Haney House opens its doors after two-year hiatus

Maple Ridge’s popular museum site, Haney House will be opening its doors to visitors again starting Sunday.

Shea Henry, the executive director with the museum told The News that the staff was very excited to finally welcome back visitors to Maple Ridge Museum’s second site.

Haney House will be opening starting Sunday, March 13, and will be open for visitation every Sunday after that, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Preparation for the opening involved a of cleaning. Even when it was closed for the past two years, we would go and clean every few weeks. And now, there is even a new exhibit highlight the history of women in Haney. There is also an interactive part to that exhibit, so yeah it is very exciting,” she said.

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Haney House being a smaller location, had very limited room and just a single route through the museum which made it difficult to keep the doors open during the pandemic, explained Henry.

“However the people have been so understanding and even they are excited about the opening,” she said.

In 1979, the historic house which was built in 1883 as a family home by Thomas Haney, for his wife Anne and their family, was donated to the City of Maple Ridge as a museum.

In 2018, the house went through conservation and restoration work, including the installation of new windows, external doors and a new roof. After the restoration, the museum had a grand reopening and within just a year of the reopening, had to close its doors to visitors due to the pandemic.

“It is just very exciting. It is very much starting to feel like back to normal, with cautious optimism of course,” said Henry.

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