Windsor Community Museum is a historical

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

located in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, Canada which displays artifacts from Windsor. It is located at

François Baby House The François Bâby House is a historic residence located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada which was owned by the prominent local politician François Baby. The house is a two-storey, Georgian style, red brick house once known as ''La Ferme'' loca ...

, built in 1812 by François Baby, a prominent

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

(which is now designated as a National Historic Site). The museum was founded as the Hiram Walker Historical Museum because

Hiram Walker Hiram Walker (July 4, 1816 – January 12, 1899) was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Walker was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in 1838. He p ...

and Sons Limited donated a lot of money for the restoration of the Baby House. In 1991 the museum's name was changed to the "François Baby House: Windsor's Community Museum" in an attempt alleviate confusion between the museum and the Hiram Walker Company. Also, the name did not accurately reflect the museum's aim or purpose. In 1996 the museum was given the name Windsor's Community Museum. The name became Museum Windsor in 2016 with the opening of the second location, the Chimczuk Museum (401 Riverside Dr W). The building now houses over 15,000 artifacts and documents which hold particular importance to the history of Windsor and the greater

Essex County, Ontario Essex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising seven municipalities: Amherstburg, Kingsville, Ontario, Kingsville, Lakeshore, Ontario, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Ontario, LaSalle, Leamington, Ontario, Leamington, Tec ...

region. The museum was founded in 1958 by local amateur historian and merchant, George Fortune Macdonald (1877-1959) and is now administered by the City of Windsor. The Museum also runs and operates the Interpretation Centre located behind the

Duff Baby House The Duff Baby House is an historic house located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Open to public select Saturday throughout the year. History The house was built between 1792 and 1798 by Alexander Duff as a fur trade post. In 1807 the building was b ...

. This particular building is used mostly for educational programs.

Battle of Windsor

In 1966, the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario erected a Provincial Military plaque on the grounds of the Hiram Walker Historical Museum: "The

Battle of Windsor The Battle of Windsor was a short-lived campaign in the eastern Michigan area of the United States and the Windsor area of Upper Canada. A group of men on both sides of the border, calling themselves "Patriots", formed small militias in 1837 w ...

1838 - Early on December 4, 1838, a force of about 140 American and Canadian supporters of William Lyon Mackenzie crossed the river from Detroit and landed about one mile east of here. After capturing and burning a nearby militia barracks, they took possession of Windsor. In this vicinity they were met and routed by a force of some 130 militiamen commanded by Colonel John Prince. Four of the invaders taken prisoner were executed summarily by order of Colonel Prince. This action caused violent controversy in Canada and the United States. The remaining captives were tried and sentenced at London, Upper Canada. Six were executed, eighteen transported to a penal colony in Tasmania and sixteen deported."http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=4544 Battle of Windsor plaque

External links

Windsor's Community Museum

Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with:

Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; , ''AMC''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. As with most trade associations ...

Canadian Heritage Information Network The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN; , RCIP) is a special operating agency within the federal Department of Canadian Heritage that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage institutions. It is based in Gatineau, Quebec, an ...

, and

Virtual Museum of Canada Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) wi ...

References

{{Coord, 42.3185, N, 83.0424, W, display=title Museums in Windsor, Ontario History museums in Ontario Buildings and structures completed in 1812