Cottage Museum, Rylstone

Collecting, assessing and preserving objects relative to the early history of the Rylstone District.

The Cottage Museum is housed in a simple 1890s weatherboard home built for local blacksmith, James Nash. It is located in the Rylstone and District Historical Society precinct which is located at the northern of the main street of Rylstone and consists of The Cottage Museum, the Thyme Out Community Garden and the handsome heritage listed Bridge View Inn.

The Museum displays focus on domestic and rural life. They include costume, rustic furniture, kitchen and small farming tools, schooling and musical instruments. Also on display are photographs of pioneers, the town and district.

The Rylstone district was explored soon after the settlement of Bathurst in 1818. In search of good grazing land, explorers pushed north and found the rich Capertee, Cudgegong, Lue and Bylong valleys. Flocks and settlement followed. The village developed as a centre serving large pastoral properties. By the 1870s and 80s, wealth from fine wool, horse breeding, fat cattle and the nearby Turon River gold fields saw Rylstone become a social and government centre, with numerous Victorian era sandstone buildings that continue to give it great charm today.