News & Events >  Forwarders' Museum gets new lease on life

EMC News - It had once fallen into such disrepair, many Prescott residents wondered if the Forwarders' Museum would even survive.

But the building that is the last remnant of a once lucrative industry in this St. Lawrence River town has been given a new lease on life and will be a centrepiece when the town celebrates its 200th anniversary next year.

At a special ceremony on Friday, Aug. 7, Prescott Mayor Suzanne Dodge and Leeds-Grenville MPP Robert Runciman officially reopened the refurbished museum, which has undergone $50,000 in upgrades in recent months. The building near the Prescott waterfront not only houses extensive exhibits and displays on Prescott's early history but is also utilized to bolster tourism in this region.

"The museum is now a celebration to the history of Prescott," said mayor Dodge.

She noted that people from across North America have visited the building which she described as "a working museum."

"This building is a critical part of telling the story of Prescott and it will make the community come alive in 2010 when we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the community," said mayor Dodge.

Runciman described the building as not only being a wonderful part of the Prescott community, "but it also reflects the history of Upper Canada (Ontario)."

He praised the efforts the town had taken to restore the building because "so many beautiful, historic buildings have been lost both in Prescott and Brockville."

Ogdensburg, New York Mayor William Nelson echoed Runciman's comments saying his community had lost many historic buildings because of urban renewal but "we are trying to restore the remaining buildings we still have."

The Forwarders' Museum is housed in a building that was originally owned by William Gilkison, the first forwarder to establish his business in Prescott in 1811. Forwarding was developed to move goods and supplies both in and out of Upper Canada.

There was no other transportation route in those early days of the country except along the St. Lawrence River. But the river between Montreal and Prescott was full of rapids and could only be navigated by stout bateaux, small flat bottom boats that could be rowed or hauled by hand with men or horses walking along the riverbank.

Goods including salt, sugar, china, furniture, cloth, metal, spices and other household items were first shipped from the manufacturing plants in Great Britain to Montreal. Here they were loaded onto bateaux and moved up river to Prescott, a trip taking an average of 12 days. It was at this point the St. Lawrence River was deep enough to allow schooners, small sailing ships, to reach Prescott, load up the goods and then carry them at least to the western end of Lake Ontario.

Trade moved both ways with settlers shipping potash, pickled sturgeon, maple syrup and sugar, pork in barrels, raw hides, flour, grains, furs and seeds to Prescott where they were loaded onto the bateaux for the trip down river to Montreal and then to markets in Europe.

Those involved in the forwarding trade became wealthy and the industry continued until the middle of the 1800s when railroads and canals that could accommodate larger ships made it unnecessary to use bateaux on the St. Lawrence River.

The town of Prescott has owned the former Gilkison forwarding building for many years. It is a small building at the corner of Water and Centre Streets in the downtown business district. Built into the side of a hill, the front storey and a half faces onto Water Street while the rear two-and-a-half stories facing towards the Prescott waterfront.

Older residents in the town recall when a dry cleaning store operated out of the front of the building in the 1930s. In later years, the entire front wall of this business was covered over and the entrance to the museum was through a side door.

"Covering over the front wall made the main floor of the museum very dark and entering by a side door was confusing for visitors," said mayor Dodge.

As part of the refurbishing plan, which began in earnest this past spring, the front wall was removed and the old façade of the dry cleaning business was restored including opening up a front door and two previously covered plate glass windows. This not only provided a new front entrance to the museum but also greatly improved the amount of natural light entering the main floor of the building.

Improvements also included refinishing the old wooden floors as well as repainting and repairing both the inside and exterior walls.

"A big feature of the renovations is the display boards that tell much of the history of Prescott," said Jennifer Eiler, economic development and tourism coordinator for Prescott.

The boards provide information on The Jessups - the town's founding family, the Forwarding Trade, Prescott's military history, prominent citizens, the once thriving breweries and distillery industries and historical events including the Battle of the Windmill and the Capture of Ogdensburg. Another board describes life on Water Street from long ago including a description of the town's taverns such as Duffy's and The Dog and Duck.

Other display boards describe the town's cultural heritage along with churches and schools (both past and present), outstanding sports stars and old sporting activities including lacrosse.

The museum also contains exhibits of antiques from bygone days such as carpenter's tools, clothing and barrels and sacks similar to the ones used in the Forwarding Trade. The basement contains additional exhibits including a spinning wheel and period dining table and dinner setting.

To enhance the building's Visitors' Information Centre, a rack card on local tourism attractions was added to the main floor near the entrance. Museum staff members have been trained to assist visitors coming in to inquire about tourism attractions in the area.

"We also have a wireless Internet connection in the basement where visitors can go online to pick up messages from home or make bookings for local hotels or bed and breakfast establishments," said Eiler.

"Having access to the Internet also gives visitors instant connections and information about other tourism areas such as Niagara Falls or Prince Edward County," she said.

Visitors are also given the centre's What's On newsletter which describes attractions and events within a 15-minute drive of the town. The museum also has a small retail outlet, housed in a giant antique cabinet, where visitors can purchase T-shirts, key chains, post cards, Shakespeare Festival paraphernalia along with historic prints and painted tiles.

Of the $50,000 spent for the project, the town received close to $40,000 from the federal government's Industry Canada Eastern Ontario Development Program.

Roy Lewis is a freelancer writer from Brockville on assignment for the EMC.