robert thomas carriage museum and schwartz tavern

Both properties are free to visit and you get a wonderful personal tour given by the owner. Her husband collected horse carriages for more then 30 years, and built the Carriage Museum before he passed away. The Schwartz Tavern is full of local antiques and memorabilia from Blackstone. Both are worth a visit!

Thoroughly enjoyed both museums which are original old structures. The guides knew their history, had great anecdotes about the families that owned the businesses, which parts were first built and which were added over years, details on exactly how they were used by patrons and owners alike.

This museum was started by Robert Thomas and is currently managed by his son and widower. You will find an excellent assortment of carriages here and the history behind each is fascinating.Mrs. Thomas gave us our tour and it was very interesting. We had a group of 8 adults and everyone enjoyed it.

There is no reason why these two attractions should be so lightly attended. I think it's probably because there's not a lot of tourism going on in Blackstone, but these are definitely worth a visit. The curator is the grandson of the collector of almost all of the carriages and wagons on display. He or his wife give good tours and they are obviously very knowledgeable about the museum pieces. The carriages and wagons are extremely well preserved and all of them look like they could be hooked up and pulled right now. Mainly there are carriages for personal or family transportation, but there are also working wagons, a mail carriage, ammunition carriage and others. The Schwartz Tavern is adjacent and is interesting as well. I believe it is the oldest building in town and is quite well preserved. I think the most interesting feature is the stair case near the entrance which is double sided meets in a landing and then turns 90 degrees to go upstairs. It's very unusual. The best part of the Schwartz Tavern tour is the narrative the Mr. Thomas gives about the area and the town. He is quite enthusiastic about the historic value of the site and other sites nearby. Both tours are free but there are donation boxes and I recommend you to give as it helps with the maintenance and future preservation. He never even asked for a donation but it was well worth it to me. If you are anywhere near Blackstone, I encourage you to visit this place. It's open just about every day.