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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-00686Museum Church Church Shed Ro'el Blacksmith Shop Harness Shop oddfellaws Hall Barn Cole House Collins House Log House Log Barn Beef Ming Barn Gas Barn Steam Barn 0 CI 12 15 14 11 I3 0 PICKERING TOWNSHIP MUSEUM PTCKERIN:= TOWNSHIP MUSEUM 1. a) Museum Building - b) Historical Sketcl; The main building displaying some o:= the Local areas oldest artifacts was the beginning of an idea born to Robert Puller, of Brougham, and a group of dedicated citizens interested in the history of their co_mruUnity. The year 1959 was the 100th birthday of the sturdy brick school house, referred to them as School Sectiol.-I o. 10. It had outgrown its usefullness as a school house, and a r_cw site and :wilding were located across the road. Headed by Per. Miller, the aforesaid group organized itself into a Historical Committee raised funds by subscription and by appeals to the County of Ontario and the Township of Pic;cerinct, and purchased the building and site. L. the change hasbeenmade in the one hundred year old structure and it has since become the nucleus of the Pickering Township Museum Grounds. Described by one knowledgeable i.17 such matters, the collection of tools used by pioneers in the area displays the best assortment in G_lt ario. Exhibits of furniture clothing, toys and machines, from early farm paraphernalia to relics of the Victorian Era are contained therein. 2. a) Building - Church Shed - b) Historical Sketc_i - Not too many nears a,;o this build i n q eras the east section of the remaining Church Shed at _Hlt. :pion Church located in Concession Lot 5� It was orzg2-nally built as part of the primative C lurch at Balsam. This Church was also known as chc Tia?.�_, `FYie Church Shed was moved to Pit. Zion by the u;se of horse_ just before 1890. in 1967 it was donated to the Mus�ur and ender the supervision of Morley Simms, tine local men tore it down and transported it to the Museum Grounds. T3ere, it eras re --built in its original form. It was necessary to replace one olate and two of the original posts. �'he splice in the plate was done the same as the original onID �I:�lton Parkin. This is an unusual splice and is rarely seen in any timbers. c) Donated By - Mt. pion Church Congregation -2- 3. a) Building - Bible Christi, gin: Church - b) Historical 3ket �i The Bible Chrivtian Church was built in the year 1853 on the south west corner of Lot 24, Concession 5: Pickering Township. i-her_ the congregation merged with the Methodist Church, the building was solAto Oilliam Henry major. Prior to 1890 it ,.,vas moved to t=-).c R :;binson Farm and used for storage and tools. It is from this location that it was moved to the Museum property. The church has beene�tored to its original status as a Place of worship. several services have been conducted in the building while on the ;•Museum grounds, the lAinister preaching from the curious box_ pulpit. On Thanksgiving. 1970 it was again used in the service of God with an interdenominational service of Thanksgiving being held. Also during the year 1970, the building was featured in a CBC television product-L entitled "i�iagantic Outlaw". c) Donated By - Mr. 'Nie ;ton Robinson a) Building - Brougham Central Hotel - b) Historical Sketch - This buildin was built by 17elson Woodruff. an early pioneer of the area prior to the year 18.52 and was located on the north :side of Highway 17o. 7 in Brougham at its present intersection with the Brock Road. It was only used as a Hotel up to the year 1PS7� and -,aas later operated as a store by Hugh Machin until 1915. In later years it zrras operated by several store keepers with the rear of t:-e property being utilized .for living quarters. The hutch family were the last to utilize the building as a store. Moved to the Museum Grounds in ?96, this is the last build- ing on the projoert- awaiting restoration. The front port-; o.i of the Y.ui1u ing is constructed of four inch square sca.ntli;,g�: i- the wall groi_,ted with stone lime and cement. The rear is plank with the Planks mortised into the top and bottom plate. It is interesting to note the extreme width and thick._zess of- the plank utilized in the construction. c) Donated By - The County of Ontario -3- 5. Building - Blac?csmi4 Shop - b) Historical 3ketcl-L „_ The Blacksmith Shop is believed to ave been built around the year 1856 and 5.ras originally located on the north side o- Concession 6 in the Hamlet of Greenwood. For many years it vas operated -�t._ the late '%alter :-ikon. The building itself required li-ctle restoration and to all intents and ;purposes �S m'ac'h -t le same as it was when it served the ;.ieed:3 of the reside_n. s in the GreenYrcod area. The front portion of the buildinc contained the Blacksmith Shop while the rear section was used as a woodworking shop where amongst other things., the local resident's wagon wheels were made and repaired. The second storey of the building was used as a paint shop and the thickness of the planks used in the walis suggests that there was little likelihood Of any unwanted dust getting into the room and spoiling a paint job. %,-Tago-- s o "ten received as muc'z as eight separate coats of paint and ob-.;iously tine painter took extreme pride in the end product. It is interesting to note that the wagons were pushed' up a ramp into the paint shop through the large doors on the side of -che building. There were always willing hands in the vicinity of the Blacksmith S3hop to lend assistance in such tasks. c) Donated By - Miss Edna Green 6. a) Building - Harness b) Historical Sketch - Originally this building was located on the east side of the Central Hotel and while not joined directly to the building, it shared a common porch with tine Hotel. About 1920 the building was attached to the rear of "Lhe Central Hotel and was used by j:Tr, &Mrs. Cliff �,Tannop as a residence until moved to the Museum Grounds. Mr. T'illiam Coakwell was the last harness maker who operated the shop itself. c) Donated By - County of Ontario -4- 7. a) Building - Oddfeliows hall (Whitevale Church) - b) Historical Sketch -- It was constructed originally as a Christian Church, but was only utilized for approximately ten years for this purpose. Around the turn of the century it was acquired by the Independent Order of Oddfellows; and for the major part of its exista.nce was occupied ly them as a meeting hall. In later years it was acquired by Mr. u Mrs. Kenneth Cooper. Were it not for the financial assistance of ,^fir. John CA. Irwin of Whitevale and MO. 'carry A. Newman of Greenwood it would not have been possible to locate this building on the property. This was undoubtedly the most difficult building to move to the Museum. Grounds because of ito immense size. Originally located on the Altona Road immediately north of the 5th Concession Road, it was brought across country to a point east of the Village and along the 5t;z Concession to the Brock Road. Again it was taken across country immediately south of Brougham to its present location. The building exterior was in remarkably fine condition. The interior was almost :holly re -plastered in the year 1970 and the building now presents a large area for display purposes. c) Donated By - mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Cooper S. a) Building - Combination Burg -- b) Historical Sketch - This barn was originally located immediately north of Brougham in Lot 13, Concession 6. The original structure was probably re -built from another old barn as there are both hewn timbers and sawed timbers used in the building. The Brougham Beef Ring was operated from this barn for many years. c) Donated By - Or. William Newman, H.P.P. -5- .. a) Building - Ccle ?to se - b) Historical :,latch - This Douse, circa features a most interesting type of construction. Inside, certain sections of wall have been left unrestored to allow visitors to see that all walls are formed by boards laid one on top o 7 t.` other. It is startliling to try to calculate the amount of wood used in ^uch a house, but one is also led to visualize a country side so full o-` trees that settle considered wood a commodity to be used freely. In the interests of conservation we could not use this method o� construction to -day, but it certainly has well withstood the ravages of time and is a sturdy and well insulated dwelling. Located on the 16th Avenue in Markham Township, it was originally owned by Luton Miller, Nvl.o purchased the land on which it was h-uilt in 1857. Amos Cole bought it from Mr. Miller in 1321 .;ind it was deeded 'ay Amos to his son Fred who with his wife Rosella N-,,ere the last occupants of the home. c) Donated By - Pairs. Rosella Cole 10. a) Building - Collins "souse - b) Historical Sketch - The first patent .cor the land on which the pine plank house stood was in 1811. The owner of the house, Elmer Collins, advised that the house had been ]duiit in Reach Township early in the 19th Century, t+.e exact date un1:nown. The original owner o the house 1.17as one Bobby Jones, merchant, mill owner and freight and express de'_ivery owner of Uxbridge. He sold it to Joshua Collins and his wife [ATinnifred, parents o: Amer, and the family occupied it from early in the century until 1940. The pine plank YJas secured to ha_ncl-hewn beams with hand- made spikes. Originally there were no windows on the south side; one window on the east side, was a source of light for the parlour. -6- The houses similar �o many in Pic:.ering Township, withstood winter gales and ice stormti, and Mr. Collins recalls tales told by his :pother of hardship and struggle in the early days to maintain existance in an isolated area. No house was locked in those days, and were havens for the storm- bound traveller who was always fed and cared for until he could resume his -iourney. c) Donated By - Mr. Elmer Collins 11. a) Building -- Log House b) Historical ;ketch The first building to be moved to the Museum Grounds was the two storey log house, donated by an enthusiastic historian and collector, M. J. Corchi, now deceased. It was moved here from Bri.mlay Road and Sheppard Avenue in Agincourt. The house is furnished in accordance with the period in which it was first inhabited, about 1830, and contains a stone and brick fire place of the period fashioned by a local stone mason John Devitt. A collection of iron cookware above dishes of the period, and hand -made and hooks on which hams and hubs we bowls and other rough culinary piece and living quarters, while the bedro straw mattress, cradle and pine ches of drawers. These are but a few of the help of experts the little house comfortable atmosphere where dwelled good --living family. 12. a) Building - LocL _Barn -- b) Historical Sketch -- the fire place, priceless cupboards, apple dryer re hung to dry, wooden s are part of the kitchen om holds a rope bed with t, and an enormous chest the furnishings, but with reflects the warm and a happy, hard-working and Although the log }yarn, circa 1830, somewhat resembles the log house in structure its original location was 150 miles away, in a small German settlement in the Land Of Lakes District near Lake Mazinw:v. The building was purchased from Paul Marquard and is typical of the early pioneer farm build- ings found in this area. With greats difficulty and with a great amount of voluntary labour the barn was moved from its original site in three adventurous trips, and restored,,log by log, exactly as it was built by Mr. Marquard's ancestors. It houses farm implements and vehicles of the period. -7- 13. a) Building - Beef Riaig Barn - b) Historical Sketch - The small building near the barn was what was called in the early part of the 201th Century a Beef Ring Barn. This building originally stood on the th Concession of Pickering Township. Area farmers in turn regularly brought a beast to be slaughtered and the carcass was divided among the members of the beef ring. In this way all of the farms had a constant supply of beef, and ;-l.o money was exchanged. There being no refrigeration in the times it was necessary to have fresh meat each week. c) Donated By - Pdr. Thompson 14. a) Building - Gas Barn - b) Historical Sketch Both the eras barn and the steam bare were constructed from one large barn located in the Bay Ridges subdivision measuring 100' x 50'. When this barn was torn down it was possible to construct the two buildings each of which is 25' x 100' long. The original barn had a double swing beam which made it practical to construct the two smaller barns. The Gas Barn houses a variety o- early Canadian gasoline engines, many of which were round in use in the area on local farms. c) Donated By - Mr. William Newman, M.P.P. - 8 - 15. a) b) Building - Steam darn Historical Sketch This Tarr_ houses one or the finer collections o` early steam engines available in the Province. Some of these, such as the large boiler immediately inside the door of the building are one of a kind. The steam. engine is one of the earliest forms of mechanized power available to the farmer_ and industrialist alike. Some of the stationery engines in this building came from farms in the area and were used for many years to run saws and similar farming implement:.. Acknowledgements - A tremendous amount of credit must go to the many men who have given so freely of their time in establishing the steam systems and maintaining the engines on display in these two buildings. Particular note should be given to Andy and Ken Ramsay and to Mac Middleton for their assistance over the years and to those dedicated individuals who worked along with them. The Museum is administered by a Beard composed of- M-.*r. Harry Cock Mr. Milton Parkin r4r_, & 14rs, "Nilliam Earle .�4r. Robert 'Miller 'rr. T i I I ia-M. Clark iIr. . Ronald Freem an Miss Luna green _ir, John P_.lma !ir_ . 7illia.r. McGee "Ir. Donald McLean I B. L. Davidcre This is your Museum and the- Pluseum Board needs your help to assist in the comapletion of the property and its contents. If you can, or if you know of anyone who will assist in any way, please fill in the coupon below and mail it to Pickering Township Nuseum Board 1710 Kingston Road, Pickering, Ontario, Attn- N.C. Marshall, Secretary I can assist as follows Financially Furnishings On Co=mittees On Restoration Work Other Name Address Phone