The old
St. Marys Museum as it looked in 1902.
The Castle in the Bush
The community museum for the Town of St. Marys is located in a lovely old home sitting on a hilltop in a park at 177 Church Street South. It was constructed from locally quarried limestone in 1854. When George Tracy, an early settler to St. Marys, built it for his family, it was by far the largest home in the small village of log shanties. Almost immediately, it was nicknamed the Castle in the Bush. It has been the location of the St. Marys Museum since 1959.
Visitors interested in 19th-century construction are welcome to visit at any time throughout the year. They will see exhibits and materials on local history and can also explore the interior of the house itself. Although it has not been restored to any fixed historic period, it contains a great number of original features from 1854: pine flooring, four fireplaces, plaster crown moldings, high ceilings and strange sets of small rooms off larger chambers.
The new
Community archives opened in 2006.
Local history research
A popular feature of the St. Marys Museum is the area for research into local history. A new wing for this community archives was opened in June 2006. The addition to the north of the original building is completely accessible and is well used by researchers throughout the year.
As well as municipal records, census indexes, listings for area cemeteries, local marriage, birth and death records, maps, photographs, family and community histories, this archives features St. Marys newspapers dating back to 1857. The newspaper archival materials were officially donated to the Museum in March 2007 by their last private owner. In recognition, the research area has been named: R. Lorne Eedy Archives.
Museum projects
Technology Project Assistant Elisia Scagnetti, seated, shows the features of new museum collections management software to Curator / Archives Assistant Emily Cartlidge.
Province aids digitizing
of artifacts and archives
The St. Marys Museum has received a grant of $36,000 from Ontario’s Museums and Technology Fund to develop digital records of its artifact and archives collections. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture administers the fund to support community museums, art galleries, archives and heritage organizations through investments in technology projects.
The project includes the purchase of collections management software and upgrades to the museum’s information technology system. As Museum Manager Trisha McKibbin explained during the official announcement on May 7: “The grant provides the opportunity to improve control and management of the collection and will ultimately lead to greater accessibility and future web-based programming.”
MAP Grant: The Museum has also received a Museums Assistance Program grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage to purchase steel shelving for artifact storage. Staff and summer students have installed the shelving and are preparing a wide variety of objects for safe storage.
Summer staff members, from left, James Hutson, Amy Cubberley, Kelsey Mahaffy and Amanda Bourget in the new artifact storage area, purchased thanks to a Museums Assistance Program grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Coming events
- Culture Days, September 23–25: Watch for information on the Museum’s participation in this province-wide weekend celebrating local culture.