Ashburton is a gateway to the Dartmoor National Park and its Museum is an important reference point for the history of this Stannary Town. It is a doorway to the past domestic and rural life of Dartmoor.

The Museum occupies an old and attractive house at the junction of the Town's three main streets. There is ample car parking nearby.

Most of the objects on display have been gathered from the locality some, such as the Parliament Clock of the 1770s, the stoneware jars and pewter items were made locally. A model and pictures of the market Hall (demolished in 1848), the collection of old farming implements and two musical instruments used by the Town Band in 1810, give a fascinating insight to the past. On a lighter note there is a small collection of Victorian toys, including two of the smallest dolls ever made. Small collections of local minerals, flints and fossils relate to the area around Ashburton.

The great surprise is the top floor where there is an outstanding collection of North American Indian artefacts. Particularly striking is a Sioux War Bonnet. The collection was donated by the late Paul Endacott whose parents left Ashburton for Oklahoma at the turn of the century.