The Thornton W. Burgess Society is a non-profit educational organization that was founded in 1976 to celebrate the work of Thornton W. Burgess., who grew up in Sandwich, MA and was a celebrated children’s author.

A house like no other

The Thornton W. Burgess Museum is located at 4 Water Street in Sandwich with your discount Cape Cod car rental. The museum features memorabilia relating to the life and work of Thornton Burgess. You can look through the books, toys, games, and household goods that feature some of the popular characters from Burgess’ books, including Peter Rabbit, Reddy Fox, and Jimmy Skunk. The highlight of the museum are the Harrison Cady illustrations. Outside the museum, you can stroll through the Tussie Mussie her garden. You can also listen to story time, which is conducted on a regular basis during the summer months. In the summer, there are also walking tours of Sandwich that start at the museum. These tours take you back to the summer of 1916. An actor portraying Thornton Burgess will take you through the town that he knew as a child and what life was like in the 1870s and 1880s.

Plan your visit

When you visit with your discount Cape Cod car rental, you will find that the museum is open May through October from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is by donation.

Discover nature

Thornton W. Burgess was a great lover of nature, and the Green Briar Nature Center is a nature sanctuary next to the Briar Patch, made famous in Burgess’ stories. The Green Briar Nature Center offers interpreted nature trails and a wild flower garden. There are natural history programs for children and adults. The nature centre is open year round. From mid April through December, the Center is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. From January through mid April, they are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. They are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

Eat up

Green Briar is also home to the Green Briar Jam Kitchen, which has been here since 1903. This is a living museum that you can visit with your discount Cape Cod car rental. The kitchen prepares jams, jellies, relishes, and pickles in the old-fashioned way in a turn-of-the-century kitchen. This is the oldest solar-cooking operation in the country. All products are also offered in the gift shop, so you will have a souvenir to take home in your discount Cape Cod car rental.

When you visit the Thornton W. Burgess Museum with your discount Cape Cod car rental, you can recapture a part of your childhood by seeing where Peter Rabbit and his friends lived.