Take a closer look at Museums, Art Galleries & Historic Sites of Kingston
KAM and its member sites sit on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee & Anishinaabek peoples.
As a city slicker, I can’t carry on much of a conversation about farming, but after a recent visit to the South Frontenac Museum, I now know what a farmerette is. I’ve also learned something about educational toys, wartime nurses and Sunday dinners. These seemingly diverse topics all make sense once you know that the... Continue Reading →
When I visited the Murney Tower before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was only vaguely aware of its Mediterranean connection. Recently, I’ve looked into the details. It’s tied to the Republic of Genoa, which was a maritime republic from the 11th century to the late 18th century, based in what is now the northwestern coast of... Continue Reading →
Why might the Himalayan mountains be featured in a geology museum in Kingston? At the Miller Museum of Geology at 36 Union Street, you’ll learn about an ancient mountain range in eastern Canada that was once the same scale as the current Himalayas. The Grenville Mountains were formed a billion years ago but were eroded... Continue Reading →
Years ago, when my timing belt broke on the highway, the damage to my engine was extensive. Even though I had replaced the belt not long before that, it didn’t last. That stroke of bad luck, however, didn’t change my view about the value of good oversight and maintenance. It’s the same for the Canadian... Continue Reading →
On each side of Fort Henry lies a bay: Deadman’s Bay to the east and Navy Bay to the west. These two bays have stories to tell, about 100 years apart. One is a story of tragedy, the other of ingenuity. Both are about hard work and determination. With the spring weather now here, you... Continue Reading →
The ability to have influence in two distinct cultures is a rare gift. It is a skill prized by diplomats today, but would it have been appreciated 250 years ago if the person engaged in negotiation and diplomacy was an Indigenous woman? I happily discovered that, in the case of Molly Brant, the answer is... Continue Reading →
The John Counter Boulevard project is in its final phase. As I followed the project over the past few years, I saw truck after truck deliver a massive amount of rock to serve as the foundation for the bridge over the railway tracks. Recently, my interest turned to the name, John Counter. Who was this... Continue Reading →
In 1841, Kingston’s Bishop Remigius Gaulin wrote to Bishop Ignace Bourget of Montreal asking him to allow the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu of Montreal, the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph (RHSJs), to found a hospital in Kingston to care for the increasing number of poor Irish Catholics who settled in the city following the... Continue Reading →
Had there been Twitter in the summer of 1860, tweets in Kingston would have been about the upcoming visit of Queen Victoria’s son, the 18-year-old Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII. Kingston was one of several planned stops on the Prince’s tour of Canada and the United States. He and his entourage... Continue Reading →
“Following the timber” isn’t a phrase you hear nowadays. But in the 19th century, this was a way of life for many people who worked in the logging industry. As lumber companies aggressively cut timber, whole forestry regions were depleted, triggering the company to move westward in search of new forests. Those dependent on the... Continue Reading →
