Originally the museum had been erected as a church building for the so called coloured community. The property had been purchased in 1879 for twenty five pounds sterling and it was the following year that Missionary P Sterrenberg chaired the meeting which commissioned the building of the church. Minutes from the meeting saw a committee formed to raise funds to build the church and also saw the dimensions set down as follows, the church would be fifty feet long, seventeen feet wide and ten feet high inside.
The building itself was dedicated on 29 March 1884 by Missionary P Sterrenberg and Minister S H Kuhn. The additional two wings were added to the building in 1942. In 1975 the church moved to a new building and the old one became a school building. Today the building serves as a Museum with the theme, Our Mission Inheritance.
Some of the displays in the museum include hand made chisels and tin stencils which were used by Cornelius de Waal, the local Sandstone Gravestone maker from the nineteenth century. Some of his workmanship is also on display in the museum.
The building itself was dedicated on 29 March 1884 by Missionary P Sterrenberg and Minister S H Kuhn. The additional two wings were added to the building in 1942. In 1975 the church moved to a new building and the old one became a school building. Today the building serves as a Museum with the theme, Our Mission Inheritance.
Some of the displays in the museum include hand made chisels and tin stencils which were used by Cornelius de Waal, the local Sandstone Gravestone maker from the nineteenth century. Some of his workmanship is also on display in the museum.
Source: https://www.wheretostay.co.za/topic/4392-williston-museum
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