Museum on the move in this eastern Ontario town

History will be on the move in Cobourg this year, with archival services such as research assistance and genealogical services unavailable from February 21 until the Northumberland County Archives and Museum moves to its new digs in the fall.

The move is part of an innovative collaboration with the county’s new long-term care facility, the Golden Plough Lodge. This new facility will offer enhanced programming opportunities for the community, increased access to local historical and cultural collections and state-of-the-art archival conservation equipment to better preserve Northumberland’s history.

The new space will include:

• An expanded reading room for research
• New programming space for museum exhibitions and community groups
• Category A standard collections storage
• A conservation lab

As staff prepare for the move they will organize, catalogue and ensure the safe packaging and transportation of more than 530 linear metres of archival materials and hundreds of artifacts. During the transition period staff will also begin preparations to open their new location, including setting up the facility and preparing exhibits for the museum space.

“This transition period marks an important step toward the opening of our new facility,” states Northumberland County Archivist Abigail Miller. “We thank everyone for their understanding as we work behind the scenes to get the collection ready for its future home. We are very excited to welcome the community to the new space this fall.”

Northumberland County Archives and Museum’s last day open to the public in their current location at the Gordon King Centre on Ontario Street will be February 21. Any requests for research that are currently underway will be completed but new requests for research assistance will not be accepted until the museum reopens at their new location in the fall.

Essential services, including requests related to government records and FOI requests, will continue throughout the transition period.

For any questions or concerns about these temporary changes to services, contact the  NCAM team.

To learn more about the new location coming this fall, visit Northumberland.ca/NCAM.