Collections & Archives
Collections & Archives
At the Cornwall Community Museum, we take great pride in our vast collection and archive, which the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Historical Society has been amassing since at least 1920. Of note is that every object or document in our collection has a direct affiliation to either the City of Cornwall or the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. Our mandate is to protect, preserve and present the history and heritage of our area and so our collections are quite significant in that regard. Book an appointment to view our collections today!
Library
Our library is composed of more than 1,000 history books with dates of publication from as early as 1820. Several books in our collection are quite rare and can only be accessed from our location. The majority are focused on local history, detailing the development of Cornwall as well as the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, however we also host a significant collection of books on Canadian and American history as well as on the history of England and the United Kingdom. Visitors are welcome to access our library by appointment or browse our catalog here.
Artifacts
Our collection is composed of approximately 10,000 artifacts dating from as early as 1784 and up to the present. Of note is that almost every artifact in our collection has a direct connection to the City of Cornwall or the United Counties of SDG. These include tools, furnishings, artworks, instruments, electronics, clothing, textiles, jewellery, ceramics, metalworks, and others. While many of our artifacts are currently on display, we also maintain a climate-controlled storage in which some of our more delicate artifacts must remain. The collection can be viewed by the public during our regular hours of operation and/or is open by appointment for research purposes.
Archives
Our archive is composed of over 100,000 historic documents dated to as early as 1784 and up to the present-day that include bills of sale, retail receipts, military certificates, personal letters, loyalist land grants, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, maps, business documents, ledgers, etc., several of which are of national significance. In addition, we host a vast collection of historic photographs and scrapbooks. Our archive is open to the public for research purposes via scheduled appointment.
Standard-Freeholder Photo Negatives Collection
The Cornwall Community Museum is home to the Standard-Freeholder photo negatives collection. We care for a collection of over 500,000 photo negatives taken by the local newspaper from between 1948 and 2008. The vast majority are digitized and are available for public viewing and/or non-commercial distribution. Of note is that we are the only organization with access to the collection via a third-party license agreement with Postmedia. The collection is accessible here exclusively to members of the SDG Historical Society. Members of the public are welcome to view the collection in person by appointment.