Jaekel House — Attraction in Lagos State

Jaekel House is a 2-storey colonial mansion built in 1898 on a large expanse of landscaped land and named after the late Francis Jaekel OBE, a former superintendent of the Nigeria Railway Corporation and located in the Railway Compound in Ebute Metta, Lagos. It was formally the residence of the General Manager and was later converted to a senior staff rest house. The building was finally renovated and restored by Prof. John Godwin in collaboration with the Railway Corporation in 2010 and currently converted into a Mini Museum showcasing photographic archives dating from 1940s through to 1970s of personalities, places, historical events in pre- and post-independent Nigeria and houses artefacts (tools, equipment, attires, pictures etc) of the old Railway Corporation. The Mini Museum is currently run by Legacy1995, the Historical & Environmental Interest Group of Nigeria in conjunction with Nigeria Railway Corporation.

I've known of it's existence for about a year + now. I'd always looked forward to visiting it and I wasn't disappointed at all! I finally visited Jaekel House from my base Abuja on 17th August 2021. If you're fascinated by or love trains, railways, colonial era and vintage stuff, you should certainly visit Jaekel House!

Getting there was pretty easy, though I didn't go by regular public transport. A Bolt ride from my Surulere location to Jaekel House cost N900. They're open Tuesdays to Saturdays 10am - 5pm. The compound has the 2 storey mostly wooden building, an installed rail track, some railway equipment, a lush, flower laden garden, fruit trees, a cottage building at the back, which serves as a kitchen, a picnic area and well cut lawn. Pictures are only allowed outside in the compound, of the building and the ground floor room where pictures are hung up. Pictures are not allowed upstairs. Entry is free but donations are requested and accepted after the tour. They keep a visitor's register where you enter you personal information, remarks and donation made. I'll encourage anyone visiting to donate generously as they can afford, as this goes into the upkeep and maintenance of the museum.

This place will not only show you the history of Nigeria Railway, it also packs a healthy dose of retro, vintage vibe with the quaint pretty house and lush flower garden. It's a great place to bring kids to learn about history of trains and railway in Nigeria, as well as to relax. They have a picnic/event area that can be rented for picnics and small events. It's also a perfect place for a photoshoot like, pre wedding shoot, romantic/vintage themed shoots, railway themed shoots, all at a fee. Some scenes in kunle Afolayan's movie, October 1st were shot in Jaekel House.

The cottage is currently not working, likely due to covid. Things they should do to improvise the place would be; •Do more thorough cleaning inside, especially upstairs where items, pictures and equipments are displayed. •Add some games visitors could play. •Add some concrete chairs in Jaekel's Secret Garden and in the front part of the house. •Publicize the existence of the museum, many people do not know about it.

On a scale of 1 - 10, I give it a 9. It took me straight back to my childhood and reminded me of my first train ride in Nigeria at the age of 4 from Enugu to Sokoto.

Jaekel House is certainly worth a...

Jaekel House, aka, Railway Museum is situated on Federal Road, Railway Compound, Ebute-Metta. (It should be noted that Railway Compound is one of the safest places on the Mainland and does not permit thoroughfares and ensures prompt security details.)

The Compound (especially that of Jaekel House) is lush with adequately mowed lawns and orderly planted ornamental plants (and flowers) which are religiously tended to (from observation). 🥰 There is the availability of an ample parking area in the compound of the museum and a cordoned verdant backyard affording you all the privacy you need for intimate social events.

The Museum is quaintly architectured with well-seasoned woods giving off an antiquated feel (which I loved 😍). The history this singular venue holds of the Railway Corporation here in Nigeria is overwhelming.

This very museum is replete with information on (and houses) artefacts over two centuries old and images of reputable people such as HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG CGVO and so on upon their visit to the museum. 🤭

There are prototypes of trains (and locos) ranging from DMUs to the steam engine Locos and electrically-powered models. There are also telephones, typewriters, and other communication equipment used from the inception of the Railway Corporation available here.

If you're like me, you would be fascinated by this: I got to see a sizable lump of coal and a kerosene-powered refrigerator (Yup! You read that right 😅) for the first time.

The curator did an excellent job of touring this premises whilst willing to share in his wealth of knowledge and ability to entertain/answer questions. I highly recommend a visit...

Jaekel House has been part of the Nigerian railway compound for some decades now and it's the right place to visit as regards the history of corporations.

The Jaekel House is a two-storey colonial mansion in Ebute Metta West of Lagos Nigeria.

The place was built in 1898 on a large expanse of landscape and named after the late Francis Jaekel OBE, a former superintendent of the Nigerian Railway Corporation who retired in the 1970s after almost three decades of active service.

Jaekel House was formally the residence of the general manager and was later converted into a senior staff rest house.

The building has been renovated and restored by Professor John Godwin in collaboration with the Railway Corporation in the year 2010.

The building is now a mini museum showcasing photographic archives dating from the 1940s through to the 1970s of personalities, places, and historical events in pre and post-independent Nigeria and houses artefacts (tools, equipment, attire, pictures etc.) of the Railway Corporation.

It's also one of the fairy tales wedding locations in Lagos

Nigerian Nollywood also comes to shoot different movie scenes at the place and also attracts schools from all over to teach their pupils about the history of the Nigerian Railway Corporation

People visit from all over the world 🌍 to take pictures and be enlightened about the place.

It's a good place to visit and hopefully, the Nigerian Railway Corporation will step up its development of our rail system and make it safer and can ply everywhere I'm the city of Lagos and also Nigeria as a whole.

Please if you can pay a visit to the place and you'll learn a thing...