The Glengarry Pioneer Museum Opens its Collections to the Public
The Glengarry Pioneer Museum is excited to announce the launch of its new Online Digital Collection, giving the public the opportunity to explore a selection of the museum’s holdings from anywhere, at any time.
For the first time, members of the public can browse selected records from the museum’s extensive collection of artifacts, photographs, and archival materials online. Visitors can access the Digital Collection through the museum’s website by selecting the Digital Collection tab.
The new resource offers a closer look at the objects and stories that help tell the history of Glengarry. Depending on the record, visitors can explore photographs of an item, learn about its history and provenance, discover related information, and follow links and attachments that provide additional context. From a family photograph to a tool used by an early Glengarry tradesperson, every object has a story to tell. Now, more of those stories can be discovered online.
The launch represents an important step in the museum’s ongoing work to document, preserve, and provide greater access to Glengarry’s history. The Online Digital Collection is only the beginning. The online collection represents just 10% of the museum’s overall holdings. The museum will continue to add selected records as collections documentation and digitization work progresses. For example, the next priority is adding the museum’s oral history collection to the online public access portal. To date, just a few oral histories have been added (Harold MacMillan, Thelma MacCaskill, and Ken McEwen), but more will come in the coming weeks and months. Soon, the public from near and far, will be able to listen to the voice of Glengarry authors and historians: Dorothy Dumbrille (1897-1981), Ewen Ross (1922 – 1987), or Velma Franklin (1927-2014), among many others.
This important work would not have been possible without funding from the government of Canada’s Young Canada Works at Building Careers in Heritage program which allowed the museum to hire a qualified museum professional as an intern over the Fall and Winter of 2025/2026. The acting Collections Manager, Jessica Malloch, then extended her tenure over the summer to complete the public access component of the project, thanks only to the local, financial support of the Glengarry Historical Society and Dalkeith Historical Society. For this, the museum is grateful. If other organizations or individuals would like to donate towards the increased annual expenses associated with hosting our collection online and expanding what is available, we invite you to make a financial contribution earmarked for “collections management” through our website or contact the museum directly for more information.
The Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s collection has been built over 65 years, largely through donations from the community and reflects people, families, businesses, organizations, and everyday life that have shaped Glengarry’s history. The museum welcomes the opportunity to make these stories more accessible to researchers, students, families, former residents, local history enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the past.
Whether you are researching your family history, looking for an old photograph, interested in the tools and objects used by earlier generations, or simply curious about Glengarry’s past, you are now just a click away from discovering something new.
Explore the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s Digital Collection today through the museum’s website.
