Haliburton Highlands Museum

Posted January 3, 2009 by admin in Ontario Attractions Blog | No comments yet

The museum is situated in Glebe Park on the north shore of Head Lake overlooking Haliburton Village. It was started by a local committee as a Canadian Centennial project to commemorate the early pioneers of the area. Originally housed in the Reid House, a historic village home, the collection soon outgrew the confines of this little house. A much larger facility was constructed in Glebe Park in order to meet the museum’s growing requirements.

Reid House was picked up and moved to its new location and was refurbished as a typical village home reflecting life at the turn of the century. In subsequent years a log barn, house and small building housing our forge were added to the museum grounds in order to depict life in a more rustic & rural setting.

The main gallery facility houses numerous thematic exhibits relating to the first inhabitants of the region, the native peoples, who were followed by the first influx of lumbermen and settlers. It seems difficult to believe today the area was promoted for its agricultural possibilities by the Canadian Land and Immigration Company who purchased ten townships in the surrounding area. Unable to wrest a living from the poor soils the settlers turned to logging and trapping to supplement their meagre lot.

Location:

Haliburton Highlands Museum
P.O. Box 535, Haliburton, Ontario,  K0M 1S0
Tel: (705) 457-2760

Website: haliburtonhighlandsmuseum.com

Canadian Automotive Museum

Posted December 6, 2008 by admin in Ontario Attractions Blog, ontario attractions | No comments yet

This extremely interesting museum, charts the history of the automobile in Canada, using models, design drawings, photographs and other documents, best of all, its collection of over 80 vintage cars from between 1898 and 1930, including the 1912 McLaughlin Buick.

In 1961, a group of Oshawa businessmen wisely decided to create the Canadian Automotive Museum. The venture was initiated mainly to preserve the automotive history of Canada and to present this history in an educational and entertaining manner.

The Canadian Automotive Museum has grown in the size of the collection and in the scope of the artifacts displayed. Motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, pianos, washing machines, etc., make up the collection today.

Of course, the automobile is the backbone of the collection. Currently, approximately 65 vehicles dating from 1898 to 1981 are on display.

Through marquees such as Brooks Steam, Redpath, Tudhope, McKay, Galt Gas-Electric, Gray-Dort, Brockville Atlas, C.C.M., as well as many more Canadian-made vehicles, we show the impact the Canadian auto industry has had throughout the years.

We, of course, have vehicles from many other countries such as Rolls Royce, Morris, Amphicar, Ahrens-Fox, Reo, etc. Many, if not all of these, while not made in Canada, have certainly contributed to the development of the auto in Canada.

A recent addition to our collection consists of ten vehicles and the entire library from the now extinct Craven Foundation in Toronto.

In showing a continuing interest in antique autos, Rothmans of Pall Mall donated four of these vehicles and the library to the Canadian Automotive Museum when they found it necessary to close the Craven Foundation.

Our 25,000 sq. ft. building in Oshawa was originally a 1920’s car dealership and is maintained to display that period of architecture right down to the original elevator used to move cars to the second floor.

Bicycles, tools, musical instruments, radios, televisions, graphics, photos, etc., relating to the periods of the cars are used throughout the building.

The Museum and Gift Shop are open Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. – 364 day a year, closed only on Christmas Day.

Special rates and hours can be arranged for group tours – call for details!

Location:
99 Simcoe Street South
Oshawa, Ontario, L1G 4G7 
Phone: 905-576-1222
Fax: 905-576-1223