Every year on June 4, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum celebrates Janet Carnochan Day. Who is Janet Carnochan, you ask? She was a local powerhouse of a woman who worked as a teacher for 45 years. She taught in Brantford, Kingston, Peterborough and, of course, Niagara. She took up the post of principal at the age of 32 for the Niagara Public School in 1872 (quite the scandal at the time) and later moved up to be the vice-principal of the local high school. She was also the first president of the Niagara Historical Society, which started in 1895, and was integral to the building of the museum on Castlereagh Street. This photograph shows Carnochan on the steps of the museum’s Memorial Hall building.
Memorial Hall is one of the longstanding testaments to her local contributions to heritage and preservation. With her fundraising efforts, it opened on June 4, 1907 — making it the first museum building built in Ontario for the sole purpose of being a museum. Well done to Janet and the early residents of Niagara who saw the importance of preserving our heritage. It is to her credit that our museum still holds many national treasures.

Every year on June 4 admission to the museum is free, in memory of Janet Carnochan.