A very immersive experience with plenty of different elements of local history. A great way to see how different and similar the past is to the present. Very friendly and informative staff, too.

Lovely until we saw the animal areas. Let me pause for a moment to say Im a zoo keeper of 20 years, mostly working with birds. My husband is a retired zoo keeper, working with mammals for 46 years.There were 4 sheep, all unshorn, with very thick wool coats, in a small field attached to a barn. There was shade enough for one sheep; the other 3 were lying down, open mouthed breathing and looked extremely hot in the sun (it was mid July, and 90 degrees.) As far as I could see, access to the barn was closed, so they were stuck outside. There was at least water available.Next, we came to the chick coop. There were, as one of the docents told me, 150 chicks this year. This place is very proud of their Rhode Island Red heritage breed chickens; they have won numerous awards, and their ribbons are hanging in the museums main building. They also sell adult chickens to breeders and hobbyists. I have no complaints with that.The coop was small for 150 chicks, but I didnt see any aggression, it was relatively clean, and there was plenty of food and water.The adult chicken coops, on the other hand, were beyond disgusting. If I kept animals at my job the ways these birds were kept, I would be fired immediately. There were 2 to 4 inch thick piles of feces under the roost perches and on the floor. I even took a picture, in horror. I have worked with chickens, which we keep at the zoo in the farm area, and for surrogate rearing pheasants. Ive also worked with a lot of pheasants. Believe me when I tell you, this was not a day or two of excrement; it was mutiple days, or weeks. There was an ammonia smell in the air. It was abusively filthy. I felt horrible for the one hen nesting in the filthier of the 2 coops.The rest of the birds were outside. There were 2 small yards, completely barren, not a blade of grass. Yes, I know chickens peck at greenery and defoliate. Where I work, we plant more plants for them, put down pine needles, and turn the soil, not leave a hard packed yard of dirt. There was limited shade, and the birds were mostly huddled in it, although a few were walking around in the sunny areas. I did see water available, but not food, although it could have been out of my sight line in the coops. The chickens all looked healthy, with good feather condition. But they should absolutely not have to live in their own waste.What started off as a very pleasant day ended up being awful. I understand that the South County Museum is not rolling in cash, as most cultural and education facilities are not. Funding for workers is surely limited. However, the grounds and buildings are all impeccably kept; for goodness sake, why are the areas with LIVE ANIMALS neglected so horribly?

Amazing amounts of history about the local area. Very unique exhibits about South County in the late 19th and early 20tj century. Definitely worth a couple of hours of time.

Had a lot fun. Volunteers were great about explain to things and showing you how it works. Kids section in the main building has a lot of stuff for them to touch and pick up.

Great beach alternative for the kids on a cloudy day. On our visit we were able to see 150 newborn Rhode Island Red chicks, enjoy the touch exhibits of an old house, and visit the old school house and blacksmith shop.

The South County Museum is a treasure. The print shop and blacksmith studios are working museums. I particularly love the print shop - its full of gorgeous printing presses from New Englands extensive history. Wonderful people, too!

Nice small farm and museum for the area. Theres a forge, print shop, small school and a main building. There are other things outside as well.

Amazing place for everyone to learn about RI history. The museum has tons of dated artifacts and the grounds are great for kids to run around and explore

A nice, local museum that provides an informal, low-key experience. Youre not going to spend hours and hours here and theres limited options for children, but if youre interested in local history - some with national consequences -- or a working printing press or blacksmith, this is the place for you. Very affordable too.

Beautiful wedding venue!

Very awesome! The woman at the desk in the visiting center was very nice and knew what she was talking about! Learned a lot and some places looked really interesting! Got a gift card for Jennifers Chocolates to get a chocolate lollipop for handing in the scavenger hunt finished. Would give 5 stars but the graveyard was kind of disappointing. I do recommend you go to the South County Museum!!

The South County Museum is charming. Its grounds are beautiful, its collection historical and interesting. Too bad it isnt open more hours.

Great quilt show every year. Friendly people, interesting lectures

Sorry havent been

Friendly people. Blacksmith shop is very cool, take a class. Will return to see the printshop and woodshop once open.

A great setting for my daughters wedding reception, backdropped by the most interesting display of South County and RI artifacts and historical displays. The most memorable experience!

I great muesum. They have a printshop, carpentry shop, blacksmithing shop and more that they do demonstrations with. A great community area. Would recommend

Temporary close

Very boring, map confusing, no graveyard, started getting alleric reactions and bites from walking for only 15 minutes, had to leave early, overpriced for what its worth, should be free. I dont recommend unless you like old barn houses in fields.

Beautfull view

Affordable and very interesting

Very nice

Nothing to see..