The Linden Museum of Industrial and Socio-Cultural Heritage on Co-op Crescent in Mackenzie, is located in one of Linden’s most historic buildings, according to the National Trust of Guyana.
The building was constructed in 1925 and was known as the Recreational Hall where it was used for dances, indoor games; as a cinema and general meeting place. Later, in the 1970s, it served as the Linden Consumer Goods Complex; today, after much negotiations, it houses the “Linden Museum of Socio-Cultural Heritage”, its official name, according to lindentourism.com
The museum was established by the Region 10 Tourism Development Association and launched April 25, during the 2006 Linden Town Week, which is reported to have coincided with the town’s 36th anniversary.
The museum is dedicated mainly towards showcasing the history of Linden as an industrial town, and as such, exhibits include historical mining artefacts, documents, including newspapers, maps and journals; photographs and models of historic industrial machinery, as well as miniature replicas of the mining town.
The museum also has on display indigenous artefacts from the pre-history of Linden, fossils, as well as products derived from its bauxite. In addition, a large cast-iron pot, said to have been used during earlier times for cooking or boiling sugar cane, rests outside on the front porch, one of the first things to notice upon visiting the museum.
October 2016 marks 100 years of bauxite mining in Linden, and the Linden Museum will be part of the planning and preparations for the occasion.
