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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. We Kam 0'�M same Toronto • x Guelphs 4 MILTON Lake Ontario eSrNa Hamilton* Niagara Falls indsor 'U, ! Lake Erie MUSEUM —ate 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.