The Local History Museum in Ontario: an Intellectual History 1851-1985

The Local History Museum in Ontario: An Intellectual History 1851-1985 by Mary Elizabeth Tivy A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2006 © Mary Elizabeth Tivy 2006 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract This thesis is a study of the changing model of the local history museum in Ontario, Canada and the consequential changing interpretations of the past in these institutions. Beginning in 1879, local history museums in Ontario developed largely from the energies of local historical societies bent on collecting the past. While science museums used taxonomy and classification to mirror the natural state of the world, history museums had no equivalent framework for organizing collections as real-world referents. Often organized without apparent design, by the early 20th century a deductive method was used to categorize and display history collections into functional groups based on manufacture and use. By the mid-twentieth century an inductive approach for interpreting collections in exhibits was promoted to make these objects more meaningful and interesting to museum visitors, and to justify their collection. This approach relied on the recontextualization of the object through two methods: text-based, narrative exhibits; and verisimilitude, the recreation of the historical environment in which the artifact would have been originally used. These exhibit practices became part of the syllabus of history museum work as it professionalized during the mid-twentieth century, almost a full century after the science museum. In Ontario, recontextualizing artifacts eventually dominated the process of recreating the past at museums. Objects were consigned to placement within textual storylines in order to impart accurate meaning. At its most elaborate, artifacts were recontextualized into houses, and buildings into villages, wherein the public could fully immerse themselves in a tableau of the past. Throughout this process, the dynamic of recontextualization to enhance visitor experience subtlety shifted the historical artifact from its previous position in the museum as an autonomous relic of the past, to one subordinate to context. Although presented as absolute, the narratives and reconstructions formed by these collecting and exhibiting practices were contingent on a multitude of shifting factors, such as accepted museum practice, physical, economic and human resources available to the museum operation, and prevailing beliefs about the past and community identity. This thesis exposes the wider field of museum practice in Ontario community history museums over a century while the case study of Doon Pioneer Village shows in detail the conditional qualities of historical reconstruction in museum exhibits and historical restoration. iii Acknowledgements This thesis was written under the continuous encouragement of my supervisor, Stanley Johannesen of the History Department of the University of Waterloo. Dr. Gerald Pocius of the Memorial University of Newfoundland, willingly took on a role as adjunct professor in the History Department at the University of Waterloo to direct my studies in history and material culture. Also helpful to this study, was Karin MacHardy’s graduate course on the philosophy of history, and Kenneth McLaughlin’s public history course on history and museums. Irene Majer provided guidance with graduate scholarship applications, deadlines and procedures. Access to restricted documents in the Archives of Ontario relating to local museums was facilitated by Marty Brent in her role as supervisor of the museums section of the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Communications, and by Robert Montgomery, Director of the Heritage Policy Branch in the same ministry. At the outset of this research most of the material in the Ontario Archives relating to the community museums correspondence and grant files was unlisted, and archivists Stormie Stewart and Greg Brown assisted with file listing and document retrieval. Former museums advisors; Alan Barnes, Peter Styrmo and Dorothy Duncan agreed to interviews and I appreciate the time they set aside for this work. More recently, John Carter, Museums Advisor in the Ministry of Culture, has forwarded much helpful advice and material. At the Royal Ontario Museum, Ken Lister, Curator of the Anthropology Department provided full access and housing for the David Boyle materials, while the ROM library and archives was under reconstruction. He also allowed access to the Normal School correspondence located in the Anthropology Department. Past and present board and staff members at Doon Heritage Crossroads, formerly Doon Pioneer Village, assisted greatly with helping me find files and agreeing to be interviewed: former OPCF members Hugh Elliott and Allison Jackson, former employees Alfred Schenk, Carl Benn, Pat MacDonald, and David Newlands. Current staff, Tom Reitz, Manager/Curator and Liz Hardin Registrar/Researcher have also given me full access to the archives at Doon Heritage Crossroads, answered endless questions, searched through old files to provide photos and photocopies and remained cheerful and interested throughout. At the Kitchener Public Library, local history librarian Susan Hoffman was very helpful in providing access to the minute books of the Waterloo Historical Society, and for facilitating an interview with Grace Schmidt, former local history librarian. Ken Seiling took time from his busy schedule to talk to me about the Region of Waterloo’s heritage mandate, about his involvement with Doon, and the Ontario Museum Association. Charlotte Woodley, Archivist for the Region of Waterloo greatly assisted with documents and photocopying from the Region of Waterloo Archives. The Museum Studies Department at the University of Toronto provided access to student graduate theses and research papers on file. Bev Dietrich, now of the Guelph Museums, loaned me her research materials on the Wellington County Museum, while Michelle McMillan, former Assistant Director of the Guelph Museums answered many questions and provided materials on the development of the galleries in the museum in 1978-79. Through the OMA certificate course “Museums in Context” I was able to gain access to several student papers on the history of the local museum in their community. Laurence Grant was particularly helpful in this regard. iv My family and friends have been consistently supportive of this work. In particular, my husband Bob Harris has provided unqualified support and accommodation of this activity into our family life. Our son, Alastair, has grown up with the idea that his mother is a life-long student. My friend, Sandy Auld helped immensely with copy editing and Kim McGuire fed us. My office neighbour Kathe Gray shared her computer expertise and other facilities. Funding for this thesis was provided through several Ontario Graduate Scholarships, University of Waterloo, Graduate Studies Fellowships, through a Canada Museums Assistance Programme Research Fellowship, and through a Canadian Museums Association mid-career development grant. Photographs from the collections of the Ontario Archives, Toronto Public Library, Ontario Historical Society, Wellington County Museum and Archives and Doon Heritage Crossroads are copyright and may not be reproduced without their permission. v Dedication To Bob and Alastair vi Abbreviations AASLH American Association for State and Local History CMA Canadian Museums Association CNE Canadian National Exhibition GRCA Grand River Conservation Authority GVCA Grand Valley Conservation Authority HRC Heritage Resources Committee HSAC Historic Sites Advisory Committee HSC Historic Sites Committee HSMBC Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada KPL Kitchener Public Library MAP Museum Assistance Program MERL Museum of English Rural Life NAC National Archives of Canada NYSHA New York State Historical Association OA Ontario Archives OHS Ontario Historical Society OHS MS Ontario Historical Society Museum Section OLA Ontario Library Association OMA Ontario Museum Association OPCF Ontario Pioneer Community Foundation RMW Regional Municipality of Waterloo ROM Royal Ontario Museum ROMLA Royal Ontario Museum Library and Archives TEIGA Provincial Grant Reform Committee UCV Upper Canada Village United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural UNESCO Organization WCHRS Wellington County Historical Research Society WCHS Women's Canadian Historical Society WCPMA Waterloo County Pioneer's Memorial Association WCPMC Waterloo County Pioneer Museum Committee WHS Waterloo Historical Society vii Contents Author’s Declaration............................................................................................................................ii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................................iv Dedication.............................................................................................................................................vi Abbreviations......................................................................................................................................vii

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