Halton Region Museum
The Halton Region Museum was a museum owned by the Regional Municipality of Halton. It now operates as Halton Region Heritage Services. Heritage Services preserves the material and cultural heritage of Halton Region, and acquires and shares knowledge of the region’s historical and natural world. Based at Kelso Conservation Area in Milton, Ontario, Canada,[1] Heritage Services offers seasonal on-site and travelling exhibits and public programming. Heritage Services support the preservation and appreciation of the heritage of Halton Region through partnerships with museums, archives, historical societies, cultural organizations and attractions.
As of July 2025, in a closed and now controversial council session with no prior public consultation, Halton Region Council decided to close Heritage Services in December 2025 and deaccession and auction off its 30,000 artifacts, photographs and archival documents. A previously committed 8 million dollars for a new centre was slashed. [2] A petition to reverse this decision has been started on Change.org.[3]
History
[edit | edit source]The Halton County Museum was established in 1962,[4] after being purchased by the Halton Region Conservation Authority in 1961.[4] It resided on the 200-acre, 125-year old farming property of Scottish settler Adam Alexander.[4]
In 1974, the museum became the responsibility of the Region when the new Regional Municipality of Halton was formed.[5] The Halton Museum Foundation was then established in 1998.[6]
In 2014, Regional Council adopted a new Master Plan for the Museum under which it was transformed into Heritage Services, which supports regional heritage organizations and institutions, and cares for Regionally owned heritage assets.[1]
At the end of 2016, the Halton Region Museum site in the Kelso Conservation Area closed and is no longer open to the public.[1] The facility is still used for staff offices, workshops and collections storage and research services are available by appointment.
Collection items
[edit | edit source]Select donations to the museum collection were featured by the local and Toronto media, over the years. These include:
- Bell tower of the Bruce Street school, Milton, donated 1975; the bell itself went to the central library[7]
- Tools of Adam Alexander, stone mason who once owned Kelso, donated in 1976 or before[8]
The museum collection had reached 15,000 items by 1976.[9]
Historic Alexander family buildings
[edit | edit source]The family's barn, built 1860, was the first building in Halton County to have electricity. Adam Alexander III met Thomas Edison in 1903, and the two discussed electricity. This resulted in Alexander III installing a water wheel to generate power, fifteen years before Ontario Hydro reached the area.[10]
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Halton Region Heritage Services - official site
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