Georgina Village Museum

Georgina Village Museum The Museum is open year-round for rentals, school groups, programs, special events, group tours, and research. This account is not monitored 24/7.

To learn more please visit our website, georginavillagemuseum.ca At the request of the Georgina Historical Society, the Town of Georgina passed a resolution in 1974 setting aside ten acres of land as the permanent site for what would become the Georgina Pioneer Village & Archives. Officially inaugurated by Chief of the Chippewas of Georgina Island, Lorenzo Big Canoe, on Thanksgiving Day, 1975, the

Village opened with two buildings: a backwoods log house constructed circa 1870, and a Free Methodist Church built in 1889. A succession of buildings has been moved to the Pioneer Village between the late 1970s and 1999. Located near the south shore of Lake Simcoe, this ten-acre site is home to sixteen structures that interpret the rich history of Georgina between 1850 and 1920, including a one-room schoolhouse, a general store, a train station, a blacksmith shop, an apothecary, among other significant historic structures. The Archives at the Georgina Pioneer Village is comprised of records created by the councils of the former townships of Georgina and North Gwillimbury, as well as the Village of Sutton. These records date back from 1850 to about 1970, and include council minutes, petitions, by-laws, account books, general correspondence, assessment and collector rolls, and various other documents created by the previous municipal councils. The Archives also contain a large number of personal family documents, including land records (deeds, maps and plans), photographs, scrapbooks, bibles, diaries, letters, and related ephemera. The records of many former clubs, groups and businesses can also be found here. The reference collection contains published material relevant to Georgina, news clippings, scrapbooks, family trees and histories, as well as family files compiled by members of the Georgina Historical Society since its inception 46 years ago. The Georgina Pioneer Village & Archives offers March Break and Summer Camps for children ages 7-12. These camps inform children about the chores, hobbies and lifestyles of people in the nineteenth century through a series of hands-on craft and heritage demonstrations. Skills relevant to early settlement life, like sewing and weaving, are taught. These camps endeavour to instil a sense of pride in our heritage and knowledge of early Canadian lifestyles. The Georgina Pioneer Village & Archives is a dynamic location for hands-on, interactive school programs for Grade 3 students. Focusing on the daily lives of early settlers, these programs are multi-sensory and curriculum-related. Please contact us for additional information on our site, services, and research. If you are looking for information on the Town of Georgina, please visit our official website at www.georgina.ca. We hope that you will join us here and check out our other online profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The Town of Georgina will work diligently to ensure the appropriateness and security of social media pages. However, the Town is not responsible for content posted by others. Social media content may be subject to access to information and/or privacy provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Comments and messages collected for the public record using social media will be treated like any other form of communication received by the Town. This is an open forum that is intended to be family friendly. Inappropriate content may be removed based on the Town’s discretion. Inappropriate content refers to: any graphic, obscene, explicit or racial comment or submission, any comments that are abusive, hateful or intended to defame anyone of any organization and/or any comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity. In addition to keeping comments appropriate we ask that you follow our posting guidelines listed below:

• We do not permit graphic, obscene, explicit or racial comments or submissions, nor do we allow comments that are abusive, hateful or intended to defame anyone of any organization;

• We do not allow solicitations or advertisements. This includes promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency. Similarly, we do not permit defamation or defrauding of any financial, commercial, or non-governmental agency;

• We do not permit comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity;

• You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, username, and any information provided;

• The Georgina Pioneer Village regular OFFICE hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (Eastern Time). Users can expect a timely response to social media inquiries during regular hours of operation.

This week at the Georgina Village Museum  ✨ We are offering drop-in programs Wednesday - Sunday, at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Th...
06/01/2026

This week at the Georgina Village Museum ✨

We are offering drop-in programs Wednesday - Sunday, at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This week's lineup includes:

✍Slate, Chalk, and Cursive - Practice your cursive writing skills using a slate board and chalk

🪀Cup and Ball Toy Craft - Make a classic cup-and-ball craft inspired by the popular historic children’s toy.

📝Dots, Dashes and Morse Code - Learn the basics of Morse Code and send a secret message using dots and dashes.

🧶Hands-On Weaving - Learn basic weaving techniques on a miniature loom to bring home.

🧸Toys Before Tablets - Learn about toys and games of the past through hands-on play.

No pre-registration required, admission by donation. To learn more, visit georginavillagemuseum.ca

Join us this Saturday for Opening Day! 🎊Families can enjoy children’s activities and interactive challenges scattered th...
05/28/2026

Join us this Saturday for Opening Day! 🎊

Families can enjoy children’s activities and interactive challenges scattered throughout the grounds, making it a perfect day out for curious minds ✨

Don’t miss the launch of new exhibits, and be sure to visit the museum's visitor information table highlighting what’s in store for the summer ahead. Be sure to grab some light refreshments from the Georgina Historical Society, cash only. ☀

History, community and creativity awaits! We hope to see you there 😁

For more information, visit 🔗 georgina.ca/events

Did you know that we are offering FREE programming all summer long?  Connect with the past at Georgina Village Museum th...
05/26/2026

Did you know that we are offering FREE programming all summer long? Connect with the past at Georgina Village Museum through educational and hands-on activities each week ✨

Drop-In Programs run from Wednesday – Sunday*, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Programs are free to attend with admission; no pre-registration is required. Open to all ages, while supplies last. To learn more, visit our website 🔗georginavillagemuseum.ca

*Unless otherwise stated.

Experience something truly unique with the Georgina Public Library’s Human Library: an opportunity to “borrow” a person ...
05/14/2026

Experience something truly unique with the Georgina Public Library’s Human Library: an opportunity to “borrow” a person and hear fascinating, real-life stories firsthand 🗣️

Join us for Opening Day on Saturday, May 30. The Human Library will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and don't forget to check out our other, activities, exhibits and games available that day 🎊

🔗Learn more at georgina.ca/events.

Celebrate the start of a brand-new season at the Georgina Village Museum on Saturday, May 30! Join us as we launch our 5...
05/12/2026

Celebrate the start of a brand-new season at the Georgina Village Museum on Saturday, May 30! Join us as we launch our 51st season with a lively day of discovery, entertainment, and hands-on fun for all ages 🎉✨

🔗Learn more at georgina.ca/events.

Published books give stories the opportunity to reach a wider audience. Memoirs, community histories, and scholarly work...
04/21/2026

Published books give stories the opportunity to reach a wider audience. Memoirs, community histories, and scholarly works help personal experiences become part of the public record 📚

Pictured here are examples of published books from our reference collection. One is a biography of local resident Murray Barron. But published history doesn’t have to take the form of a biography or autobiography to be meaningful. Books that explore community stories, local events, and even the landscape itself provide valuable historical context. For example, The Missing Seven Hours documents people, places, and events in Georgina connected to reported UFO sightings, offering a glimpse into a fascinating moment in local history

👉 Visit your local library and find a book about your community’s past.

Horlick, Bill. The Rawleigh Man: Murray Barron. Newmarket Printing Ltd., 1994.

Haisell, David. The Missing Seven Hours. PaperJacks Ltd., 1978.

Self‑published books are a reminder that you don’t need a large publisher to make history public 📚Self‑publishing gives ...
04/17/2026

Self‑published books are a reminder that you don’t need a large publisher to make history public 📚

Self‑publishing gives individuals and families the freedom to decide which stories matter, how they’re told, and when they’re shared. These books are often labours of care, created to preserve community memories, family histories, or personal experiences that might otherwise not be told.

Pictured here are two self‑published books from our reference collection: “Life & Times of Major William Kingdom Rains” and “Udora - Moments in Time.” While each tells a different story, they share a common purpose: to record relationships, experiences and places that shaped real lives.

Whether printed at home or professionally bound, these works ensure that important stories are preserved and shared, on the author’s own terms.

👉 What story would you tell if you were to self-publish a book?

Rains, Jackileen Cadham. Life & Times of Major William Kingdom Rains. Sheep Skin Press, 2018.

Westgarth, Helen. Udora – Moments in Time. Blurb Creative Publishing, 2011.

Some stories are best told out loud. Oral histories capture voices, accents, laughter, and emotions that can’t always be...
04/14/2026

Some stories are best told out loud. Oral histories capture voices, accents, laughter, and emotions that can’t always be translated onto a page. Recording a conversation preserves stories exactly as they’re told 🗣️

The YouTube video linked below is part of an oral history interview from 1970 conducted by the Georgina Historical Society. In this clip, Cesaire Beaudrow answers some biographical questions and discusses “Frenchman’s Village,” the area between Park Rd. and the Pefferlaw River along Hwy 48. Click on the link to listen to the recording 🔗 https://youtu.be/fhsn0iW80fo

👉 Record a conversation with someone you love, even if it’s only five minutes.

In 1970, Joan Martyn of the Georgina Historical Society sat down with Cesaire Beaudrow for an interview. Cesaire lived on Highway #48, just east of Park Road...

Research isn’t just for historians; it’s for anyone who is curious 🔍Old photographs, letters, census records, newspapers...
04/10/2026

Research isn’t just for historians; it’s for anyone who is curious 🔍

Old photographs, letters, census records, newspapers, and family stories can help piece together the lives of those who came before us. Every question you ask, and every answer that you record, helps to preserve history ✍

Research can take many forms: it can exist as a hand-drawn family tree, a printed document, an audio interview, a digital file, or a self-made zine. Pictured here are two examples of local family research. Though they take different formats, they both hold immense value 📖

👉 You don’t need formal training to start; research begins with a single question. Start by asking someone one question about their life.

Address

26557 Civic Centre Road
Keswick, ON
L4P3G1

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