Museum Month: History, Mystery, and More—From Gristmills to Ghosts in South Eastern Ontario
May in Ontario isn’t just about busting out the Birks and ordering your first patio pint. It’s also Museum Month, and South Eastern Ontario is stacked with spots that serve up fascinating stories, quirky collections and a serious dose of local pride. If you’re a history buff, industrial enthusiast or true crime junkie, there’s a museum here with your name on it.
Grinding Gears & Flowing Years
For the industrial romantics and old machinery lovers
PumpHouse Museum – Kingston
Housed in an 1850s waterworks, this site merges steampunk vibes with solid STEM cred. Interactive exhibits show how industry and innovation shaped the city.
Fun fact: The Kingston PumpHouse still has two original steam engines — one of which is massive enough to make you feel like you’re inside Thomas the Tank Engine’s industrial cousin.
Spencerville Mill & Museum – Spencerville
Dating to 1864, this stone mill sits on the South Nation River and showcases the evolution of water-powered industry with plenty of heritage charm.
Old Stone Mill – Delta
This 1810 gristmill is the oldest of its kind in Ontario. It still grinds grain the old-fashioned way and offers a fascinating look at early industry in Rideau Lakes.
Make It a Day Trip: After visiting the Old Stone Mill in Delta, grab a treat or a coffee from the Bastard Coffee House across the street and take a stroll through Lower Beverley Lake Park. It’s small-town charm at its finest.
Rideau District Museum – Westport
Housed in a former blacksmith shop from the 1850s, this cozy spot tells big stories about the Rideau’s early settlers, industry, and life on the canal. From vintage tools and textiles to a towering wood-carved statue of Justice (named Sally Grant, no less), it’s a quirky, cool peek into rural resilience.
Fun fact: The museum holds the original hearse doors used during Sir John A. Macdonald’s funeral procession — talk about historic wheels.
Maritime Tales & Lakeside Legends
For boat nerds and beachcombers
Great Lakes Museum – Kingston
Get hooked on maritime history at this gorgeous waterfront site.
Lost Villages Museum – Long Sault
Nine communities were submerged during the St. Lawrence Seaway project. Here’s where you can still visit their ghosts. This museum doesn’t open until June, but we couldn’t miss it on this list. It’s a must-hit spot on your next visit!
Fun fact: When the Seaway flooded the area, some entire buildings were moved on flatbeds to higher ground. Think of it as historical house surfing.
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Loyalist Legacies & Stone Stories
For fans of founding myths, Scottish grit and buildings that could outlive us all
Glengarry Pioneer Museum – Dunvegan
A full-on pioneer village complete with blacksmith demos and Highland heritage.
Get your spook on: The weekend of May 23-24 will be full of paranormal activities.
Glengarry Nor’Westers and Loyalist Museum – Williamstown
Fur trade meets frontier politics in this immersive experience.
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The Bishop’s House of Glengarry – St. Raphael’s
This is where spiritual legacy meets architectural splendour. Built in 1808 by Ontario’s first bishop, this stone showpiece once housed a college, a convent, and a wild amount of history. Saved from the wrecking ball by locals with grit, it’s now being reborn as a cultural hotspot across from the hauntingly beautiful St. Raphael’s Ruins.
Carman House Museum – Iroquois
This is one of the oldest homes in the region, with Loyalist roots and waterfront charm. Legend has it that shipbuilders used the nearby waterfront to sneak in Loyalist supplies under cover of darkness.
Bethune Thompson House – Williamstown
A quiet cornerstone of early Scottish settlement history. The home’s namesakes include a doctor who once treated Napoleon’s troops and a fur trader who ran with the North West Company — talk about housemates with history.
Fort Henry – Kingston (opens May 17)
Watch cannon drills and march with redcoats — or just take a selfie. Perched atop Point Henry since 1836, Fort Henry was built to guard the Rideau Canal’s gateway and Kingston’s bustling harbour. This formidable fortress invites visitors to march into history with dynamic military demonstrations and panoramic views of Lake Ontario.
Sir John Johnson Manor House – Williamstown
A National Historic Site with a layered Loyalist past. It’s one of the province’s oldest surviving structures, originally serving as part of a mill site developed by Loyalist leader Sir John Johnson.
Fun Fact: Sir John Johnson once buried documents in barrels to protect Loyalist secrets during the American Revolution. Some say not all of them were found...
Jailhouse Rock Tour
For the true crime addicts and prison history nerds
Kingston Penitentiary – Kingston
Step into the chilling corridors of Kingston Penitentiary, where whispers of vengeful spirits and eerie apparitions abound. Dare to explore this notorious prison’s haunted history and experience the spine-tingling tales that linger within its formidable walls. Canada’s most infamous prison is now a wildly popular guided tour. From solitary cells to escape stories, it’s a walk through criminal history that leaves a mark.
Canada’s Penitentiary Museum – Kingston
Housed in the former warden’s residence, this museum dives deep into the correctional system with an unmatched collection of contraband, uniforms and lore. Visitors can explore exhibits featuring historic punishment devices and artifacts showcasing the evolution of the Canadian penal system.
Historic SDG Jail – Cornwall
This jail operated from 1834 to 2002, this jail saw its share of scandal and sorrow. Today, it offers spine-tingling tours that explore its cells, courthouse and execution yard.
Did You Know? The last execution at the SDG Jail took place in 1954. Two men were hanged — and some say their ghosts still linger in the yard. Sleep tight, Cornwall.
L'Orignal Old Jail – L'Orignal
Ontario's oldest jail, operational from 1825 to 1998, now offers guided tours that delve into nearly two centuries of crime and punishment. Visitors can explore the cells, hear tales of infamous inmates, and even participate in escape room challenges within the historic walls.
Eerie factor: The jail was the site of five executions, and some say the spirits of the condemned still linger. Paranormal enthusiasts often report eerie encounters during nighttime investigations.
Creatives May Like ...
Where history meets art, design and juicy storytelling.
Base31 Arts & Heritage District – Picton
Military roots, modern art vibes. It’s a cultural mashup you didn’t see coming.
Did you know? During the Second World War, this site trained aircrews in bombing and gunnery. Now, it trains your brain to love industrial-chic art installations.
Upper Canada Village – Morrisburg
An immersive 1860s village. Live blacksmiths! Horse-drawn wagons! Fresh bread! What’s not to enjoy about this kind of visit back in time?
Did you know? Every loaf of bread is made the old-fashioned way — right down to using heritage wheat and a wood-fired brick oven.
Akwesasne Cultural Center Museum – Akwesasne
Step into a space where stories live in sweetgrass, beadwork, and black ash — this museum is a full-on sensory dive into Mohawk culture past and present. From wampum belts to cornhusk dolls, it’s not just a collection — it’s a living, breathing art form with a heartbeat.
Fun fact: The museum’s basket collection is internationally renowned — some pieces are over 100 years old and still holding their shape (and stories).
Hidden Histories
For the curious, the wanderers, and the ones who ask, “What’s that building?”
1000 Islands History Museum – Gananoque
Ecology, Indigenous heritage and river lore converge. The 1000 Islands were once rum-running territory during Prohibition — booze by boat, baby!
Museum of Lennox & Addington – Napanee
The building was once the County jail, dating back to 1865, offering a unique glimpse into the area's past.
Frontenac County Schools Museum – Barriefield
Step back into the days of ink pots and chalk dust at the Frontenac County Schools Museum in Kingston’s historic Barriefield Village. Housed in an 1886 limestone charmer, this museum revives the one-room schoolhouse vibe, complete with slates, antique desks, and a School Marm ready to test your cursive. This classic time machine will take you back to when recess was the highlight and the three R’s ruled.
The County Collection
Small Museums, Big Vibes
For fans of old barns, weirdo artifacts, and stories your grandma never told you, these local gems at the County Museums in Prince Edward County are keeping the heritage strange, warm and wildly charming.
Macaulay Heritage Park – Picton
A reverend’s home turned heritage hangout with a stunning church next door. Wander through the 1830s Macaulay House, admire the former Church of St. Mary Magdalene turned museum, and tiptoe through a cemetery that even Ripley’s found remarkable. This is history with a side of goosebumps.
Ameliasburgh Heritage Village – Ameliasburgh
A schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, and log cabin village all in one. From the towering 1868 church with the county’s tallest steeple to the buzzing blacksmith shop, this village is a hands-on history lesson without the pop quiz. Marvel at the de Vries Natural Heritage Collection’s lifelike taxidermy or get up close with the Goldie Corliss flywheel — because who doesn’t love a massive, antique machine?
Wellington Heritage Museum – Wellington
Once a Quaker Meeting House from 1885, now a hotspot for local lore. Peek into the County’s past, from pacifist roots to canned goods glory (yes, really — this place was the epicentre of Ontario’s canning industry).
Mariners Park Museum – South Bay
From shipwrecks to lighthouses, this place rides the waves of Lake Ontario’s past. Get the scoop on local maritime lore, rum-running routes, and the people who braved the lake before GPS made it easy.
Rose House Museum – Waupoos
This humble farmhouse has Loyalist grit in its bones. The Rose family lived here for five generations — with enough kids, drama and salvaged church wood to make it the County’s original DIY success story.
Museum Month Bingo
Just for fun, this can be your unofficial checklist for historical hijinks.
Get your bragging rights here. Mark them off as you go. Tag your visits with #MuseumMonthOntario and see how many you can tick off.
From jails to gristmills, schooners to schoolhouses, South Eastern Ontario’s museums offer more than dusty glass cases and rope barriers. They’re full of scandal, skill, science, and surprises — and this month, they’re wide open for discovery.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of museums in South Eastern Ontario. To find one closest to where you are staying, check out the website of our destinations.
