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Whitewater Historical Society |
Step back in time and visit Ross House, a pioneer home depicting life in the mid to late 1800's. The house was moved from the Muskrat River area in 1995.
The Exhibit Hall (a former Fire Hall) has depictions of a general store, one-room school house, barber shop, chapel, dress maker's shop, military, and railroad memorabilia and an enlarged gift shop.>
The Drive Shed (a 2000 project) houses agricultural, logging and blacksmith displays.
The Resource Centre (2002), across the street, has a library of are history books and genealogical information to help you research your family tree.
The Community Park and Heritage Gardens was an International Year of the Older Persons project (1999). Spend some quiet time, enjoy the flowers or have an old fahioned picnic beside the ever flowing creek.
St. Aidan's Anglican Church (former) at Forester's Falls is being renovated in a project that began in 2004. Watch for fundraising events and progress reports.
The society was established in 1989 as the Ross Township Historical Society. In 1995, a log house was donated to the society. This had been the second home built on the shore of Muskrat Lake by the Ross family who settled there in 1832. The home was dismantled and reconstructed on a donated property in Foresters Falls, right across from the municipal office. This is half way through the village on Renfrew County Road # 7.
A heart warming amount of volunteer labour, equipment, and money made the project a success. It was reminiscent of the barn raisings of yore, complete with home cooked hot meals brought to the workmen. There was a township fire hall next to the log home. It became surplus when a new fire hall was built, and was donated to the society. It has been turned into a exhibit area. The society changed its name in 2004 from the Ross Township Historical Society of Whitewater Region to the Whitewater Historical Society.
Other visits can usually be made by phoning one of the numbers posted on the museum door. If you are travelling from a long distance, try contacting the Curator / Manager Ross Museum, Dixie Dittburner at (613) 646-2445 or [email protected] or the Museum phone (613) 646-2622.
Admission is by donation. Gift shop sales help support the Ross Museum.
For more information or to join the society, call Lawrie Barton, President of the society, at (613) 646-7364 or the Curator / Manager (above)
"To Preserve our Past ... We Must Build for the Future"
The society gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. With $100 million in annual funding from the province's charitable gaming initiative, the Foundation provides grants to eligible charitable and not-for-profit organizations in the arts, culture, sports, recreation, environment, and social service sectors.
The society also gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Ontario Ministry of Culture through the Heritage Development Grant.