Welcome to Museum Town
In conjunction with the Midland Heritage Committee, the Huronia Museum has developed a walking/driving tour of some of Midland’s Heritage Sites. 25 sites were chosen to begin the tour with the intention of adding more as the tour continues to develop. The Museum Town project aims to preserve the identity, history and memory of Midland. In addition to informing tourists of our dynamic history, we seek to interest and show local people another side of Midland that they may be unfamiliar with.
Midland was uniquely positioned at the bottom of Georgian Bay to be a jumping-off point for Great Lakes Cruises, and tours of the 30,000 islands of the Muskoka region. Passenger trains from Southern Ontario would deliver tourists to the area where they found hotels, cruise ships, and luxurious resorts waiting for them.
In addition to tourism, Midland was a hive of industrial activity. Lumber mills dotted the shoreline, grain elevators sprang-up around the bay, and a shipyard was built first to service and repair ships coming into the harbour, and then to build them. A foundry was established, employing 350 people at its peak. Coal yards and a coal dock were added to fuel all the ships coming into harbour. As the town grew up around these industries, general stores, hardware stores, dairies, farms, all started by entrepreneurs to serve the employees and their families of the mills, elevators, foundries, and shipping agencies.
People needed places to worship, and so churches were built by their parishioners. They also want places to relax and unwind, inspiring the building of theatres, various social clubs, parks, cafes, a race track, and sporting venues. Hospitals are built to support the sick and other health care professionals move into the area to serve the townspeople.
Did you find one of these at one of Midland’s Heritage sites?
This is a QR code. You can read this code with a QR code reader application (these applications are free) on your smartphone or tablet computer. The QR code reader will direct you to a specific site on the Huronia Museum’s webpage that will give you more information about the heritage site. The website will contain information about the Heritage Site from our collection.
Here are a list of the locations in Midland, Ontario.
Little Lake Park , Little Lake Park Road
St. Mark’s Anglican Lutheran Church, 303 Third St.
St. Paul’s United Church, 308 King St.
Knox Presbyterian Church, 539 Hugel Avenue
Midland Library (Former), 526 Hugel Avenue
Midland Public Library, 320 King St.
Midland Curling Club, 474 King St.
Midland Coal Dock, Midland Harbour
Midland Shipyards, Midland Harbour
Grain elevators, Midland Harbour
Midland Town Dock, Midland Harbour
The Y.M.C.A. (Former), Budd Watson Gallery (Former), 520 Hugel Avenue
Midland Cultural Centre, 333 King St.
Horrell House, 282 Fifth St.
St. Andrew’s Hospital (Currently Hillcrest), 255 Russell St.
Thomas Chew Home, 251 Queen St.
St. Margaret’s Catholic Church, 589 Hugel Avenue
Huronia Park, 287 Bayshore Dr.
The Frazer House, 687 King St.
Mountainview Ski Jump, RR1 Midland
North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre, 527 Len Self Blvd.
Huronia Museum, 549 Little Lake Park Rd.
Drummond Estate Wall, 385 Fuller Avenue
Jeffery Block, 236 King St.
Below is a link to all our Heritage sites. If you scroll down the left menu, on that page, there are directions for a simple walking tour of some of the sites taking you from Huronia Museum down to the waterfront.
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zdovY3p_OtKY.kgVRscbS0GhY
Here are a list of the locations In Tiny Township, Ontario
Église Sainte-Croix Église Sainte-Croix
SoHomey Lodge and Balm Beach, SoHomey Lodge and Balm Beach
St. Patrick’s Church, St. Patrick’s Church
French Language Locations (soon to be published):
Église Sainte-Croix, Église Sainte-Croix
Eglise catholique romaine St. Patrick, Eglise catholique romaine St. Patrick
Huronia Museum 
Cannot find the walking tour directions — and there is no left menu…
The wording on the page says:
“Below is a link to all our Heritage sites. If you scroll down the left menu, there are directions for a simple walking tour of some of the sites taking you from Huronia Museum down to the waterfront.”
You have to click the link before you can see the tour, map and directions.
Thank you!
Sure, but the wording isn’t clear — otherwise I wouldn’t have asked the question. It would be better if it said something like: “Click through the following link and scroll down the left menu to see directions…”
Am looking for a photo of lovering train station near coldwater. My mother was a Lovering
Hello,
Speaking of the Lovering train station. Does anyone have any knowledge of a train wreck that would have happened possibly on April 28, 1917 near Lovering? My Grandparents had a artifact dated from this possible event and I would be interested to find out more information about this. My Dad was born in the area a year or so later and it kind of ties in with my family history. The internet so far has turned up nothing of this train wreck. I would be grateful if anyone has any info.
Bruce M.