Perth Museum

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Perth Museum Leave the 21st century behind as you enter the world of the 1840s in the elegant Matheson House.

✨Trivia Tuesday Answer!✨Mystery solved! This week’s artifact is a military waist-belt clasp — and it has quite the story...
10/15/2026

✨Trivia Tuesday Answer!✨

Mystery solved! This week’s artifact is a military waist-belt clasp — and it has quite the story to tell!

Take a closer look and you can make out the words “NORTH GLOUCESTER ROYAL MILITIA.” Authentic Victorian-era waist-belt clasps and buckles used by militia and volunteer units were typically made of brass with a two-piece construction.

Here’s where our artifact gets even more interesting… this piece was found right here in Perth, in the mud along the Tay River!

How did a buckle connected to the North Gloucester Royal Militia end up along the Tay? That part of its story remains a mystery — and is a great reminder that sometimes an artifact leaves us with just as many questions as answers!

Thanks to everyone who joined in with their Trivia Tuesday guesses. Keep those history detective skills sharp!🔎

🔎 Trivia Tuesday at Perth Museum!It’s time to put your history detective skills to the test! This week’s mystery artifac...
10/13/2026

🔎 Trivia Tuesday at Perth Museum!

It’s time to put your history detective skills to the test! This week’s mystery artifact is an interesting metal object from the Perth Museum collection.

Take a close look… 👀 What do you think it is?

We love seeing your creative guesses, so share your best theory in the comments! Then check back on Thursday when we reveal the answer.

Happy guessing! 🕵️

Perth, Ontario has a remarkable story to tell—one where wh**ky, entrepreneurship, and local heritage are deeply intertwi...
10/08/2026

Perth, Ontario has a remarkable story to tell—one where wh**ky, entrepreneurship, and local heritage are deeply intertwined.

Beginning at Top Shelf Distillers downtown location, expert guides will lead guests on a carefully curated journey through time, visiting historic sites and discussing the visionary figures who built the wh**ky industry here. In partnership with the Perth Museum, the walk seamlessly blends wh**ky history with broader town heritage, creating a complete picture of Perth's significance.

This guided walking tour through downtown Perth explores the rich distilling history that shaped the town and its people, uncovering the stories of the distillers, buildings, and innovations that made Perth a powerhouse in Canadian wh**ky production.

On Thursday, October 15, 2026, walk where history was made. Learn from those who know it best. Discover why Perth's contribution to Canadian distilling remains remarkable.

Get your tickets for the last scheduled tour of the season, here: https://topshelfdistillers.com/pages/events-tours =the-wh**ky-walk-perth-s-distilling-legacy

🌸 Trivia Tuesday Answer! 🌸Did you guess this week’s mystery artifact?This beautiful little piece is a child’s slipper, l...
10/08/2026

🌸 Trivia Tuesday Answer! 🌸

Did you guess this week’s mystery artifact?

This beautiful little piece is a child’s slipper, lovingly hand-stitched in 1858.

From the delicate floral pattern to the pretty pink silk flower tassel, every tiny detail shows the care and craftsmanship that went into creating treasured personal items more than 165 years ago.

It’s easy to imagine the time and patience required to stitch something so small and intricate—and the little feet that once wore it!

Sometimes it’s the smallest objects in our collection that offer the sweetest glimpses into everyday life in the past. 💕

Thanks for playing along with Trivia Tuesday at Perth Museum! Keep an eye out for our next mystery artifact. 🔎

✨Staff Pick of the Month: Halloween Edition!🎃With Halloween creeping closer, Ysa, one of our wonderful summer staff, has...
10/07/2026

✨Staff Pick of the Month: Halloween Edition!🎃

With Halloween creeping closer, Ysa, one of our wonderful summer staff, has chosen a favourite artifact that looks right at home in the spooky season.

At first glance, you might wonder: Why does Perth Museum have a brain in a bell jar?! 🧠

Don’t worry—it’s actually a brain coral!

Found in warm, shallow tropical waters, brain corals get their wonderfully creepy name from the winding ridges across their surface, which look remarkably similar to the folds of a human brain.

It may look like something straight out of a mad scientist’s laboratory, but we promise, no brains were collected for this display. 👻

🎃

🌸 Trivia Tuesday at Perth Museum! This week’s mystery artifact is such a lovely little piece!Beautifully handmade, it fe...
10/06/2026

🌸 Trivia Tuesday at Perth Museum!

This week’s mystery artifact is such a lovely little piece!

Beautifully handmade, it features a delicate hand-stitched floral pattern and is finished with the sweetest pink silk flower tassel. There’s certainly plenty of detail to admire—but what exactly is it, you ask? That’s the mystery!

Was it decorative? Practical? Something worn or carried? Perhaps it had a very specific purpose that has been lost to time.

Take a close look and let us know your best guess in the comments!

We’ll reveal the answer this Thursday. 🔎

10/02/2026

🎃 We have a spooky-themed lineup of That’s a Debbie Question planned for Halloween season—and what better way to kick things off than with one of the more unusual objects in the Perth Museum collection: a hair wreath!

Hair, you ask? Yes, human hair! 👻

During the Victorian era, hair was often kept as a deeply personal memento of family and loved ones. Hair could be carefully twisted, looped and woven into incredibly detailed flowers, leaves and other designs, sometimes decorated with beads or wire.

While hairwork could commemorate someone who had died, it wasn't always exclusively associated with mourning. Family hair wreaths could include locks from several relatives—both living and deceased—creating something a little like a family tree made from hair. Because hair doesn't easily decay, it was seen as a lasting and very personal connection to someone you loved.

In mourning traditions, these pieces could take on an especially meaningful role. Hair wreaths and other hairwork might be displayed in the home as memorials and passed down through generations as treasured family keepsakes.

By Victorian standards: beautiful, sentimental and lovingly handmade.

By modern standards: perhaps just a little creepy. 😬

Stay tuned for more spooky objects and stories from the Perth Museum collection throughout October as Debbie answers some of our favourite questions!

🎃

✨ Trivia Tuesday Answer! ✨Did you guess this week’s mystery artifact?It’s a small, hand-stitched beaded purse!Unfortunat...
10/01/2026

✨ Trivia Tuesday Answer! ✨

Did you guess this week’s mystery artifact?

It’s a small, hand-stitched beaded purse!

Unfortunately, we don’t know much about the story behind this beautiful little piece—who owned it, where it was made, or when it became part of their wardrobe. Based on its style and similarities to other purses in the Perth Museum collection, we believe it likely dates to around the early 1920s.

And what a lovely piece it is! The tiny beads have been carefully stitched together to create an intricate pattern, turning an everyday accessory into something special. Purses like this were both practical and fashionable, offering just enough room for a few personal essentials while adding a decorative finishing touch to an outfit.

Sometimes the objects in our collection come with wonderful stories and detailed histories—and sometimes they leave us with a bit of a mystery. That’s part of the fun of exploring a museum collection!

Thanks for playing along with Trivia Tuesday. 🔎 Stay tuned for another artifact challenge!

Over the past year, the Perth Museum has been taking meaningful steps toward reconciliation by reviewing Indigenous belo...
09/30/2026

Over the past year, the Perth Museum has been taking meaningful steps toward reconciliation by reviewing Indigenous belongings in its collection, researching their history and provenance, improving their care, and developing a framework to help guide repatriation.

The first phase has involved identifying and documenting Indigenous belongings, researching their histories and potential communities of origin, and improving how they are stored and cared for. Belongings previously on display have also been removed from exhibit while this work continues.

But documenting the collection is only the beginning.

The Museum is now seeking grant funding for the next phase, which is expected to include further research, improved access to collection information, and outreach and consultation with Indigenous communities. That work will help guide decisions about the future care and, where appropriate, repatriation of belongings to their communities of origin.

As we recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this work is a reminder that reconciliation requires continued learning, listening and meaningful action.

Learn more about the Pathways to Reconciliation project at Perth.ca/PathwaysToReconciliation.

✨ Trivia Tuesday is back! ✨After a wee hiatus, we’re dusting off our detective skills and diving back into the Perth Mus...
09/29/2026

✨ Trivia Tuesday is back! ✨

After a wee hiatus, we’re dusting off our detective skills and diving back into the Perth Museum collection for more artifact trivia challenges!

This week’s mystery item is a particularly lovely one. Take a close look at that beautiful beaded detail and intricate design.

But the big question is… what is it? And perhaps even more importantly, what was it used for?

Do you recognize this artifact? Was it practical, decorative—or maybe a little bit of both?

Drop your best guess in the comments! We’ll reveal the answer later this week. 🔎

Address

Perth Museum, 11 Gore Street E
Perth, ON
K7H1H4

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+16132671947

Website

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