Pioneer museum near Timmins has first pandemic opening
A former lumber town located in a rural area of Timmins, the Connaught & District Pioneer Museum, is welcoming visitors for the first time since summer of 2019.
Though while the museum was shut down, the Connaught & District Historical Society, which runs it, had plenty of time to collect new local artifacts to showcase on its opening day.
Items like those from a local church that was recently demolished.
“The United Church (had been) here since the 1920s,” said the society’s president, Rheal Dupuis. “I’ve got the pulpit, the signs and a few items that I had before … so I put everything together, it’ll make a nice little story.”
New additions to the museum include antique cameras and projectors from Dupuis’ own collection, who was born and raised in Connaught.
The museum couldn’t have its usual community barbecue to kick off the season, due to COVID restrictions, but Dupuis said people are still welcome to explore its unique pieces of northern history.
He said whether someone has roots in the Connaught area or is simply a history buff, the museum allows people to take a glimpse back in time at a town that once had a booming lumber industry and a vibrant community.
“In the hay days, in the 20s and 30s, even the 40s, we had about four and up to five saw mills in the area,” Dupuis said.
The museum’s assistant administrator, Simon Grech, said he’s grown increasingly interested in the beginnings of his home town.
While it consists of one road and a handful or two of houses now, he said it’s fascinating to picture Connaught once being a bustling area.
“There used to be a school, there used to be like three saw mills, used to be a store, a hotel,” Grech said. “There used to be a lot of things here that you just don’t see anymore, which is really interesting.”
Dupuis said he hopes to hold a proper reopening celebration once COVID restrictions loosen further and that he will keep collecting new artifacts to showcase in the museum.
He said he’s particularly grateful to the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation and the Timmins Charitable Gaming Association, which kept the bills paid while the museum was shut down.
“Without them, we wouldn’t have survived,” Dupuis said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.