NARHFThe History of The Elgin Military Museum
The Beginning
In the spring of 1975, a group of associate members of the Elgin Regiment were invited to meet the Commanding Officer to discuss the possibility of setting up a Regimental Museum. After much research over the next 15 months, the concept was expanded to encompass military history, with an emphasis on Elgin County, its residents, and the role they have played in Canadian military history.
Finding a Home
By 1979, the Elgin Military Museum was incorporated as a non-profit Ontario corporation and a year later it found a home at 30 Talbot St. in St. Thomas in a heritage home circa 1854. It was located next door to the Elgin County Pioneer Museum and work began to convert the building and to negotiate and construct a connecting link between the two museums. Finally, on September 25, 1982, the Museum formally opened to the public.
National Attention
In 1994, the entire Museum was converted into a large exhibit relating to the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion and the Museum organized events throughout the community. The actions of the Museum received national attention and it is worthy of note that the National Co-ordinator of the D-Day commemoration chose to be in our community for our formal dinner, church service and parade.
Time to Grow
While the building offered many advantages, by 1996 it was decided to expand the Museum and move all the exhibit spaces to the main floor. Planning and fundraising were initiated and the Museum began construction of a 2,200 square foot addition (on two levels) in June of 1998. The new addition, which provided a 1,100 square foot exhibit space on the main level and new storage and workshop space on the lower level, opened in time for Remembrance Day celebrations in 1998. The new workshop space included: a dedicated conservation laboratory and a weapons vault protected by a 3 ton bank vault door (obtained from a bank being demolished). Other improvements were made throughout the Museum including a new HVAC system upgrading air filtration for the entire building to HEPA standards, improved insulation and other items.
Here We Grow Again
In 2007, the Elgin County Pioneer Museum moved to a new location and the Elgin Military Museum purchased their old building (already physically connected to the Museum) and renamed it the Duncombe House Heritage Centre, a process that again doubled the size of the Elgin Military Museum.
What We Do
Throughout this time, the Museum has worked to collect, record, interpret and exhibit items relating to military history with an emphasis on Elgin County and its residents. Today, the Museum boasts close to 9,000 files on individuals from the County, some dating back to the War of 1812, and our research is ongoing.
Collections
The Museum collection also continues to grow, both in scope and in appeal to visitors. In 2007, the Museum was offered a collection of some 600 UN and NATO badges, described by one appraiser as "the best collection I have seen outside of the UN in New York". The donor of this collection was not a resident of Elgin County or even of Ontario.
Acquisitions
Currently, the Museum is working on a Movable Cultural Property application relating to another collection being offered to the Museum; this being a 3,000+ piece collection of items relating the the Royal Canadian Engineers, lovingly put together over a career by an individual. Again, this individual approached our Museum to offer us the collection and as the appraisers work to establish a value for the application, the values are significant.
History of Frugality
Financially, the Museum has a history of frugality. Since the founding of the Museum, it has never carried any debt by mortgage. In 2005, we were approached by the Ontario Museum Associaton to participate in a review by an independent Chartered Accountant whose task was to examine a number of museums across the province, some fully funded by municipalities and government, some partially funded, and some unfunded (as we then were). In his report to the OMA, he stated that in his opinion, the Elgin Military Museum was, without doubt, the most financially efficient and effective museum of any he had studied and he made particular note of our growth without ever incurring any mortgage debt.
He also noted the Museum's independence from relying on grants and other programs. In the first 25 years of operation, the Museum received a total of only $6,000 in grants from local municipalities ($,5,000 from the City of St. Thomas on our opening and a further $1,000 in 1994 for our D-Day event) with a further $5,000 being received from the now defunct Wintario program (again, at our beginning). The only regular government funding the Museum has ever received has been a small (never exceeding $10,000) grant through the Ontario Community Museum Operating Grant Program.
It was not until 2007, after 25 years of successful operation, that the Museum approached the City of St. Thomas and the other municipalities in Elgin County for an operating grant. That request was for the City to match the provincial operating grant (then $7,422) and for the other County municipalities to match the City grant proportionately, based on population ($0.20 per citizen). With the exception of one township for one year, only the City has provided us with any funding, and we continue to raise the balance of our budget each and every year through the dedicated support of our members and the hard work of our fundraising committees.
Project Ojibwa - Something Great is Surfacing
Our latest endeavour, a plan to convert the former HMCS Ojibwa, an Oberon Class submarine from the Cold War era, to a museum facility represents the exception to our general rule. By its mere scale, Project Ojibwa has required the Museum to begin to apply for larger grants, as the scope of this project is beyond our means in the limited time available to save this vessel from the wrecker's yard and to do so during the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Navy. This nonetheless reflects the original attitude and focus of the Museum set by the founders, very few of whom are alive today - that the Museum will grow and prosper by our hard work and effort and will be an asset rather than a burden to our community. The Museum Board and membership see Project Ojibwa as a natural progression of this philosophy. They believe that this project will be a great addition to our community and an asset for many years to come, creating a wonderful attraction, an economic asset in a very depressed area and a fitting tribute to all who have served in our naval forces, a branch of the forces only very rarely seen in the middle of Canada. There are still many things to negotiate and funding to be raised for the accompanying support building; however, we are confident that a steady hand on the helm and more hard work will see us through.
The History of the Duncombe House
The Duncombe House Heritage Centre, formerly the home of the Elgin County Pioneer Museum, became part of the Elgin Military Museum in 2008. The original house was the home and office of Dr. Elijah Duncombe. Dr. Duncombe and his brother Charles (pictured above) were two of the first doctors in St. Thomas. Dr. Duncombe had his office in two rooms on the first floor of the home while the rest of the main floor and the second floor were occupied by the family. Duncombe is not only important to the local community, but also to the country as he set up the first medical school in Upper Canada known as the Talbot Dispensary.
Dr. Charles Duncombe was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1830 and quickly became allied with the radical reform movement of William Lyon Mackenzie. After the 1836 election and subsequent unsuccessful challenge in Britain, it was clear to the reformers that dramatic action had to be taken. Duncombe raised a local band of rebels to march on Toronto to defeat the government in what would become known as the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837. He and his band of rebels got as far as Scotland,Ontario where they disbanded because of news of militia troops heading towards their location.
Charles Duncombe and several other rebels fled to the northern United States where most of them lived out their lives. Others, including Joshua Doan, a Quaker from Sparta, continued their rebel activities. Doan was later tried and hanged for treason in London and is buried in the Quaker Cemetery in Sparta.
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