Green Gables House

Virtual Tour: Green Gables Heritage Place

Welcome to on of Canada’s most notable literary landmarks.

Image Caption: None

Image Description: The side of a white house with green shitters takes up the foreground of the image. Vines grow up along the side and the sun reflects off the windows.

The home of a beloved fictional heroine

Green Gables Heritage Place has become famous around the world as the inspiration for the setting in L.M. Montgomery's classic novel, Anne of Green Gables. The site is located in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

A map of Prince Edward Island, showing the coast near Cavendish with a red pin marker on Green Gables Heritage site.

Image Caption: Green Gables Heritage Place, Parks Canada

Image Description: A young girl with red braids and a straw hat walks towards a white and green farm house. The light of a setting sun shines on her face and the surrounding grassy field.

Did you know?

In real life, this farm was the home of David Jr. and Margaret Macneill, cousins of Montgomery's grandfather. The farm was first settled in 1831 by David Macneill Sr. Although L.M. Montgomery never lived here, nearby with her grandparents and knew it well.

Image Caption: Green Gables Heritage Place, Parks Canada

Image Description: A scenic view of Green Gables Heritage Place with a its white picket fence and surrounding hedge.

The house and its surrounding landscape inspired the setting of Montgomery's story, in which Anne, an 11-year-old orphan, is sent to live with two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, after they requested a boy to help with work on their farm.

The original farmhouse has been carefully restored and decorated to reflect the details included in Montgomery’s novel and the period in which it was set, right down to the furnishings in the rooms.

The experience at Green Gables Heritage Place

This heritage site is operated by Parks Canada. Visitors can tour the house, experience interactive exhibits at the visitor centre, wander the grounds and trails where Montgomery once roamed and take in programming with Anne and other characters.

Caption: Green Gables Heritage Place, Parks Canada

Image Description: A girl with red braids and a straw hat puts flowers in a young childs hair. Green Gables Heritage place can be seen in the distance.

Step inside Green Gables

Walk through the house and immerse yourself in the world of the novel and the rural lifestyle of the late Victorian era through the exploration of its rooms, furnishings and associated stories.

Image Caption: Green Gables Heritage Place, Parks Canada

Image Description: A young girl with red hair and a straw hat walks towards Green Gables Heritage Place.

The parlour

This is the parlour. Reserved for receiving important guests like the minister when he came for tea, the parlour is furnished in a more formal style than most of the house. This was not a room for Anne to use for entertaining!

Image caption: None

Audio caption: The parlour, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: “The parlour was reserved for receiving company, such as when the minister or other special guests would come for tea, and is furnished in a more formal style – this was not a room for Anne to use for entertaining!”

Image description: A 360 panorama of the parlour at Green Gables Heritage Place, with decorative wallpaper and formal style 1900 furniture. 

Horsehair furniture

Horsehair fabric, like that on this settee, was commonly used to cover Victorian furniture because it was durable and inexpensive. Anne wanted to have tea with Diana in the Parlour, but Marilla declared “the sitting room will do” for the girls that afternoon.

Image caption: Horsehair furniture, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada 1800/1900

Audio caption: None

Image description: Couch with wooden frame that has many carved details. The couch is upholstered with black silky fabric and has white doilies on each arm and one in the centre.

Bedtime prayers

Hanging prints of children praying, like this one from the Family Herald and Weekly Star (Montreal, Canada), was common in the 1800s. Anne’s first night at Green Gables, she makes up her first prayer, ending it with “yours respectfully” and not “Amen”, much to Marilla’s surprise.

Image caption: Bedtime prayers, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Audio caption: None

Image description: Framed painting of a child kneeling at the end of a bed with their palms together, fingers intertwined resting on the bed with their head in between.

Pump organ

Pump organs were common in smaller churches and private homes in the late 1800s. Families usually kept them in the “Parlour”. Montgomery played the pump organ at the Cavendish Presbyterian Church where she met her future husband, the Reverend Ewen Macdonald.

Image caption: Pump organ, Green Gables Heritage Place, Parks Canada1800/1900

Audio caption: None

Image description: Wooden organ with carved details and a wooden stool in front of it.

The dining room

The dining room was used for serving special guests. It had decorative furnishings, including the formal dinner table and best china. This is where Anne would have entertained Diana for the tea that had such disastrous results!

Image caption: None

Audio caption: The dining room, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: The dining room was used for entertaining special guests and has more decorative furnishings, including the formal dinner table and best china. This is where Anne would have entertained Diana for the tea that had disastrous results!

Image Description: The front room of the farm house has decorative wall paper and Victorian style furniture. In the center of the room in the dining table with a pie and tea-set.

Cheese Dish

In the 1800s, people of modest means had very few clothes. Most had a “Sunday Best” dress or suit, clothing for work or chores and sleepwear. Matthew wore his “white collar” on special occasions such as when he met Anne at the train station or when the minister came to call.

Image caption: Cheese dish, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Audio: None

Image description: White dish with a floral print that has two parts: a tray and a cover.

Concertina

The concertina was a popular musical instrument in the mid 1800s. While similar to an accordion, it is hexagon-shaped rather than rectangular, smaller in size and plays notes using buttons instead of a keyboard. While her aunt covered the cost of Diana’s music lessons, it was unlikely they were for instruction on the concertina since Old Miss Barry fancied singing concerts at the Academy of Music.

Image Caption: Concertina, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Audio: None

Image description: Hexagon object made with wood on each end, connected with folded material. Each end has fabric handles and buttons.

Stereoscope viewer

Invented in the early 1830s, the stereoscope was the world’s first 3D viewing system. This device brought images to life by presenting slightly different views of the same scene to the right eye and left eye at the same time. It was very popular with both adults and children!

Image caption: Stereoscope viewer, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Audio: None

Image description: Goggle shaped object with wooden picture holder attached.

Matthew's room

This was Matthew’s room. Matthew had a heart condition that made climbing the stairs difficult so the main level bedroom was used by him. Kitchen bedrooms were not uncommon. Close to the warm wood stove, the sick or even for expectant mothers.

Image caption: None

Audio: Matthew's room, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio caption: This room represents Matthew’s room in the novel. Although just a small room, it was better for his health to be near the heat source of the kitchen and on the main level, due to a heart condition that prevented him from climbing the stairs!

Image description: A 360 panorama of a small bedroom off the side of the hallway.

Matthew's walking cane

Hardworking Matthew may have used a “walking stick” like this simple cane for support from time to time. Once a fashion accessory, the walking stick evolved from being a symbol of stature into a standard walking aid for the elderly, injured or infirm for help in getting around. Matthew's Sunday best.

In the 1800s, people of modest means had very few clothes. Most had a “Sunday Best” dress or suit, clothing for work or chores and sleepwear. Matthew wore his “white collar” on special occasions such as when he met Anne at the train station or when the minister came to call.

Image caption: Matthew's walking cane, Green Gables Heritage Place - Parks Canada 1800/1900

Image description: Wood cane with a hook at the end for a handle.

Mathews Sunday best

In the 1800s, people of modest means had very few clothes. Most had a “Sunday Best” dress or suit, clothing for work or chores and sleepwear. Matthew wore his “white collar” on special occasions such as when he met Anne at the train station or when the minister came to call.

Image caption: Matthew's Sunday best, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: A black hat, vest and pants on the bed.

The kitchen

As it still is today, the kitchen was the hub of the Victorian home. The wood stove located there provided heat and hot water for chores, cooking, baking and bathing. The family ate most of their meals in the kitchen and the most common workspaces were here or very nearby. 

Image cation: None

Audio caption: The kitchen, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: The kitchen was the main hub of the house: The woodstove provided warmth, heated water for chores and cleaning, and was used for cooking meals and baked goods. This is where the family would eat most of their meals.

Image description: A 360 photo of the kitchen with a wood stove.

Cooking Stove

Marilla’s “old-fashioned Waterloo stove” was rather luxurious for the late 1800s. This New Waterloo No. 2 was manufactured in Sackville, New Brunswick. Wood burned in the bottom compartment heated the cooking surfaces and baking oven (top) and provided heat for the home.

Image caption: Cooking stove, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Large cast iron stove with four cooking cooktops for boiling a kettle or making stew. This “New Waterloo No 2” model was manufactured in Sackville, New Brunswick.

Fainting couch

During the mid-1800s, the fainting couch or daybed became popular. One theory is that this curvier sofa evolved because tightly-corseted ladies would collapse onto them to catch their breath. Couches in kitchens were good places for anyone ill and very tempting spots for naps!

Image caption: Fainting couch, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Small dark leather couch with one armrest and a wooden frame.

Woodbox

The woodbox stored wood to fuel the stove. Since wood stoves in Victorian houses needed to be kept going all the time (even in summer), having some wood stored conveniently indoors made the job a bit easier. Families refilled their woodboxes from a woodpile outside or a woodshed.

Image caption: Wood box, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Wood box that is painted white. The top has a door which is open, showing the wood kept inside.

The dairy porch

One of two working rooms located off the kitchen, the dairy porch was used for messy chores like the making of butter or cheese, doing laundry and washing dishes. This is where Anne would have helped Marilla with indoor chores.

Image caption: None

Audio caption: The dairy porch, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: None

Audio description: One of two working rooms off the kitchen – the dairy porch was used for messy chores such as making butter or cheese, and doing laundry and dishes. This is where Anne would have helped Marilla with indoor chores.

Image description: A 360 photo of the dairy porch with kitchen utilities needed for life in the era of the heritage site.

Butter churn

A butter churn is used to make butter from cream. This plunge churn was the most common style but there were also paddle, barrel and even rocking-chair churns! Butter forms when the staff (plunger), inserted into the top of the churn, is moved up and down repeatedly in the cream.

Image caption: Butter churn, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900.

Image description: Large clay pot with a long wooden handle coming out of a small hole in the lid.

The pantry

The second working room off the kitchen is the pantry. It was used for storing dry food, clean dishes and cooking utensils. Located close to the wood stove, it was a practical working room that could be used for preparing food and other chores as well.

Image caption: None

Audio Caption: The pantry, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: The second working room off the kitchen, the pantry was used for storing dry food as well as clean dishes and cooking utensils. Located close to the woodstove, it was a practical working room that could be used for preparing food and other chores.

Image description: A 360 image of the pantry where you can see dried food stored off the side of the kitchen.

Mouse trap

Multi-mouse traps like these from the 1800s were placed in homes to catch many pests at a time. The pantry is particularly tempting for rodents with all of the sugar, flour, molasses and other baking and cooking supplies.

Image caption: Mouse trap, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Wooden circular object with small holes around it and metal springs on top.

Pressing irons

Ironing was hard work! The "sad irons" were made of solid metal, weighed up to nine pounds and had to be heated over a fire or stovetop. This lighter rod model, known as a goffering iron, was designed for use on collars on dresses and shirts.

Image Caption: Pressing irons, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Three iron objects with flat surfaces and handles.

Antique floor sweeper

In the 1800s, companies began making more affordable carpets which made them a more common find in regular homes. It is not surprising that carpet sweepers or mechanical brooms also became popular household tools - they made the cleaning of carpets so much easier!

Image caption: Antique floor sweeper, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Long wooden handle with red metal attached at the end.

The kitchen

The kitchen was the biggest space on the first floor and the most popular as it was also the warmest. Daily family activities took place in the kitchen, including regular meals and chores. Matthew and Marilla would also host close friends like Rachel Lynde here for tea.

Image Caption: None

Audio Caption: The kitchen, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: The kitchen was the most common area on the first floor and would have been used most often, when not entertaining special guests, as it is the warmest space in the house. Many talks about Anne were had between Marilla and Matthew in the kitchen.

Image description: A 360 image of the kitchen, near the front windows of the house. A table and couch take up part of the far corner of the room.

Cherry pitter

Many simple kitchen tools were designed and perfected in the late 1800s. Cast iron cherry pitters like this one removed cherry stones without squashing the fruit. They were popular at first but likely didn’t really save that much time when making preserves and pies!

Image caption: Cherry pitter, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Cast-iron device with table clamp and turning handle.

Apple peeler

The first apple peelers were patented in the early 1800s. Apple peelers were often used to peel potatoes too since peeling either with a knife was a tedious process. No wonder simple crab-apple preserves like Marilla’s were popular - the peels are left on!

Image caption: Apple peeler, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Cast iron device with gears, blade, and turning handle.

Raspberry cordial

Non-alcoholic berry drinks like cordials were common in the 1800s and usually kept for special occasions and guests. Anne was supposed to serve Diana raspberry cordial when she came to tea. Unfortunately, the currant wine she served by mistake was a very different drink!

Image caption: Raspberry cordial, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Clear glass bottle with red liquid inside.

Entry hall

This is the front entry to the house

Image caption: None

Image description: A front entrance with stairs leading to the upper level of the house.

Anne's room

As described in the novel, Anne’s room is the “east gable room” at Green Gables where, after she moved in, “the whole character of the room was altered” to be far more cheerful and lively.

Image caption: None

Audio caption: Anne’s room, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: As described in the novel, Anne’s room is the “east gable room” at Green Gables where, after she moved in, “the whole character of the room was altered” to be far more vivid and vital. Anne often lamented in her bedroom, but also had many sound nights of sleep here!

Image description: A 360 image of Anne’s room with the closet door open and bed made.

Puffed-sleeve dress

Anne did all but beg Marilla for a puffed-sleeve dress with no success. Matthew noticed Anne’s dresses were different from the other girls’ and approached Mrs Rachel for her help in making Anne her very own “fashionable” dress for Christmas complete with puffed-sleeves!

Image caption: Puffed-sleeve dress, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Long, rust coloured, silky dress, with two large puffs on each sleeve.

Anne's satchel

The carpet bag was invented for practical and necessary use, not style, during the 1800s. Similar to a suitcase of today, it was used as a reliable way of carrying one’s things. In Anne’s case, even if it was shabby and old-fashioned, her carpet bag held “all her worldly goods”.

Image caption: Anne’s satchel, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Small fabric bag with leather handles. The fabric is worn and has what appears to be a floral print.

Slate

In the 1800s, children used mini chalkboards made of slate to practice writing because paper was too expensive. One day at school, Gilbert teased Anne, calling her “Carrots!”. Enraged, she reacted by hitting him over the head with her slate, breaking it. Isn’t it funny that she saved it?

Image caption: Slate, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Small square piece of slate with wooden border. The slate is broken into pieces.

Wallpaper

Anne’s love of apple blossoms was apparent from her first drive down the “White Way of Delight”. When she first arrived at Green Gables, the walls of the east gable room were bare so she imagined them “hung with gold and silver brocade tapestry.” Later, she covered them with a “dainty apple-blossom paper”.

Image caption: Wallpaper in Anne's room, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: White wallpaper with a floral pattern. Flowers are pink and yellow with green stems.

Marilla's room

Marilla’s room is as prim and proper as she was, with her modest possessions and sensible decor. She was very satisfied with the basics and believed that “bedrooms were made to sleep in” and not for clutter.

Image caption: None

Audio caption: Marilla’s room, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: Marilla’s room is as prim and proper as she was, with her modest possessions and sensible decor. She was very satisfied with the basics and believed that “Bedrooms were made to sleep in,” and not for cluttering.

Image caption: A room upstairs in the farm house at Green Gables Heritage place with simple décor.

Marilla's shawl

While shawls served in keeping warm, they were also quite fashionable and perfect for when the temperature was warm but wearing a coat was too much. Marilla wore dressier shawls to church and afternoon meetings of the Ladies’ Aid Society, and basic ones were worn at home.

Image caption: Marilla’s shawl, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Thin black material with long tassels, folded on bed.

Marilla’s glasses

Marilla often mentioned having tired eyes and headaches. A specialist examined her and told her to quit work that strained them. She was also to be careful not to cry and should wear special glasses to ease her headaches and prevent possible blindness.

Image caption: Marilla’s glasses, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Small metal glasses.

Marilla's brooch

Marilla’s most treasured possession was her amethyst brooch. When it went missing, she insisted Anne had misplaced it. In an effort to get to the Sunday School picnic, Anne made up a lie about losing it in the Lake of Shining Waters. In the end, it was found on Marilla’s shawl.

Image caption: Marilla’s brooch, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Gold circular brooch with pink gem in the middle.

Marilla's hairpins

While hairpins were fashionable, Marilla used more practical wire pins to hold her dark hair (with grey streaks) in place. She wore it “twisted up in a hard little knot”. Women sometimes had different hairpins for different occasions.

Image caption: Marilla’s hairpins, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: A set of golden brown two armed hair pins.

The guest room

The guest or spare room was decorated to please special guests and “out of the question for such a stray waif” as Anne upon arrival. Anne was later honoured with a “very sparest spare-room bed to sleep” during a visit to Diana’s great aunt Josephine Barry’s home in Charlottetown.

Image caption: None

Audio caption: The guest room, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: The guest room was decorated to please special visitors, and was “out of the question for such a stray waif” as Anne upon her arrival. However, Anne was later offered the “very sparest spare-room bed to sleep” for a visit to Diana’s great Aunt Josephine Barry’s in Charlottetown.

Image description: A 360 image of a room with a white framed bed upstairs in the farm house.

Spool bed

Victorian-era spool-turned furniture was commonly made in the late 1800s and is still popular style today. Families often made sure the spare room beds were comfortable and pretty but not too comfortable that guests overstayed their welcome.

Image caption: Spool bed, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: White bed frame with quilted blanket.

Chamber pot

Before indoor plumbing, chamber pots were often kept under the bed or in a nightstand commode as an alternative to a cold nighttime walk to the outhouse. Flush toilets started to appear in the 1800s but chamber pots remained common until the mid-1900s.

Image caption: Chamber pot, Green Gables Heritage Place. Lucy Maud Montgomery1800/1900

Image description: White pot with a handle and lid. The pot is also decorated with flowers on each side and on the top of the lid.

Passageway to the sewing room

The sewing room, Green Gables Heritage Place

Image captions: None

Image description: A hallway, where one can see the door to the sewing room.

The sewing room

The sewing room was used to sew clothing and other household items. Some of the basic mending or patchwork that Anne had to do may have been done elsewhere, such as in the kitchen where it was warmer.

Image captions: None

Audio caption: The sewing room, Green Gables Heritage Place

Audio: The sewing room was used often to make clothing and other household items. Some of the basic mending or patchwork that Anne had to do may have been done elsewhere, such as in the kitchen where it was warmer.

Image descriptions: This is a 360 image of a sewing room with antique machinery.

Cotton dress

Anne arrived at Green Gables “garbed in a very short, very tight, very ugly dress of yellowish-gray wincey.” Marilla provided three new “good, sensible, serviceable dresses” - including one that was “a stiff print of an ugly blue shade” - none of which Anne found to be “pretty".

Image caption: Cotton dress, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: A long blue patternered dress with buttons up the front, laid out on a red wooden chair.

Treadle sewing machine

A treadle sewing machine is powered by the user's foot which pushes the treadle up and down. Sewing machines were often placed by large windows to make use of natural light. Women made most of their family’s clothing at home.

Image caption: Treadle sewing machine, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Metal sewing machine attached to a wooden desk with a metal pedal in the middle used to power the machine.

Umbrella yarn swift

This umbrella swift design has been around since the 1600s and is used to hold a skein of yarn or wool to wind it into a ball. It was named because of its appearance resembling the ribs of an umbrella. No need to have someone with outstretched hands when you have this tool!

Image caption: Umbrella rack, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Wooden swift that sits on top of a table. It has multiple ribs that resemble the inside of an umbrella that are adjustable.

The hired boy`s room

This room represents where the hired boy would have slept. After the Cuthberts decided to keep Anne, they still needed someone to help Matthew with the farm work. Although just a simple room, it was certainly better than sleeping in the barn!

Image caption: None

Image description: A 360 image of a room the top of some stairs with a small bed in it.

Rope bed

Rope beds create support by criss-crossing under hay and straw mattresses, and need to be pulled taut nightly for comfort, to keep the mattress from sagging to the floor. Straw mattresses also tend to attract bugs, hence the saying "Sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite".

Image caption: Rope bed, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image description: Wooden bed frame with rope coming out the end that was pulled to tighten. Simple grey blanket laying on top of the bed.

Cheese boxes

Cheese became popular in the 1800s, so it’s not surprising that wooden cheese boxes were created about the same time, allowing cheeses to be shipped near and far. While primarily used for transporting cheese, wooden boxes like these were excellent as storage spaces.

Image caption: Cheese boxes, Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada1800/1900

Image descriptions: Two circular boxes made from wood

Thank you for visiting!

If you enjoyed your virtual tour, please consider visiting the site in person.

Credits: Story

Words or phrases in quotation marks included in the descriptions are taken from Anne of Green Gables. Parks Canada has received permission from the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. to publish this content on Google Arts and Culture.

Credits: All media

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.