Brockville Museum

Name: Brockville Museum
Address: 5 Henry Street, Brockville, ON, K6V6M4, CA
Telephone: 613-342-4397
Price range: $

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Brockville Museum

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The Brockville Museum is your introduction to Brockville’s unique and fascinating history!

Follow us online and visit us in-person to explore the stories of the people, industries, and events that have shaped Ontario’s first incorporated town. We acknowledge that the land on which we gather, exchange ideas, and share our past, present and future is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Wendat. The Brockville Museum is committed to preserving and promoting the history of Brockville through continuing quality exhibits and educational programs. The museum activities are strongly supported by an expanding collection of related artifacts and archival material representing this community’s heritage. The Brockville Museum grows with, and for the community, providing a source of knowledge on the heritage of Brockville for present and future generations. Brockville’s history is one of prominent manufacturers, formidable wealth, fascinating historical figures and vivacious ordinary people all interconnected by a dynamic river. Visitors and residents are invited to explore this intriguing past through permanent exhibits and changing thematic displays at the Brockville Museum. Discover the many objects once made in Brockville like the Atlas automobile, Stetson hats and the Smart’s frying pan or reminisce about social activities and clubs of by- gone days. The museum displays hundreds of historical objects that will immerse the visitor in Brockville’s past.

10/13/2026

Today, October 13, has been Major-General Sir Isaac Brock Day in Ontario since the 200th anniversary of his death in 2012.

The village of Elizabethtown was renamed "Brockville" in 1812 to honour the fallen British General Sir Isaac Brock. Brock played a key leadership role in securing victory against invading American forces early in the War of 1812. He was killed on October 13th, 1812, at the Battle of Queenston Heights (near Niagara).

In 1912, the General Brock Chapter of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (IODE) donated a bust of Brock to the town that bears his name. That bust is still a feature at the top of Court House Ave.

Pictured: the 1912 unveiling of the Brock bust on Court House Square and a later picture of the bust.

Note: although Brockville was named in his honour, Major-General Sir Isaac Brock had no prior connection to this community.

Learn more about the Act to proclaim October 13 in each year as Major-General Sir Isaac Brock Day in Ontario: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s12002

Brockville Ontario

10/10/2026

Fall hours now in effect.

Open Monday-Friday 12noon-4pm and Saturdays 10am-4pm until October 31st. Admission by donation. Group visits by appointment.

10/09/2026

Happy Thanksgiving long weekend!

Please note that the museum will be closed Sunday and Monday and that our fall hours come into effect on Tuesday. Thank you for a wonderful summer season!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend.

10/08/2026

With Reynolds Park now closed for the construction of a pavilion, we've pulled this to revisit the history of this piece of Brockville's waterfront.

What is today Reynolds Park was formerly the coal yards for the Reynolds Coal Company.

The W.B. Reynold Coal Co. Ltd. got its start in 1892 when Walter B. Reynold and A.S. Ault partnered to form the Ault and Reynold Coal Co. In 1912, Reynold bought-out Ault. The company dealt in the sale of coal. Following the Second World War, Reynolds expanded into oil and propane. The company’s coal yards were located on Water Street East (today's "Reynolds Park" next to the Executive Condominium). It was only in 1981 that the old coal sheds were demolished.

Behind Reynold's in this c1956 photograph is Ault Milk Products Ltd. It was demolished in the early 1970s and the Executive condominium was built in its place.

Reynolds Park (including the parking lot and section of Brock Trail that runs through the park) is now closed while work gets underway on the construction of a boardwalk and pavilion. It is expected to remain closed until January 2027. Visit the City of Brockville's website for all the latest on this project.

10/05/2026

Please be advised that this Thursday's History Talk with guest speaker Carolyn Thompson Goddard is SOLD OUT. We thank everyone for their interest and support.

10/02/2026

What's on this October at the Brockville Museum:

This month's History Talk features guest speaker, Carolyn Thompson Goodard, speaking on the topic of British Home Children. History Talks takes place on the second Thursday of the month at 2pm. Tickets are $5.31 + tax and can be purchased by calling or stopping by the museum's front desk. Note that tickets are over 75% sold.

This month's History Walk - and the last of the year - will take us on a stroll through the Brockville Cemeteries. History Walks take place on the last Saturday of the month May-October at 10am. Tickets are $12 + tax and must be purchased in advance. Details on our website.

The museum is open Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm until Thanksgiving. We will be closed on Monday, October 12. From October 13-31 the museum will be open Monday-Friday 12noon-4pm and Saturdays 10am-4pm. Admission is by donation. Groups by appointment only.

Don't forget that Monday, October 26th is the municipal election!

Visit our website for more information.

10/01/2026

For this week's we've pulled a great aerial photograph of Brockville's east end c1942. This area has seen considerable development since this photograph was taken by Jack Murray of Murray & Sons.

Most recognizable are Fulford Place (now a museum) and Fulford Home (soon to be a HART Hub).

Particularly notable about this photograph is that it captures Fairknowe (see our earlier post on British Home Children) and Butterfield/Woodfield before their properties were developed into subdivisions, showing the vast amount of land that was once tied to these buildings.

Thornton Cliff is also featured prominently in this photograph.

Visit our website > Digital Museum > Virtual Exhibits > House Histories to learn more about Thornton Cliff and Butterfield/Woodfield.

You can also view this photograph through our online collection database, accessed through our website > search our collection database: 972.29.15

09/30/2026

Today, September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The day honours Residential School Survivors, their families, and communities, and recognizes the lasting impacts of Canada’s Residential School system.
Learn more: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

For those looking to learn more about Truth and Reconciliation, we strongly recommend the resources available through The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: https://nctr.ca/. Our team recently participated in some of the sessions offered by the Centre during Truth and Reconciliation Week, as part of our personal and professional commitment to advancing Truth and Reconciliation.

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Brockville area history (pre-1780s) – in brief
The first people to inhabit the area that would become Brockville were the Wendat followed by the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee. These Indigenous communities relied on the river and the forests for trading, ceremonies, seasonal trapping, fishing, fruit, and gathering nuts and wild rice. It is said that in the late 1200s, the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee agreed to share this land and its resources for the mutual benefit of all through the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Covenant.

In the years following the American War of Independence (1783-1812) British authorities negotiated 15 Land Surrender Agreements with Indigenous peoples in the area that would become Ontario (among other places). The British gave this land to settlers who had stayed loyal to them during the war; these people were called Loyalists.

In the years that followed, Loyalists settled on this land, building farms and villages, including what would become Brockville. This largely forced Indigenous people off the land they had lived on and cared for since time immemorial.

Today, approximately 4% of Brockville’s population identifies as Indigenous.

About Residential Schools
Residential Schools were created to separate Indigenous children from their families and communities, and to systematically strip away their traditions, cultural practices and languages. They operated in various forms from about 1828 – 1996. Learn more: https://www.ontario.ca/page/indian-residential-schools

There were no residential schools in or near Brockville. The closest was The Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School in Brantford, now part of the Woodland Cultural Centre: https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca/ Learn more about the location of Canadian Residential Schools at: https://nctr.ca/archives-and-collections/archival-map/

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Here we have included only a brief historical overview and just a few of the most significant resources available. For those looking to expand their understanding, we encourage you to take the time to explore these and other resources as part of your journey towards truth and reconciliation.

Mental health supports are available: former residential school students and their families can call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis referral services and information on other health supports from the Government of Canada and Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for Wellness Help Line for counselling and crisis intervention by calling 1-855-242-3310.

09/28/2026

Today, September 28, is British Home Child Day.

British Home Child Day recognizes and honours the contributions of the British home children who established roots in Ontario. Learn more about the provincial proclamation: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s11014

Between 1888 and 1934, Brockville's Fairknowe Home served as a receiving home for thousands of impoverished Scottish children, usually between the ages of 4 and 18, who were sent to live and work in rural Canada through the Quarrier organization.

These children were part of a massive wave of about 100,000 child immigrants who became known as "British Home Children". Most of the children who arrived here had been surrendered by their parents because the lack of social services in Britain made it impossible for poverty-stricken families to stay together.

On their arrival in Brockville, children were settled at Fairknowe until they could be placed with a Canadian family. They were typically not adopted, but rather were trained to work as either agricultural labourers or servants, working under formal contracts, or indentures.

Life for most of these children was not easy. Siblings were often separated form one another, and children could be grossly overworked. Some were moved around, others ran away, and a great many died from health-related problems or injuries resulting from neglect and abuse.

There is a monument in Brockville's Oakland Cemetery honouring some of the children who died while in care at Fairknowe (check out our 2020 Stories From the Stones episode for more: https://youtu.be/cwAqkCz1PFU?si=iW1vWaQYxgtFucnC).

The Fairknowe House still exists today as an apartment building located on Fairknowe Drive. There is a historical plaque out front recognizing this piece of history.

The legacy of the British Home Child movement in Canada is profound, with many Canadians tracing their ancestry to one of these child immigrants.

Of note: Canada was just one of several countries that received British Home Children, and Quarrier's was just one of several well-meaning welfare organizations to organize this forced migration of children.

This story is included in the museum's Travel Trunk exhibit.

Our October 8th History Talk will also explore the history of British Home Children, with guest speaker, Carolyn Thompson Goddard, President of the Ontario East British Home Child Family. Advance reservations highly recommend as most History Talks sell out.

09/25/2026

We still have a few tickets available for tomorrow's History Walk, Iconic Brockville: Court House Avenue & Green.

Online registration is closed, but tickets can still be purchased by phone or in-person at the museum BEFORE 4pm TODAY (or until sold out).

Visit our website for more information.

Address

5 Henry Street
Brockville, ON
K6V6M4

Telephone

613-342-4397

Website

http://www.brockvillemuseum.com/

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