South County Museum — Attraction in Narragansett

Lovely until we saw the animal areas. Let me pause for a moment to say I'm 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 museum's 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 didn't 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. I've 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...

This museum is small but mighty in its plethora of information and materials detailing life in South County - from an exhibit on the Narragansett People, to owners of the original farm, local soldiers, fishermen, and visitors to Narragansett in its heyday. There's even a working Victrola!There are other buildings as well, including buildings with a blacksmith shop, carpenter shed, a weaving and textile building, and one with early 20th century vehicles. We spent a good few hours here. It's well...

We got married at South County Museum in August and it was amazing! The staff was excellent to communicate with and work with throughout the entire process. We had our ceremony in the ivy stables and it was beautiful. We had a tented reception in the field to follow. Our guests loved visiting the museum and seeing the property. If you are looking for a unique wedding venue in South County visit the museum! We...