Grey Highlands Museum

10/23/2026

GH25 Limited Edition Print Update

We’ve received lots of inquiries about our 16” x 20” Grey Highlands 25th Anniversary prints… and yes, it’s true… they will only be available during our 2026 season.

These limited-edition prints were created to celebrate the municipality’s 25th anniversary of amalgamation and were always intended to be available for just one year. Their popularity has exceeded all expectations, so thank you to everyone who has taken a little piece of Grey Highlands home to celebrate the beauty of this incredible corner of Ontario.

We currently have complete sets available at the Grey Highlands Museum, but inventory fluctuates daily. We encourage you to call ahead to confirm availability or reserve your prints by emailing [email protected] with POSTER ORDER in the subject line. We’ll send you an invoice payable online, and once payment is received, your order will be packed and held for pickup.

Individual 16” x 20” prints are $11 plus tax, or purchase the complete set of four for just $40 plus tax.

If you’d like your prints shipped in time for the holidays, simply include your mailing address in your email and we’ll happily provide a Canada Post shipping quote. We’ve already sent orders across Canada and the United States, so we’re confident we can send a little Grey Highlands love your way, no matter where you call home.

Good news! Although our anniversary prints, mini prints, t-shirts, and sweatshirts will only be available during 2026, our popular selection of candles has become a permanent addition to the museum store! While we continue working on an online shopping portal, all merchandise can be ordered by email or purchased in person at the museum.

The Grey Highlands Museum will be open Monday, October 26, from 12:00 to 7:00 pm. Come explore the history and heritage of Grey Highlands and the amazing people who call it home.

10/22/2026

Looking for a unique gift with a little Grey Highlands pride?

Our Grey Highlands 25th Anniversary celebrations will come to a close at the end of the museum's 2026 season, so if you're thinking of picking up something special for the holidays, now is the time to place your order.

Our GH25 anniversary clothing line now includes:

• T-shirts: $26 + tax�
• Long-Sleeve T-shirts: $28 + tax�
• Sweatshirts: $39 + tax

The final day to place clothing orders will be Monday, December 7, 2026.

This deadline will allow us to receive your order and have it ready for pickup at the museum before Christmas. After December 7, we will no longer be accepting orders for GH25 anniversary clothing.

To place an order, simply visit us, or email the Grey Highlands Museum at [email protected] with your preferred item, colour, and size. We'll send you an invoice payable online and notify you by email when your order is ready for pickup.

Celebrate 25 years of community, heritage, and home with a little piece of Grey Highlands history.

10/21/2026

Every second Wednesday for the rest of the year, we’ll be sharing a moment in Grey Highlands history, paired with a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork. Just as our shared history never truly breaks, our anniversary art will be created by a single, continuous line… pen never lifting from paper.

Each drawing will weave together familiar landmarks, quiet rural moments, and defining milestones from the past quarter century, forming a visual tapestry of Grey Highlands and the remarkable people who call it home.

Twenty-five stories. Twenty-five uninterrupted lines. One community, traced thoughtfully across time, and this week we’re featuring a familiar landmark on the Grey Highlands skyline.

INSTALLATION NINETEEN: THE EUGENIA SURGE TANKS

Rising above the Beaver Valley, the distinctive twin surge tanks have become enduring landmarks of Eugenia's hydroelectric history. Their origins date to the ambitious Eugenia Falls hydroelectric project, completed in 1915 by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. The development included the creation of Lake Eugenia, a network of pipelines, and a generating station far below in the valley.
The surge tanks serve a vital engineering purpose. As water travels from Lake Eugenia toward the generating station, the towers help regulate sudden changes in water pressure. When electricity demand changes and water flow is adjusted, the tanks absorb pressure surges, protecting the pipelines and generating equipment from damage.

More than a century after the power station began operating, these towering structures remain a striking reminder of the ingenuity that helped bring electricity to communities throughout the region. Once purely functional components of an ambitious engineering achievement, they have become beloved symbols of Eugenia's industrial heritage and the landscape of Grey Highlands.

10/20/2026

Just a friendly heads-up!

Our museum gallery is a little on the cozy side, and when school groups visit, they get full use of our main gallery. That can make it a little tricky for other visitors to enjoy a leisurely look around.

So, if you're planning to stop by tomorrow to explore the history and heritage of Grey Highlands, or pick up some of our limited-edition GH25 merchandise, the afternoon might be your best bet.

Thanks for understanding. We love having our local students visit and discover a little Grey Highlands history.

10/19/2026

Museum Monday

This very formal family portrait, taken in 1918, offers a glimpse into the lives of the Buchanan family, whose roots in Artemesia Township stretch back to the earliest days of settlement in the area.

Life on the Buchanan farm was demanding, but the family prospered. Their property included a substantial stone house built in 1866, along with barns and other farm buildings. The farm eventually supported approximately 70 cattle, an impressive herd for the period.

Joseph inherited his father's pioneering spirit and became known for his progressive approach to farming. According to local history books, he was among the first in the township to own a manure spreader, a horse hayfork, and a shear lifter, innovations that helped make farm work more efficient.

Joseph and his wife, Maria, continued the family's agricultural traditions, raising their family in Artemesia Township. Their story reflects the determination and resourcefulness of the generations who helped establish the rural communities we know today.

More than a century after this photograph was taken, the Buchanan family reminds us that the history of Grey Highlands is not simply a collection of buildings and landmarks, but the stories of the families who lived, worked, and built their lives here.

10/16/2026

A wonderful piece of Flesherton's sporting history walked through the doors of the Grey Highlands Museum today!

A visitor who travelled all the way from Goderich generously donated this fantastic photograph of a Flesherton baseball team, believed to date back to the 1950s.

While our visitor was able to identify a few of the players, several names remain a mystery. And that's where we need your help!

We've created a numbered illustration to accompany the photograph, making it easier to identify each of the 12 gentlemen pictured.

Do you recognize a father, grandfather, uncle, neighbour, or perhaps someone whose name you've heard in stories about Flesherton's baseball days?

If you recognize anyone, please leave a comment with their name and corresponding number.

Our generous visitor also donated her late husband's vintage wool Flesherton baseball jersey, which had been carefully tucked away for approximately 60 years! Although it isn't the same uniform worn by the players in this photograph, it's another wonderful piece of our community's sporting heritage that we're excited to preserve.

And that has us wondering... does anyone else have an old Flesherton baseball uniform tucked away in an attic or closet? We'd love to hear about it!

Please take a close look, share this photograph with family and friends, and help us put names to these faces.

After all, a photograph preserves a moment in time, but it's the names and stories behind the faces that bring our history to life.

10/16/2026

Excited to see the community rally around this unique opportunity.

Our community has stories worth preserving.

Here in Grey Highlands, so much of our local history lives in photographs, memories, documents, and the stories shared by community members. We'd love to make those stories easier for everyone to discover, explore, and enjoy.

That's why Grey Highlands Public Library is seeking support for Connecting Culture, a proposed project that would create interactive touchscreen stations where residents and visitors can explore local history, heritage, and culture in a new and engaging way.

Through The Commonwell's L.E.A.F. initiative, we have an exciting opportunity to bring this vision to life. Community support plays an important role in demonstrating the value and impact this project could have for Grey Highlands, and we'd be grateful for your help!

Please take a few moments to visit the project page, learn more about Connecting Culture, and leave a comment of support. Each comment helps show that our community values preserving and sharing our local stories.

Learn more and show your support here:
🔗 https://leaf.thecommonwell.ca/projects/connecting-culture/

Every voice matters - share this post and help us spread the word!

10/14/2026

The Grey Highlands Public Library is looking for your support.

Our community has an incredible history, filled with fascinating people, remarkable places, and stories that deserve to be shared with future generations. Now, we have an exciting opportunity to bring those stories to life in a whole new way!

Connecting Culture is an innovative project that would introduce interactive touchscreen experiences throughout Grey Highlands Public Library facilities, giving residents and visitors an engaging new way to discover the photographs, memories, voices, and stories that make our community so special.

But to turn this vision into reality, they need our support!

The project is seeking funding through The Commonwell's L.E.A.F. initiative, and demonstrating strong community interest is an important part of making their case.
Please take a moment to visit the link below, learn more about Connecting Culture, and leave a comment expressing your support. It only takes a few minutes, but your encouragement could make a meaningful difference.

Learn more and show your support here:

https://leaf.thecommonwell.ca/projects/connecting-culture/

Every voice matters. Please share this post and help The Grey Highlands Public Library spread the word!

Connecting Culture will create a network of touchscreen stations that provide residents and visitors with interactive access to local history, heritage and culture.

10/12/2026

Museum Monday

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, today’s Museum Monday takes us back 105 years to a Thanksgiving greeting sent to a farm family in Ceylon.

This wonderfully colourful Thanksgiving card is part of the Grey Highlands Museum’s Purdy family collection. Mailed in 1921 and addressed simply to “Mrs. E. Purdy, Ceylon,” its recipient was Rebecca Purdy.

Rebecca Stone married Edward Purdy in 1894. Edward had come to Canada from Wayne, Michigan, in 1874, while Rebecca was the daughter of William Stone, an early settler on the 4th Line. Following their marriage, Edward and Rebecca settled on part of the Stone family property, where they farmed and raised their son, Russel Frost Purdy. Edward also worked for the CPR in Ceylon.

More than a century later, this little card survives as a wonderfully personal connection to a Ceylon family and to a Thanksgiving celebrated long ago.
The cards may have changed, and thankfully Thanksgiving turkeys are no longer expected to pull pumpkin carts, but the sentiment remains much the same: a chance to reach out to family and friends and let them know we're thinking of them.

From all of us at the Grey Highlands Museum, Happy Thanksgiving!

Reminder:

The museum will be open this Thanksgiving (Monday, October, 12, 2026) from 12:00 - 4:00. Come experience the history and heritage of Grey Highlands.

10/09/2026

Reminder:

The Grey Highlands Museum will be open on Thanksgiving Day - Monday, October 12th, 2026 from 12:00 - 4:00pm.

To celebrate the day we’ll be offering guests a 10% discount on our best selling 4oz Soy Candles, handcrafted by our friends at Serendipity Candles in Heathcote. Each is designed to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the formation of Grey Highlands. From the stunning trails at Feversham Gorge, to the unique beauty of Eugenia Falls, each candle is scented to represent a piece of our breathtaking landscape.

If you can’t make it to the museum on Monday, come in today before 7:00pm and say “Happy Thanksgiving” for the same 10% discount! And if this post gains 50 likes, our candle sale will extend through Friday, October 16th!

Enjoy the upcoming long weekend with family and friends.