Children visiting the Union County Museum can play with toys their ancestors might have enjoyed.

The museum used part of a $2,500 educational grant from Wal-Mart to purchase the toys.

“For quite some time we had nothing in the museum that children can actually touch,” director Ola Jean Kelly said. “With the educational grant from Wal-Mart we were able to purchase toys that children in the 18th and 19th century would have played with. This will give children a chance to experience for themselves how children in those days entertained themselves.”

Included among the toys are “Jacob’s Ladder,” which children were allowed to play with because of its biblical reference; “Pecking Chickens,” in which a weight secured to the bottom of a board causes four wooden chickens to peck; a similar “Pecking Bird” toy; “Jumping Jack”; “Flapper Jack”; “Graces,” a two-person game; a board game called “Fox and Geese”; and a toy drum.

Mrs. Kelly said the toys will initially be on display during the Living History weekend at Cross Keys House before going on permanent display at the museum.

Another new item at the museum is puzzles of some local landmarks made by Mark Johnson.

Mrs. Kelly said Johnson has taken photos of the Cross Keys House, the old Union County Jail designed by Robert Mills; a historic barn at 7 Springs Plantation; and the Union County Courthouse and made puzzles out of them. She said the museum will have one puzzle of each landmark which children will be allowed to play with.

The puzzles will also be sold at Cross Keys House this weekend.