Archives & Records
Family history material, parish records, photographs, indexes and documents connected with local people and places.
Museum Story
A former church, now home to local heritage
When Crawfordjohn Church was first purchased from the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland in 1988, discussions began about creating a lasting project for the village and surrounding area.
Ideas included a local history centre, handmade items, storytelling and the recording of memories from local people. Over time, these ideas developed into Crawfordjohn Heritage Venture Museum.
The museum opened in the early 1990s and is now home to hundreds of items, photographs, records and memories connected with Crawfordjohn and its surrounding communities.
Volunteers and Friends
Run by the community
Coaxed, guided and chivvied by professionals, often in their spare time, the volunteers created an Association of Friends of Crawfordjohn Heritage Venture.
The museum has been well supported by tourists and returning expatriates, but the core of local volunteers has worked extremely hard. They are the lifeblood of the museum.
After an enormous amount of work, the museum achieved registration in 2004 and full accreditation with Museums Galleries Scotland in 2011.
The museum is self-supporting and independent. There are no grants available for running costs, so fundraising is an ongoing challenge, and more volunteers are always sought and welcomed.
What Youâll Find
Exhibits & Objects
Everyday objects, farming tools, household items and artefacts that tell the story of rural life.
Photographs
Images of village life, local people, farming, school journeys, shops, work and community activities.
Museum Pictures
The museum picture collection includes photographs of Crawfordjohn, local farms, village life, rural work and everyday moments from the surrounding area.
Stumpy Road
Four roads lead into Crawfordjohn village, each known by a local name. This photograph shows Stumpy Road, about 1910.
Changing Transport
Bob Allan and Jean Alexander at Liscleugh Farm, 1938. A glimpse of changing transport and rural life in the area.
An Upland Shepherd
Jimmy McKay, who shepherded at Glenscleugh Mains Farm, Crawfordjohn, in the 1950s.
Washday
A photograph from Crawfordjohn village in the 1920s, showing domestic work before modern washing machines.
Off to School
Children from Glendorch crossing water on their way to Crawfordjohn School in August 1954.
Village and Landscape
Photographs preserve the changing village, local farms, roads and the wider rural landscape.
Museum Exhibits
The collection includes objects from homes, farms and rural working life, each helping to preserve a small part of Crawfordjohnâs past.
Sheep Shears
A set of hand sheep shears from Normangill, Crawford, dating from around 1900â1950. These were used before faster mechanical shears became common.
Veterinary Tools
A boxed set of veterinary tools used for treating Sturdy, a disease once common in sheep. Before motor transport, calling a vet was not always possible.
Seed Fiddle
A seed fiddle from Normangill, Crawford, dating from around 1910â1940. It was used for sowing grass seed across pasture land.
Dark Blue Earthenware Jug
An earthenware jug from Glendouran, Crawfordjohn, dating from around 1800â1820. Jugs like this were often used in the dairy or to hold milk for family use.
Rag Rug and Rug-Making Tool
A rag rug from Debog, Glespin, and a rug-making tool from Monksfoot, Glespin, dating from around 1930â1950 and 1940â1960.
Hand-operated Washing Machine
A hand-operated washing machine from Glendorch, Crawfordjohn, dating from around 1900â1955. It shows how hard domestic work could be before electric machines.
Bag of Marbles
A bag of marbles from Monksfoot, Glespin, dating from around 1900â1930. Marbles were once a common childrenâs game with many local variations.
Current Museum Project
Restoring the Crawfordjohn Pipe Organ
The pipe organ at Crawfordjohn has been part of the building for more than a century. Installed in spring 1912, it was built by Henry Hillsen of Glasgow and is believed to have been the first organ he built and installed.
The instrument remained in use until around 1983â84. After Crawfordjohn Church closed in 1987, the organ became part of the heritage preserved by Crawfordjohn Heritage Venture. Before the building was converted for museum use, the instrument suffered from plaster, dust and debris associated with a roof collapse and subsequent building work.
In summer 2026, the organ was carefully dismantled and removed so that specialist repair and restoration work could be carried out. The project aims to preserve this important part of Crawfordjohnâs musical and community heritage and, where possible, return the instrument to use.
Removing the Organ
A glimpse behind the scenes as the organ was dismantled and removed for restoration, with museum volunteer Andrew sharing some of its history.
Restoration update: Further updates will be shared as the project progresses.
Past Museum Projects
Projects, exhibitions and local stories
Museum projects have included exhibitions on curling, spoken history recordings, music in the hills, and the life and work of Sadie McLellan.
The curling exhibition documents a popular local sport, including photographs, medals, newspaper cuttings and curling stones made in the local Craighead Quarry.
Other projects have recorded stories from within the community and explored rural life, music, farming and local traditions.
Oral History Project
The museumâs Oral History Project recorded local memories and life stories from people connected with Crawfordjohn and the surrounding area.
The examples below are available as downloadable media files. They may not play directly in every browser, so downloading is usually the safest option.
John Muir
Born in Crawfordjohn in 1918, John Muir was a respected local historian of life in an Upperward village.
Interview duration: 42 minutes. Excerpt: approximately 1 minute.
Download John Muir
Bunty Walker
Bunty Walker farmed at Craighead, where her fatherâs family had farmed before her. She later farmed at Greenfield, Crawfordjohn.
Interview duration: 50 minutes. Excerpt: 1 minute 30 seconds.
Download Bunty WalkerJohn Muir and Crawfordjohn
A family connection
Crawfordjohn has a family connection with John Muir, the Scottish-born naturalist and conservationist who later became closely associated with the preservation of wilderness in the United States.
John Muirâs father, Daniel Muir, was orphaned when he was very young and spent part of his childhood and youth in Crawfordjohn parish, where he was raised by relatives and worked on the land.
Daniel later left Crawfordjohn, eventually settling in Dunbar. John Muir was born there in 1838 before the family emigrated to the United States in 1849.
Crawfordjohn Heritage Venture Museum includes material relating to the Muir family and their connection with the area.
Please note: This family connection relates to the famous naturalist John Muir (1838â1914). The John Muir featured in the Oral History Project above was a different person: a Crawfordjohn-born local historian born in 1918.
Sadie McLellan
Artist in glass
Sadie McLellan worked and lived in Crawfordjohn with her husband and fellow artist Walter Pritchard between 1971 and 1989.
Her workshop was the old Crawfordjohn United Free Church. Research materials, slides and photographs relating to her life and work were later gifted to the museum.
The exhibition includes pictures, slides and presentation material showing Sadieâs stained glass work, which can be found in churches and buildings across Scotland.
School Storytelling Project
Community audio archive
Crawfordjohn Primary School and local stories
From September to November 2008, pupils from Crawfordjohn Primary School worked with Crawfordjohn Heritage Venture Museum on a storytelling project.
The project invited pupils to describe museum objects, interview members of the local community and record stories about their local area.
The original project images are no longer available, but the surviving audio recordings have been preserved as part of the museumâs digital archive.
See the collection in person
Plan your visit to explore the museum, photographs, records, objects and local stories.