{"id":1386,"date":"2013-03-01T19:45:23","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T19:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/?page_id=1386"},"modified":"2013-03-28T14:35:23","modified_gmt":"2013-03-28T14:35:23","slug":"hiram-walker-museum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/?page_id=1386","title":{"rendered":"Hiram Walker Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hiram Walker Museum \u2013 254 Pitt Street West. <\/b><\/p>\n

Tourists from the far corners of the world also saw the Windsor story and took it home with them.\u00a0 Newspaper editors from 35 of the United States toured the Museum.\u00a0 Through an interpreter, a group from Yokohama was taken back through the thousands of years of Man\u2019s occupancy on the Detroit [River]. <\/i>(R. Alan Douglas, WPL Annual Report, <\/i>1958)<\/p>\n

Windsor, Ontario is a key area for the study of the history of First Nations in Canada and America and the first Europeans began to settle in Windsor.\u00a0 While many museums in Canada have incorporated a library space into their museum site, few public libraries have included a full museum as a branch of its operation.\u00a0 The Fran\u00e7ois Baby (usually pronounced in the French manner as \u201cbahbee\u201d or \u201cbawbee\u201d) residence is one of the few surviving buildings that has witnessed this rich history.\u00a0\u00a0 More detailed histories of the museum exist elsewhere, but a short background is necessary to explain the significance of the property.<\/p>\n

\"Francois<\/a>Born in the 1760s, local merchant Fran\u00e7ois Baby built a house in 1812 on his farm near the Detroit River, between Pitt and Ferry Streets in Windsor.\u00a0 Shortly afterwards, the house suffered the occupation of the American army during the War of 1812.\u00a0 The house was handed down through the generations, became a commercial building, and by the outbreak of World War II, was barely standing amidst urban development in downtown Windsor.\u00a0\u00a0 In the early 1940s, local historians, including local community leader, historian and WPL Board member George F. MacDonald, and a recently-formed group called the Windsor Historic Sites Association (WHSA), petitioned the City of Windsor to take control of the home and restore it to its former grandeur and repurpose it as a museum for the benefit of Windsor citizens.\u00a0 The City passed a motion in June 1945 giving over the operation and maintenance of the Baby House to the Windsor Public Library Board.<\/p>\n

Restoration took over a decade. Delays were caused by lack of funds, lack of recognition by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, a fire and vandalism.\u00a0 The community, especially teachers and students, began to support the rescue and restoration of the house and in November, 1947, the Windsor Teachers\u2019 Council formed a \u201cBaby House Drive\u201d Committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Local businesses began to support the effort, too, and once again, the Hiram Walker legacy came to the benefit of Windsor\u2019s culture when the distillery company donated $37,000 in 1957 and won naming rights.\u00a0 According to the WPL Annual Report of 1958, George F. MacDonald donated his entire antique collection, plus hours of time to the project.\u00a0 Local architects Sheppard and Masson designed the reconstructed house as a museum.<\/p>\n

The Hiram Walker Museum was opened in May 7, 1958, by the Hon. A. Kelso Roberts, Attorney-General of Ontario.\u00a0 Windsor Historic Sites Association formally handed over the building and the historical collection of artifacts from the region to the WPL Board.\u00a0 The Windsor Public Library Board hired historian R. Alan Douglas to be the first curator of the Hiram Walker Museum.\u00a0 With one other staff member hired by the WPL, the newest branch of the Windsor Public Library became a great success, adding both archives and objects to the library archives, and also augmenting the library\u2019s visitor numbers.\u00a0 The curator and staff reported to the Windsor Public Library administration.<\/p>\n

The Windsor Public Library quickly embraced the public and academic educational opportunity of having a museum in its \u201ccollection\u201d by planning workshop programs of the preservation of museum artifacts for the Ontario Historical Society for 1958 (Globe and Mail<\/i>, Oct. 7, 1957).\u00a0 The museum and library staff also benefitted from the help of professional curators from Detroit and Ontario.\u00a0 By September, 1963, the museum was declared a National Historic Site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During its first full year of operation, 15,000 guests had toured the Museum, and local residents had scoured their attics and donated hundreds of historical objects, from a textile artist\u2019s magnifying glass to a \u201cpioneer loom in working condition\u201d (Douglas, WPL Annual Report<\/i>, 1958).\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1974, the board assisted Alan Douglas in the purchase of a rare water colour painting by Catharine Reynolds of Amherstburg, circa 1812, adding to the Museum\u2019s collection of objects important to local history.\u00a0 After George MacDonald\u2019s death, Chief Librarian Anne Hume noted in her 1963 report that MacDonald\u2019s collection of antique guns had been donated in his name and a campaign was mounted for more donations from the community, \u201ca specific effort was directed toward the development of an important collection of firearms, suitable for exhibition to a public concerned with the Canadian aspects of local history\u201d and \u201c\u2026truly representative of the various types of weapons that played a part in the settlement of the Detroit River frontier\u201d (Hume, WPL Annual Report<\/i>, 1960).\u00a0 Possibly this is one of the few times that a firearms collection has been mentioned in a library annual report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In March, 1974, the Archivist of Ontario proposed that this Provincial Ministry take microfilm copies of the museum\u2019s fragile manuscripts collection in exchange for a microfilm copy for the museum.\u00a0 The Board, with the approval of the Windsor Historic Sites Association, also agreed that a large collection of the museum\u2019s archives be \u201cloaned in perpetuity\u201d to the Archives of Ontario in order to ensure the items could be preserved (WPL Board Minutes, <\/i>March 5, 1974).<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s activities expanded the traditional library mandate further by overseeing the archaeological investigation of five sites of unique importance to the history of First Nations in the area, part of the commemoration of the WPL\u2019s 75th<\/sup> anniversary in 1969.\u00a0\u00a0 In March, 1971, further archaeological studies of the area around the museum were conducted with the help of the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto, and their graduate students carried out the work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Click on the image<\/strong> below to view part of Windsor’s\u00a0Community Museum\u00a0in\u00a0360 degree image.\u00a0\u00a0Click and drag\u00a0your mouse\u00a0on the\u00a0image to\u00a0view the room.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Windsor's<\/a><\/p>\n

The Museum volunteers and staff continued to promote the research work of the museum, and often produced information to local and national media on Windsor and Canada\u2019s history.\u00a0 In 1984, Curator Alan Douglas was featured in a series of information broadcasts on local history, which had been very popular, and the Board congratulated him on this success.\u00a0 Laurence Grant, who succeeded Alan Douglas as Curator, was nominated for the 9th<\/sup> Annual Tourism Award in the Promotional Achievement category, highlighting the library\u2019s unusual involvement in the local tourism industry through its governance of the museum.<\/p>\n

In 1982, a Museum Services Committee was struck in order to provide additional governance to the Museum and allow it to be eligible for provincially-funded grants.\u00a0\u00a0 A feasibility study was conducted by the library to determine the Museum\u2019s future goals, in 1985 including the role of the curator, the demarcation of the duties of staff and volunteers, and the use of computers in museum work.\u00a0 The next year, 1985, a new East Gallery was added to the museum, and afterwards, celebrated the history of the Essex Kent Scottish Regiment was celebrated with a special exhibition there. In 1991, a proposal was made for a competition to rename the museum. \u00a0It was changed to Fran\u00e7ois Baby House Museum for a few years.<\/p>\n

By the start of the new millennium in May, 2000, the Windsor Public Library Board reviewed its governance of the museum. The provincial Community Museum Operating Grant required the WPL to have an appointed or elected governing body that was responsible for the operation of the museum.\u00a0 The museum branch was overseen by a Museum Committee comprised of two Windsor Public Library Board members, two members of the Windsor Historic Sites Association and two members of the Museum Group with a possible two other members-at-large.<\/p>\n

Another unique arrangement for the WPL Board was the shared lease of the Duff-Baby House and interpretive centre in Sandwich with the Ontario Heritage Foundation.\u00a0 In essence, the Duff-Baby House was yet another branch of the WPL.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Windsor was also unique in that it did not have a dedicated municipal museum \u2013 the original design of the space involved only part of the display being devoted to Windsor history. An area was arranged as a historic house reflecting the building\u2019s original owner.\u00a0\u00a0 The museum then contained 15,000 artifacts mainly owned by the Windsor Public Library, the Windsor Historic Sites Association owned the MacDonald Collection \u2013 and the WHSA technically also owned the Fran\u00e7ois Baby house.\u00a0 The annual visitor numbers swelled to over 51,000 including visitors to the interpretation centre.\u00a0 The Fran\u00e7ois Baby House had 5,660 sq ft, with 1,750 sq ft of exhibition space, and the Duff-Baby Interpretation Centre had 1,000 sq ft.<\/p>\n

Click on the image<\/strong> below to view part of Windsor’s\u00a0Community Museum\u00a0in\u00a0360 degree image.\u00a0\u00a0Click and drag\u00a0your mouse\u00a0on the\u00a0image to\u00a0view the room.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Windsor's<\/a><\/p>\n

The upkeep and collection of the museum was greatly augmented by the fundraising efforts and volunteers of the Friends of the Museum and Windsor Historic Sites Association.\u00a0\u00a0 The Museum Board\u2019s mandate was for visitors to leave with a sense of relationship or connection between, \u201cWindsor and elsewhere; Events and individuals; Objects and People; Ourselves and others\u201d\u2026 and that \u201cpeople will experience inspiration, relaxation and enrichment of their lives through the various heritage services offered by the Windsor Public Library\u201d (WPL Board Minutes, <\/i>May 10, 2000).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The museum and its volunteers also spearheaded local history celebrations and commemorations, such as the August 14, 1994 commemoration of the Surrender of Detroit in 1812.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This began a tradition of hosting historical re-enactments.\u00a0 Having costumed interpreters on library property bringing history alive was another departure for the traditional interpretation of a library\u2019s community function.<\/p>\n

In 2008, the Windsor Public Library Board completed the process to transfer management of Windsor\u2019s Community Museum to the Corporation of the City of Windsor and by August of that year, the transfer was complete.\u00a0 In 2012, Windsor\u2019s Community Museum was still operated by the City of Windsor, and took a vital role in Windsor\u2019s commemoration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hiram Walker Museum \u2013 254 Pitt Street West. Tourists from the far corners of the world also saw the Windsor story and took it home with them.\u00a0 Newspaper editors from 35 of the United States toured the Museum.\u00a0 Through an interpreter, a group from Yokohama was taken back through the thousands of years of Man\u2019s occupancy on the Detroit [River]. Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1386"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1386"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2342,"href":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1386\/revisions\/2342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}