Bruce Mines & District Museum

In recognition of Truth & Reconciliation Day - September 30th, 2021 - the Bruce Mines Museum will have free admission.

Museum Closing for the Season. Plan your visit during the remaining days of September. There's still time!

Exhibit at the Bruce Mines Legion for Legion Awareness Week is on right now. ~ Message from the Curator

A Visit to the Museum Over the Generations! In the 1950’s Richard A. Panter (A.R.P.S.) stopped at Bruce Mines to take this photo of the old church which is now the museum. His son, John, shared that the picture of the building was probably taken on one of his regular highway inspection tours. John also shared that: Dad was a very accomplished photographer. A.R.P.S. stands for Associate of the Royal Photographic Society (Great Britain), a designation of which he wa...s very proud. John and his wife drove through Bruce Mines in August 2020 on their way to Toronto from Saskatchewan and recognized the church from his father’s old photo. This year while travelling John gave the photo to the Bruce Mines Museum and shares this special memory of his father. He also shared: Anne and I always enjoy our road trips through your part of Ontario. Colour has been added to this old photo but gives a look at the building in transition - before it became a museum. This building has also been used as a meeting place, post office, a library and a schoolroom. Here’s information from the ‘Historic Buildings Walking Tour’ pamphlet previously prepared by the Museum and used in past years: Dedicated in 1894 as a Presbyterian Church, this building was abandoned in 1917 when the Presbyterians joined the Methodist congregation in the stone church. It was used briefly as a post office and a schoolroom. Since 1961, this building has housed the Bruce Mines Museum.

A Visit to the Museum! A recent visit to the museum brought back memories of coming to Bruce Mines many years ago and seeing relatives here. Doug Pearce of Michigan was pleasantly surprised by one artifact that stirred these memories. The old telephone switchboard reminded him of visits with his Aunt Annetta Miller who was an operator here in Bruce Mines. She is to the right in the picture from 1929 - saved from an old news clipping. The caption with the news clipping shar...ed: "Telephone Pioneers A Bell placard advocating co-operation and the little telephone directory of the day bask in the warmth of the coal-oil bracket lamp as these pioneers in telephone service pose at the town’s switchboard in 1929. W.L. Miller, local manager; Doris Dean, operator; and Annetta Miller, chief operator; cooperate for the cameraman. Doug has family connections that span many years of Bruce Mines history. The Trevillion family is associated with Cornish miners in the early days of mining and the name remains in the old cemetery on Taylor Street. The Powell and Mitchell family name was significant in the development of the trap rock quarry in the early 1890's. Powell and Mitchell Company of Bruce Mines, Ontario and Marquette, Michigan, were in the quarrying and exporting of trap rock to be used in street construction, especially in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. The Miller family name was associated with business services to the people of Bruce Mines for a few generations - and descendants still remain. We are reminded of the Crawford family name as we pass by street signs in their memory within the town. One advertisement from 1906 is of a pharmacy opening up to serve the people of Bruce Mines by W.T. Crawford. More of their story needs to be searched out. Bruce Mines has many family connections from long ago - even the ones that have moved away from the area over the years. We are reminded by Doug's visit that a visit to the Museum is a visit with family. ~ News clipping colourized, saved in the scrapbook of Frances Grasley.

Looking for a gift for that special someone? Here is a list of books telling our local story copies available for sale at M&J Hair Boutique next to the Copper Bean and S&J Creations on Hwy. 17. A Mining History of the Bruce Mines Copper Country Cook Book Dunns Valley Revisited... Leeburn Memories of Yesteryear Ophir School Area - A Century Remembered Poplar Dale Remembered The Call of Copper Books: 'The Call of Copper' and 'Mining History of the Bruce Mines' are also available for sale at the Sault Ste. Marie Museum. Soon off the press will be Bruce Mines Heritage and Heritage cook book from old publications. Also coming soon will be a book of Mount Zion history. Best wishes for the holiday!

Stop by the Archives - December 5, 2020 10:00 to 4:00 - downstairs at the Mariners Cove, Bruce Mines. Local history books for sale as well as 2021 memberships for the Bruce Mines & District Historical Society. See you there!

Message From the Curator - Connie Bennet: The Bruce Mines & District Historical Society Board decided not to open the Bruce Mines Museum to visitors this season. The decision was made partly because of the expense of purchasing protective equipment for the two summer student employees and for the Museum volunteers. Also the restrictions on the number of visitors allowed in the Museum at one time would have meant an increase in the volunteers required every day. Rules for... the cleaning and care of the Museum artifacts must be carefully followed and due to the necessity to clean and disinfect after each Museum visit the Board felt this would damage the artifacts. But nevertheless it was a busy time inside the Museum as the two summer students completed an inventory of all artifacts and recorded donor names onto a spreadsheet. A digital program was updated and the information transferred to another more user friendly program. Another government grant has enabled the Historical Society to continue to employ one of the summer students part time to complete updating and transferring all the artifact information. Volunteers are even more important during the covid restrictions. Volunteers are covering antiquated books in muslin to protect them, sorting, filing, and storing material in archival boxes, updating the Facebook page and anything else that needs an extra hand. A lot of the Historical Society funding depends on fundraising from the sale of publications - " Call of Copper", "The History of the Bruce Mines", and the local history books - Dunn's Valley. Leeburn, Ophir, and Poplar Dale. These are available to purchase at M& J Hair Boutique and S&S Creations, the Archival room at Mariners Cove and the Sault Museum. We hope to have the Archival room at Mariners Cove open for research soon by appointment only (705- 206 9642). The Museum is in need of some major repairs. The wooden windows need to be replaced as well as repairs to the museum tower. Donations would be greatly appreciated by mailing a cheque to: Bruce Mines & District Historical Society PO Box 188 Bruce Mines On P0R 1C0 A receipt for income tax can be issued. Memberships for 2021 are also available for $10.00 . Membership allows for free admission to the Museum for one year and voting privileges at the Annual meeting. Stay safe and hopefully by June 2021 the Museum will be open to visitors once again.

The 119th Battalion during W.W. 1. We Remember!

This McLaughlin Carriage was once used in Leeburn up until 1917. Artifact with a Story - at the: Bruce Mines & District Museum.

Dentist Chair. This chair and equipment belonged to Dr. Marshall from St. Joseph Island. As he was ‘the’ local dentist, he would travel to Desbarats once a week to set up office in a motel room. He later moved there where he practiced until the 1950’s. Dental Surgeon Equipment of Dr. Wm. G. Grigg once of Bruce Mines. Artifacts with a Story - at the Bruce Mines & District Museum.

Musical Slot Machine - from the early mining days of the area. This musical slot machine was used in a hotel in the town of Rydal Bank at the time the copper mines were in operation. It survived many years under some hay in a local barn before being offered to our museum. Coloured wooden slots were used and music-box tunes greeted the winner. The carved oak body is surrounded by ornate iron fittings and legs. An image of a woman being kissed by an angel (perhaps for luck) a...ppears on the base of the handles on each side. There are only two of these machines that exist! The other one is in a museum in Chicago. Artifact with a Story - at the Bruce Mines & District Museum.

Brass Cash Register c. 1891 - once used at the Bruce Mines General Store. Owners over time were: A.D. Jackson, H.L. Trites, and N. Radke. Artifact with a Story - at the Bruce Mines & District Museum.

Locomotive ‘Back Hoe’ at the Martin International Trap Rock quarry 1910. ~ Photo colourized and adapted for presentation, from the Bruce Mines & District Museum Archives.

Artifact with a Story. Take a look at this doll house! Owned by Dorothy Douglas, daughter of the ninth Marquess of Queensbury, this doll house was brought from England in 1896 when Lord Percy Douglas assumed management of the copper mines. The house is furnished in the same manner a real house would have been in this time period, giving us a neat peak into the past!

School Bell This school bell was on the old school, Lot 68 & 69 and when that school burned 1916, the bell was placed on the new school. When that school burned in 1945 and the new school was built in 1949, the bell was placed on it. When the roof was rebuilt about 1965, the bell was no longer wanted and became a museum item. The frame to support it was made by Vern Grexton, and the cement base was made by Alex Shuttleworth. When rung on the schools the bell could be hea...rd for miles. Schools of Bruce Mines with this Bell: 1. 1866 - 1916 2. 1917 - 1945 3. 1949 - present

Early Mining Techniques: The Mule Skinner [someone who specializes in handling mules]. Low chute lips meant that the skinner had to ride the tail chain. Usually, the mule cut into a cross cut and the loaded train ran into the shaft. For this reason, the skinner had to be fast afoot and agile. This sketch and information is part of a series done by a summer student at the Museum - giving us a visual of the work done inside the local mines of the Bruce mines.... Thank you Summer Students! See more

At the Museum - Artifact with a Story. This is one of the few square grand pianos left. This type of piano at one time did not hold much interest since it was not known as having good tone and action. But, the square grands have not been made since around the turn of the century, and so this artefact has become quite popular. Dr. Beacock donated this 800 pound piano and he believed that it was made in the 1870’s. Stewart Little got this piano for Dr. Beacock from the hote...l where it was used in Richards Landing some 50 years ago. Dr. Beacock paid a mere $65 in 1977 for this extraordinary piano which he found he could not get properly tuned. Some of the keys are still working but due to the age this piano is quite out of tune. The piano technicians of today do not like to work with such pianos because they are so old and not like any of the modern pianos they work on.

Boats on the Bay - once a view at Bruce Mines with Snider's Mill in the background. ~ From the Archives of the Bruce Mines & District Museum.

Early Mining Techniques - The Mine Bicycle: The rail mounted cycle was widely used by supervisors where shaft were reached from long surface tunnels. These were used underground where shift bosses beats were too long to reach on foot. Even today the mine cycle is still in use. This sketch and information is part of a series done by a summer student at the Museum - giving us a visual of the work done inside the local mines of the Bruce mines. Thank you Summer Students!

A Glimpse of a Different Time. Saved in the Archives of the Bruce Mines & District Museum with no date or location recorded but it still gives a look into another time.

With recent changes and cancellations, the Bruce Mines Museum will also be closed until restrictions are lifted. We look forward to a time when our doors will be open again! Stay safe everyone!

St. Georges Anglican Church of Bruce Mines built in 1881. At the time of the building, the pews and furniture installed in the church were all made by hand The original lighting of the church was provided by power generated from a power plant owned and operated by the mining company, and of course petered out with the mining operations. As a substitute, an array of oil lamps adorned the walls until a later date, when two double burner gas incandescent lamps were str...ung from the rafter beams and did very good service although requiring considerable attention St. Georges Church, from the time of construction to the early 1940’s, was heated by a wood stove The mission included St. Georges, Bruce Mines; Trinity Church, Rydal Bank, restored and reopened in January 1888; and the Church of the Redeemer, Thessalon 1899 The Anglican ministry in Bruce Mines was overseen by The Diocese of Algoma between 1873-1992. ~ Excerpts and information from notes by Merritt Strum. ~ Photo colourized and adapted for presentation, from the Bruce Mines & District Museum Archives.

Double Jacking - Early Mining Technique. Long before the development of the rock drill, the old timers used the hand held steel with the double jack. The large hammer or double jack, was swung by one miner while his partner held the drill steel. In drilling upper holes the job was slow and arduous. This sketch and information is part of a series done by a summer student at the Museum - giving us a visual of the work done inside the local mines of the Bruce mines.... Thank you Summer Students!

James Mills Harness maker Shop, east of the old Bank building. ~ Photo colourized and adapted for presentation, from the archives of the Bruce Mines & District Museum.

Happy Easter! This vintage postcard reminds me of some of the artifacts at the Museum and I wonder all the stories they hold.

This photo was shared previously in black & white with the hope that someone may know where this was taken. Since then, information from our own archives in the most obscure place has given us the where and when. On the envelope of negatives for this pic and another was the info we were looking for. This is the Canadian Pacific Railway construction train with shovel and crew at the Maple Ridge Pit, 1910-1915. ~ Photo colourized, from the archives of the Bruce Mines & District Museum.

Making plans for Summer Students at the Museum - with hopes of a good season.