This beautiful building with neo-Gothic elements was built in 1907 as the Dutch Reformed Mission Church. The Land Reform Act of the 1960s forced the congregation to vacate the building, and the last service was held on June 13, 1970. In 1975, the building reopened as the Montagu Museum and in 1976, it was declared a national monument.
The recently renovated exhibition tells the story of a rural church and its members. Through their words, it tells the story of a sacred space where, through gatherings, songs, sermons, and a firm faith in their Savior, a safe haven was created where people could find solace in their collective hardships. Today, the collection of Bibles, wooden pews, prayer books, and framed portraits on the walls serve as silent reminders of a time gone forever. The church museum features the original pulpit, organ, baptismal font, and the mural behind the pulpit. The original wooden collection plates and musical instruments of the church's brass band are also on display.
A glass cabinet filled with a collection of stone tools, under a banner depicting rock art recently discovered on the banks of the Keisie River in Montagu West, proves that the Khoekhoen and San were the original inhabitants of the area. Symbols painted on the rocks suggest this was a sacred place where initiation ceremonies were performed.
In the museum shop at the back of the church, 53 herbal mixtures are on display, based on herbal remedies used by the Khoekhoen and San, whose knowledge has been passed down for thousands of years. Since 1982, the Montagu Museum has been researching indigenous herbs, and the project has become part of the preservation of our shared indigenous heritage.
Today, the Old Mission Church remains as popular as ever as a venue for weddings, intimate church services, meetings, and gatherings. Thanks to its acoustics, music evenings are regularly held there. The museum archive serves as a repository for local family histories and for the region at large, with a focus on the history of the church and its congregation.
Visitors to the museum are taken on a journey through the story of early humans, the medicinal herbs they harvested in the Montagu region, and the places of worship their descendants visited many years later.