a recreational community room. The collection and the building is owned and operated by the Town of Bridgewater; and is managed by the Town’s Director of Community Development supported by the leadership of its Recreation and Culture Manager. Staff includes a Recreation Programmer, a Museum Coordinator, a part-time Collections Coordinator, a part-time Museum Administrator, a seasonal Recreation Food Coordinator, and an Administrative Coordinator for Recreation. The museum also employs an array of seasonal and temporary staff to support our museum Collections Coordinator, our vast recreational programming, and guest services work.
From sources by G.I.K. Feindel (September 1975), Linda Bedford (March 2007), & the DeBrisay Museum staff (2026)