Bancroft Gem & Mineral Club is a Member of the Central Canadian Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CCFMS). Our club meetings are held in the Bancroft Train Station, lower level, on the 2nd Thursday of each month @ 7pm, except for the month of July where the meeting is reserved to discuss Club Show agenda. Our Annual Mineral Show is a one day event that takes place the Sunday before the Bancrof
t Gemboree starts. All proceeds from this event support the Bancroft Mineral Museum. Admission for the show is $3.00 for an adult, or $5.00 for admission to the show and to the museum. The below information was provided by our Club Treasurer, Wendy Melanson. We have quite the fascinating story! Here's the mini version:
The club was formed on May 23, 1960, as the Bancroft Mineral Society. In 1963, the club voted to accept their first Constitution as well as their Club Crest designed and selected to be used on clothing patches, letterhead, etc. In February 1964, a one evening event had been planned to take place at the Legion Hall, built around a variety of hobbies including lapidary, rocks and minerals. This was operated by The Bancroft Mineral Society with the cooperation of the Madawaska Valley Regional Tourist Council. A joint meeting was called by the Chamber of Commerce and the Mineral Society shortly after this event to plan a larger version of the show to be held in the summer. A four day event under canvas and called The Bancroft Rockhound Gemboree was agreed upon. The show to take place during the month of August. In 1966, a new Clubhouse was needed, so the Society decided to sell shares, to members and others, in order to finance the building which was opened on April 5, 1966. The Bancroft Mineral Society was then incorporated as The Bancroft Mineral Society, Ltd. Not everyone in the original club bought shares so they became a sub-group, known as the "Bancroft Mineral Society, Ltd Social Club" (1965). In 1966, this sub-group changed its name to the Bancroft Mineral Society Rock Club. After two successful years of joint operation, in 1966 the Mineral Society acquired full control and the show was moved to the new location at Bird's Creek on the grounds of the Mineral Society Clubhouse. The Gemboree was run by The Bancroft Mineral Society, Ltd. for many years until it gradually was taken over by Carl Bosiak of Stirling, Ontario - the rest of the show's history can be found elsewhere. The first Gem & Mineral Museum was housed in a small addition built by the Bancroft Gem & Mineral Club, off of the old Railway Station's freight shed. It was opened in the spring of 1985. The Bancroft & District Chamber of Commerce occupied the Freight Shed itself while the Train Station was an Art Gallery. These same tenants occupied the building until it was condemned by the building inspector in December 2006 and all moved out to temporary premises by the deadline date of April 1, 2007. In 1985, the Bancroft Gem & Mineral Club applied to the Ontario Ministry of Consumer & Commercial Relations for Incorporation under the Charitable Corporations Act. They received their "Letters Patent" & Corporation Number the 30th of January, 1986. Then, having made some minor changes to their Constitution, they applied again, and received a "Supplementary Letters Patent" dated January 8, 1988. These patents give the club the ability to give donors to the club or museum, a charitable tax receipt, which often will encourage donations. Following six closed years, while the Town deliberated about the future of the train station, the building was finally restored, with a new foundation, extensive repairs to the station itself and a completely new freight shed, housing the new and vastly improved Bancroft Mineral & Mining Museum. The Old Train Station was re-opened in early July, 2013, and the Mineral Museum opened, officially, on July 27, 2013. Stop by and discover the history of the mining in the area, learn about mineral collecting, or explore over 400 local specimens, all on display in the 1200 square-foot showroom. The museum is located at 8 Hastings Heritage Way in Bancroft. Regular hours are the same as the town office:
9:00am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4:00pm
Monday to Friday. Currently closed on the weekends due to staff shortage.
