The Richmond County Historical Society will be moving five minutes away to the newly acquired manse of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Melbourne, Quebec. The 170-year-old manse served as a home for the church’s ministers.
This move means the society’s archives and historical artificats will eventually be together under one roof, providing greater accessibility and visibility of both the archives and museum.
The red-brick house manse was built shortly after the completion of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in 1842 and has been home to 31 Presbyterian ministers and their families. When the last of the full-time minsters moved out of the manse ten years ago, the trustees of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church rented the house until 2014, when the decision was made to sell the house.
Many of the first settlers in the area were from the Scottish Highlands.
For the past 17 years, the society has rented a large first-floor room for a year-round archive facility in the town hall of the Municipality of Melbourne Township. In May 2014, the society was invited to find another archive facility because the municipality required more space. After considerable searching, the executive decided to purchase the Presbyterian Church manse which was already on the market. An agreement was struck with the local church people in late December 2014 and the deed was signed in April 2015.
According to an article in the Townships Heritage WebMagazine, the society has already moved the archives to the new location, but the artifacts will remain at the current museum after “significant renovations and repairs” have been completed. The society is applying for financial assistance to make this happen as soon as possible.
In the meantime, the society’s archivist continues to handle requests for information from around the world. See the society’s website for information about its historical and genealogical holdings.
