Thorold Beaverdams Historical Museum
It is amazing how almost everything old in Thorold is revived for a cultural renaissance in our community. This truism is captured beautifully in our new local museum. An open house was held on September 19 at the new Thorold and Beaverdams Historical Museum located in Lock 7 Viewing Complex, 50 Chapel Street, South.
Local historians have showed us how our community has stepped up with impressive progress since May 2014, when the Historical Society started to relocate its collection from Chestnut Hall on Ormond Street into its new venue. It must be gratifying for community leaders to see how the City of Thorold has set a positive tone for collaboration and helped to find a building for the museum in the tourism facility adjacent to the Welland Canal.
At the open house to unveil the new museum, Randy Barnes, President of the Thorold and Beaverdams Historical Society expressed appreciation for volunteers who moved artifacts, selected items to enhance the display space, while establishing more of a cultural centre than a stand-alone museum.
Did you know the Viewing Complex welcomes more than 8,000 visitors a year? That audience would be equivalent to the city’s population in the 1960’s. Moving forward, the customer traffic at the Complex is an amazing opportunity to raise exposure for the museum’s collection and effectively bridge the connection between tourism and heritage.
City insiders also suggest this initiative will connect the past with the future by developing stronger collaborations in the heritage community. Evidently, more than 10 local groups and organizations have gained some prominence with exposure in the Centre, including the Ontario Genealogical Society Niagara Chapter, The Friends of Beaverdams Church, Heritage Thorold LACAC and Port Robinson Proud among others. It is nice to see all the groups working together. As they say T.E.A.M. means Together Everyone Achieves More.
Thorold Beaverdams Historical Museum – Click to view more photos of the Open House as published in snapd
Check out our local museum with an awesome display of our heritage. Pictured above at the Open House, Thorold Mayor Ted Luciani joined Ken Atmekjian to view the Thorold Protection Hose Company No. 1 display. You can also view a classic radio and phonograph, a refurbished chair from the Tivoli Theatre where Ted would pay ten cents as a kid to watch a movie, and one of our favourite displays, the 200 year-old stump from the Indian Direction Tree. What is your favourite display in the museum?