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Established | 1897 (Current Location: since 1967) |
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Location | 300 Hunter Street East Peterborough, Ontario K9J 6Y5 |
Coordinates | 44°18′26″N78°18′15″W / 44.30722°N 78.30413°W |
Visitors | ~32,000 per year |
Website | Peterborough Museum & Archives |
The Peterborough Museum & Archives, formerly the Peterborough Centennial Museum and Archives (PCMA), is a historical museum located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Found only a short distance from the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site of the Peterborough Lift Lock, the museum has a history spanning well over a century and is home to the second oldest historical collection of its kind within Ontario. Thousands of linear feet of archival materials and over 33,000 artifacts are included in the collection of which only 3% is displayed at any one time due to space restrictions.
The museum site itself is one of architectural, geographical and historical significance all within its own right. The museum is located atop of a drumlin known informally as Armour Hill. This elevation offers one of the best vantage points for viewing the surrounding countryside and is inclusive to the Oak Ridges Moraine / Peterborough Drumlin Field.
The firm of Craig, Zeidler and Strong was contracted on July 14, 1965 as the architectural designers, (Rutherford-Wilcox, 1987). In the decades that have followed, the work of Eberhard Zeidler has become internationally renowned for distinctive and innovative design.
Additionally, a Heritage Pavilion can be found just a short stroll from the main site. This structure is constructed from 150-year White pine which was resurrected from a Methodist Meeting House built during the 1840s in downtown Peterborough.
The land upon which the museum resides was donated to the City of Peterborough and is more formally known as Ashburnham Memorial Park. A plaque at the summit reads, "This park was given to the City of Peterborough by the Women's Patriotic League of Ashburnham in memory of the men of Peterborough who fell in the Great War of 1914–1918."
Peterborough's first Museum was opened to the public October 31, 1898 by the local Historical Society. The Victoria Museum, dedicated in honour of Queen Victoria, was located near Inverlea Park. In April 1912, the collection was moved to the new Carnegie Public Library on George Street, which is now part of the Peterborough City Hall. Renovations, moves and growth highlighted the need for a new permanent location for the collection by the late 1950s. The current site was officially opened to the public on October 28, 1967 as a Centennial project and includes much of the Victoria Museum’s original collection. The Archives collection was introduced to the museum in the mid 1970s. (Doherty, 1995)
Almost four decades of growth, and the recent acquisitions of the Balsillie Collection of Roy Studio Images and the Parks Studio fonds have forced the museum to store some holdings off-site. Unfortunately, the City of Peterborough itself experienced major flooding during July 2004 as a result of torrential and prolonged rainfall. A very rare and yet severe storm for this geographic area gained national attention within Canada and forced the creation of the Peterborough Flood Relief Committee. While restoration of the damaged items continues as of this writing, the Museum does look forward to realizing an expansion proposed through a feasibility study introduced in April of that same year.
The museum is managed by the Culture & Heritage Division of the City of Peterborough as part of the Corporation of the City of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Donations come from individuals, families, organizations and businesses.
The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada. The Museum and Archives is a member of the Ontario Museums Association and the Archives Association of Ontario.
In furthering the mission statement, PCMA is a campus location for a Museum Management and Curatorship Program with ties to both local post secondary educational institutions, Fleming College and Trent University.
The museum archives provide public access to historical documents collected and preserved as they relate to Peterborough and the surrounding areas. These include architectural drawings, blueprints, business records, computer media, diaries, government records, letters, maps, minute books, motion pictures, paintings, sketches, photographs and videotapes. Due to space restrictions as of this writing, public visits to the Archives do require an appointment.
Included are items from noted personalities such as:
While the focus of the PCMA is Peterborough and area, the museum is home to a diverse collection of artifacts as they relate to the following areas of interest:
Lindsay is a community of 22,367 people on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 43 km (27 mi) west of Peterborough. It is the seat of the City of Kawartha Lakes, and the hub for business and commerce in the region.
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which includes the surrounding Townships of Selwyn, Cavan Monaghan, Otonabee-South Monaghan, and Douro-Dummer, was 128,624 in 2021. In 2021, Peterborough ranked 32nd among the country's 41 census metropolitan areas according to the CMA in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Jeff Leal.
Trenton is a large unincorporated community in Central Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues northwest to Peterborough and eventually Port Severn on Georgian Bay.
Peterborough County is located in Southern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is The City of Peterborough, which is independent of the county.
The City of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. It is a municipality legally structured as a single-tier city; however, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontario county and is mostly rural. It is the second largest single-tier municipality in Ontario by land area.
Asphodel–Norwood is a lower tier township municipality in Peterborough County in Central Ontario, Canada, with a 2021 population of 4,658. The land on which the township is situated is the traditional territory of the Mississauga, and became open to European colonization following its survey in 1820. The site that would become Norwood was settled in 1823, and it was incorporated as a village in 1878. The township, in its current form, was created in 1998 by the reunification of the village of Norwood with the surrounding township of Asphodel.
The Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) is a museum, art gallery, and archives for the Regional Municipality of Peel and are located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Previously, it was the Peel Heritage Complex. Its facilities were originally the Peel County Courthouse, Brampton Jail, a land registry office, and a county administration building. It is opposite Gage Park and Brampton City Hall.
Fleming College, also known as Sir Sandford Fleming College, is an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada partnered with Trebas Institute Ontario Inc.
Eberhard Heinrich Zeidler, was a German-Canadian architect. He designed iconic structures and landmarks in Canada and internationally, most notably in Toronto. These included Ontario Place, the Toronto Eaton Centre and the North York Performing Arts Centre, as well as redevelopments of Queen's Quay Terminal and the Gladstone Hotel. His firm also designed Canada Place in Vancouver for Expo 86.
Petroglyphs Provincial Park is a historical-class provincial park situated in Woodview, Ontario, Canada, northeast of Peterborough. It has the largest collection of ancient First Nations petroglyphs in Ontario. The carvings were created in the pre-Columbian era and represents aspects of First Nations spirituality, including images of shamans, animals, reptiles, and, possibly, the Great Spirit itself.
The Canadian Canoe Museum, located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, is a museum dedicated to canoes. The museum's mission is to preserve and share the culture and history of the canoe's enduring significance to the peoples of Canada through an exceptional collection of canoes, kayaks, and paddled watercraft."
Peterborough Transit is the public transport operator for the City of Peterborough, Ontario, & Township of Selwyn, Ontario.
The Township of Verulam was a rural municipality within the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes. It was bounded on the north by the geographic township of Somerville, the south by the geographic township of Emily, the west by the geographic township of Fenelon, and the east by the County of Peterborough. For the purposes of government, land surveying and reference, it is now properly referred to as the "Geographic Township of Verulam".
The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway (C&PRy) was one of the first railway lines to be built in Central Ontario, Canada. The line was initially considered in 1831 as a way to bring the products from the burgeoning area around Peterborough to markets on Lake Ontario through the port in the town of Cobourg. Before the railway the only means of travel was by stage coach lines between larger populated areas overland or by boat. A series of problems, including the Upper Canada Rebellion and the Panic of 1837, meant that construction did not begin until 1853, reaching Peterborough in 1854.
Zeidler Architecture Inc. is a national architecture, interior design, urban design, and master planning firm with four Canadian offices located in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria.
Alene E. Holt was the first female alderman for Peterborough, Ontario, elected in 1959 and the first female mayor, appointed in 1962.
Peterborough City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It is a 2+1⁄2-storey building, located at 500 George Street North, across the street from Confederation Park, the Drill Hall and Armouries and Peterborough Collegiate. The complex consists of two buildings: the City Hall built in 1951 and the former Carnegie Library built in 1911.
William Blackwell was a Canadian architect active in Peterborough, Ontario, for over 40 years. He was among the first architects to use the Romanesque Revival style in Ontario.
Walter Rolleston Lightfoot Blackwell was a Canadian architect known for his work in Peterborough, Ontario, and a number of Bank of Toronto branches across Ontario. He was the son of William Blackwell and an early partner of Eberhard Zeidler.