Windsor’s Community Museum (Archives) located in the Francois Baby House, built in 1812 by François Baby, a French-Canadian: Hours – http://www.citywindsor.ca/002821.asp

Windsor’s Community Museum is located in the Francois Baby House, an historic house built in 1812 by François Baby, a prominent French-Canadian. Windsor’s Community Museum has a wide array of collections, which document the rich history of this community.  Amongst them are:

  • The Artifact Collection

Over 15,000 artifacts are carefully stored in the Museum’s underground storage facility (under the patio next to the Museum). The oldest artifacts, archaeological material, date from as early as 3000 B.C. with the most recent being examples of local contemporary culture.

  • Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Postcards & Photographs Collection

This collection depicts various scenes related to the history of Windsor & Essex County, such as archaeology, architecture, specific communities, industry, persons, transportation, etc.

  • The Cartographic & Map Collection

This collection is a well-preserved series of maps dating from the mid-seventeenth century to the present. Many of the maps show patterns of land development, detailing such aspects as lot divisions, geographic features and proposed developments. The collection also includes Fire Insurance Plans, which detail site features and structure construction, dating from 1885.

  • The Book Collection

The book collection is intended for reference use only. The collection encompasses a wide variety of subject matter including local history, biographies and museology. Dozens of the Museum’s books pertaining to local history are quite rare: for example, they have the only extant copy of the Windsor City Directory for 1874.

  • Archival Collection

The Museum has a large archival collection, which may be accessed either through microfilm or microfiche. It contains a wide variety of documentation and is quite comprehensive in its coverage of the history of Windsor, from the time of French settlement until the 1950s.

Newspaper Collection

  • Please contact the Museum for a detailed list of holdings

They are located at the François Baby House, 254 Pitt Street West, Windsor, Ontario N9A 5L5

The Museum offers service to the public year round.

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