By Pat Kerr
Approaching the crest of a hill between Breadalbane and Brodie, as you enter the hamlet of
Dalkeith from the north, sits the Robertson-Clark Building (1867), home of the Dalkeith Historical Society.
On Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm, from March to December, the Dalkeith Historical Society offers heritage and hospitality to the public. The Dalkeith Historical Society is a grassroots group that came together to own and operate a local historic building, enriching community experiences with museum-quality exhibits and events to remember and celebrate the rich heritage of the region.
The grounds offer a pleasant shady flower garden, tree plantings dedicated to the memory of our founder, Frances Fraser, and key member Douglas Irvine, and a memorial cenotaph where each Remembrance Day at 11 am, a ceremony with piper and guard honors those who served in the armed forces. A small building on the lot sports a mural by Maggie Dean with lists of names of those who served from the local area.
The large building was used until 1907 as Robertson’s General Store and later housed a Roman Catholic chapel from 1947 to 2007. It now contains an extensive archive collection of historical information and several exhibits illustrating the history of Dalkeith, the contributions to military history of local citizens, and currently an interactive diorama of a typical living room of the early 20th century and a display of a typical 1940s wartime kitchen with kitchen utensils and a mannequin wearing the authentic apron and dress of the period.
The on-site store “Curiosity Shop” offers a pleasant selection of jewellery, old coins, books, art, gift items, and bric-a-brac miscellanea, from the collections of local members.
On Saturdays in season, the Dalkeith Historical Society opens its Coffee Shop with baked treats, coffee, teas and cold drinks available, all for a voluntary donation. Special events take place throughout the spring, summer, and fall including plant sales, bake sales, rummage sales, guest speakers, crafts workshops, and more. An ongoing project is the “milk bag mats” program: volunteers collect the large UV-resistant milk bags to be woven into sleeping mats and shipped to over 40 countries and to Canadian organizations that assist homeless people.
This historic resource and archive centre is at 1841 Dalkeith Road, Dalkeith, Ontario, K0B 1E0. The website at http://www.dalkeithhistory.com gives access to details of current events and the digital collections of Genealogies and Histories, Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths and Church Records, Gravestones and Photo Name Indexes. For more information, please email [email protected].
Submitted photos
