"History is so immediate here," said Marie Martin, incoming president of the St. Michaels Museum’s board of directors. "Let’s face it—St. Michaels is a museum. Everybody here is a volunteer."
The museum comprises three buildings, each of which has its own history. The Teetotum is a small building that began life as a commercial structure about the time of the Civil War, and served at one time or another as a judge’s office, a town jail, a saddle shop, a mortuary (), a bank and a barber shop. It is filled with bits of St. Michaels’ commercial history, ranging from carpentry tools to an intricately decorated shoeshine stand and including a body board for carrying a corpse (尸体). "At one time, there were five funeral homes in St. Michaels," Kate Fones, who is in charge of the Museum, pointed out.
Teetotum is connected to the Sewell House, the first building of the museum, which was moved to the museum site in 19. The building focuses on the home life during the 19th century, including period furniture and home artifacts of a local nature, ranging from an intricate apple peeler and heavy clothes irons that had to be heated over a fire to a chamber pot (夜壶). The Sewell House also has its own history, being half of a building that was cut in two to provide two homes. The Sewell family added a kitchen and a loft to the two-story half home. "The whole thrust of the museum is to protect and preserve the history, understand what was here," Martin said.
The museum also tries to fell the 19th century history of African Americans in the town. The most recently added of the three buildings that make up the museum is the Chaney House, a two-story, two-room house that was owned by three free African Americans after it was built around 1850.
The museum staff tries to appeal to year-round residents as well as summer people and other tourists. Having a steady supply of new exhibits, two per year, is a way to do that.
What is the main purpose of the museum