The museum has sections illustrating local geology, archeology and history and one special part on the history of Dumfries. The basement of the mill contains paleochristian stones and the first floor an exhibition of country life and the origins of the museum, an observatory in 1836. The telescope was used to observe Halley's comet in July 1836. The Camera Obscura, on the top floor of the windmill, offers a fine view over Dumfries.