HomeMy WebLinkAboutX2023-006-087A Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food P.O. Box 38 Milton (416) 878-8151
It's been two years since the first staff moved to the Ontario
Agricultural Museum site. Since that time, development has
continued at a steady pace as we strive to meet the projected
completion date of 1985.
The project got its start in 1966 when the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food purchased the 92 acre farm of Archie
Service near Milton in Halton County. In 1975 the main
Exhibit Hall was completed and the project was underway.
It is the purpose of the Museum to provide a home for the
machines, tools, furnishings and buildings which reflected
the rural way of life in Ontario, and which are so quickly
disappearing. This will be a living museum where older
people can reminisce while watching grain being fed into a
groundhog thresher, or listen to the rhythmic snort of a
passing Rumely Oil Pull. It will be a place where young
people can discover the way their grandparents and great
grandparents lived and worked during the early part of
Ontario's farming history.
The main Exhibit Hall will lead you through a series of
displays which tell the story of the developing sources of
power on the farm. Seven historic farmsteads located on the
site will expand upon this same theme by way of displays and
activities. At the present time, the earliest farmstead - 1830,
is progressing quickly. The large log barn, donated by our
present Minister of Agriculture and Food, Hon. W.G.
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Newman, has been relocated on the site along with a sheep
pen and a log house. The 1865 homestead is also taking
shape, the house and two barns waiting only for the finishing
touches. Several other barns have been completed and will
be used for display purposes.
Servicing the surrounding farmsteads will be a Crossroads
farming community. The Blacksmith's Shop is close to
completion, the smith having already hammered out a
quantity of hardware to be used on the site. The Women's
Institute Hall will also be completed shortly.
As you can see, the Museum is growing. Make regular
visits and watch as it takes shape.
Each year the Museum has relied upon summer students
working under the provincial "Experience" program. This
year a total of 36 students are on staff, several of whom are
pictured above as they help with the dismantling of a log
house which has been relocated on the 1830 farmstead. The
actual date of the addition to the house was uncertain until a
section of a newspaper was found rolled up between the logs:
The Weekly Spectator
Hamilton, C.W., Thursday February 21, 1856.
To add to the significance of the find, the name of the
original owner of the property was clearly legible next to the
masthead.
Sir Adam Beck's
Circus
"If I have helped the farmer to make life more attractive,
to help keep the boys and girls on the farm then I have not
laboured nor have you co-operated with me in vain". Such
was the feeling of Sir Adam Beck having toured rural
Ontario in 1912 with his "Circus" promoting the use of
hydro. The Autocar carried a collection of farm and home
equipment which was powered by an electric motor and
demonstrated at gatherings throughout the province.
Sir Adam Beck's Circus is now the focal point of the
Ontario Agricultural Museum's Hydro display. The
complete unit was restored by the Museum staff in order that
it pay tribute to the work of Sir Adam Beck, the father of
Ontario Hydro.
Your Past
Is Our Future
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, through
the Museum project, has provided you with a facility to
preserve any artifacts related to Ontario agriculture. Any
items received by the Museum will carry the donor's name
along with a description of the artifact. If desired, the value
of the item will be appraised for income tax purposes.
Your assistance in locating the following items would be
particularly appreciated:
1. Any farm equipment carrying the following
manufacturers' name: Maxwell, Peter Hamilton,
Tolton, Noxon, Patterson, Harris, Wisner, Fleury,
Abell, Moody, Wilkinson, Gilson, Bissell, Percival,
Watson, etc.
2. Kline (Beeton, Ontario) fanning mill and other
lesser known makes.
3. Magnet, Premier, Continental, International
Harvester, Anker-Holth, Empire, Sharpies and Lister cream
separators.
4. Early dairy equipment and DeLaval "Victor",
"Maple Leaf' and "Reliable" churns.
5. Beekeeping equipment.
6. Poultry equipment.
7. Carpenters's tools and equipment. broad axes,
adzes, planes.
8. Horse harnesses.
9. Tractors and gasoline engines. whether in working
order or not.
10. Windmills: "Brantford","Beatty","Dandy"
(Woodstock), "Canadian Airmotor".
11. Household equipment.
12. Palermo Plow. manufactured in Palermo Corners.
13. Agricultural books, farm magazines, machinery
manuals and catalogues.
14. Drainage equipment.
14
The Museum's picnic facilities were recently initiated by
300 members of the International Dwarf Fruit Growers
Association. After a luncheon, they enjoyed a tour of the
site.