Markham Museum (in the past known as The Markham District Historical Museum and later Markham Museum & Historic Village) is a

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

located in

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It is dedicated to the preservation of old buildings and artefacts from Markham's past, especially as the original rural village has become an urban centre.

Overview

The site features nearly 30 buildings: houses, barns, sheds, a train station, a school, a general store, a church, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, a harness shop, a

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

, a cider mill, and many more. One of the oldest buildings is the Hoover House, built in 1824 by a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

family that was originally from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The site has been open since 1971, using the former Mount Joy School (1907) as its main offices and archives. The museum is located at 9350 Highway 48 (Markham Road / York Regional Road 68), on the northwest corner of 16th Avenue (

York Regional Road 73 York Region, located in southcentral Ontario, Canada, assigned approximately 50 regional roads, each with a number ranging from 1 to 99. All expenses of York Regional Roads (for example, snow shovelling, road repairs, traffic lights) are funded ...

). All of the historic buildings were moved to the site from other places around Markham, with the exception of the Mount Joy School. The name Mount Joy has also been preserved in the name of the nearby Mount Joy

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...

train and bus station, as well as the Mount Joy Community Centre to the east. Markham Museum is open year-round to visitors, event rentals and researchers. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected in front of the Markham Museum by the province to commemorate the founding of Markham's role in Ontario's heritage.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * *

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Markham, Ontario Open-air museums in Canada Local museums in Ontario Archives in Ontario Museums in the Regional Municipality of York Tourist attractions in Markham, Ontario Museums established in 1971 1971 establishments in Ontario