Markham Museum celebrates 50th anniversary

“This year marks an important milestone for the City of Markham and the Markham Museum, as we celebrate 50 years of delivering exceptional services to residents while continuing to do what we do best: innovating,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. "The Markham Museum is a celebrated institution in our city and has been instrumental in preserving and celebrating our city’s history while providing innovative and educational experiences for residents. I would like to wish the Markham Museum a Happy 50th Birthday and I encourage residents to participate in the various programs and services that they have planned to mark this golden anniversary.”

The Markham Museum opened in 1971 in the retired Mount Joy School building at 9350 Markham Road, and later expanded to include the Williamson/Strickler Farm. Today, it brings the past and present together on 25 acres of land with more than 40 local historic buildings, as well as a LEED® Gold certified collections building.

The collections building was recently renamed the John Lunau Centre, in honour of the late John Lunau – the Museum’s first curator and the founding President of the Markham Historical Society. The Centre enabled the Markham Museum to care for artifacts and to host large-scale seasonal exhibitions and a smaller permanent installation called "What is Markham? Discover our Evolving Community" in the south gallery. The Markham Museum continues to receive national attention for its unique way of connecting with its community.

“Markham Museum is delighted to celebrate our 50th anniversary with our community, with whom we explore our past and present through some of humanity’s oldest shared technologies – ceramics, textiles, metalworking and food production,” said Cathy Molloy, Manager, Markham Museum. “We are grateful for the unwavering support of our founding organizations – the Markham Lions and the Markham Historical Society – our countless volunteers reaching back to our earliest days, and successive Markham councils who have developed and maintained the Museum over the past five decades, and who continue to support us.”’

The Markham Museum focuses on key environmental histories and human relationships with the land through activities such as pottery, agriculture, metalworking and textile production. It connects with the cultural histories of all people that make, and have made, Markham their home through exhibitions, school programs, public programs, camps, research facilities and more.

The site of the Markham Museum is also home to several annual community events, including the iconic Applefest, which normally draw visitors from across York Region, the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario.

Some of the Markham Museum's earliest volunteers in front of Maxwell Cabin – one of the Museum's historic buildings – with historic barn-building tools and a scale model of the heavy timber frame needed for a barn. (1975)

 

A family enjoys the Markham Moves exhibition in the John Lunau Centre at the Markham Museum. This exhibition is available online at markham.ca/culture due to the pandemic.
 

Related links:

• Support the Markham Museum 
• The Friends of Markham Museum 
• Markham’s cultural attractions 
• Summer programs and camps 
• City of Markham celebrates 50 years of excellence 
• Markham Public Library turns 50