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Niagara Falls
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Curator digs deep into museum’s War of 1812 collection

Barbara Worthy

Special to The Lake Report

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum’s 2021 virtual lecture series continues with part two of Exploring The War of 1812 Collection.

Museum curator and managing director Sarah Kaufman’s earlier spring lecture created an explosion of interest in the facility's 1812 collection.

So, back by popular demand, Kaufman takes this opportunity to dig deep into the NOTL Museum’s unique collection again, one of the best in the province, and a treasure chest of militaria that attracts not only local enthusiasts, but international military scholars.

Join her for “Opening The Curator’s Treasure Chest,” on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 11 a.m. via Zoom, for more 1812 treasure hunting. 

Today, more than 200 years after the War of 1812, Canada and the United States each claim victory in a war that in reality had no victors.

Although the debates are friendly now, the military campaigns saw pitched battles that destroyed land and lives. But perhaps it was the First Nations that had the most significant losses, despite winning every battle in which they fought.

The cultural memory of that war runs deep in the heart of NOTL locals.

After all, the town's residents lived under a foreign occupation for nearly a year, and during a blistering winter storm in December 1813 they watched as the retreating Americans burned their beautiful settler town to the ground.

A massive library, medical supplies, orchards, farms, churches and more than 100 homes were all destroyed.

There was retaliation and revenge, until enough blood had been spilled. Treaties were signed. Promises given and broken. But there was still the task of rebuilding, on all levels.

Remarkably, during the next few decades the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake was not only rebuilt, but entered a period of significant economic growth.

The War of 1812 defined a country. And it also gave birth to a peaceful border that has lasted for more than 200 years.

The NOTL Museum is proud of its role in being steward for the historical artifacts that survive that period, and which help make the museum even more unique.

Registration is required. For more details, see notlmuseum.ca/whats-on/view/id/339.

 

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