Top Things to do in Chatham
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Top 7 Museums in Chatham, Chatham-Kent
Discover the best top things to do in Chatham, Canada including Buxton National Historic Site & Museum, Thames Art Gallery, Black Mecca Museum, ARTspace, Chatham-Kent Museum, Chatham Railroad Museum, Milner Heritage House.
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1. Buxton National Historic Site & Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 44 reviews
THE ELGIN SETTLEMENT, which was for many the last stop on the Underground Railroad, was founded in 1849. THE MUSEUM SITE INCLUDES the Buxton Museum, S.S. #13 Raleigh (Buxton) Schoolhouse (1861), the Colbert/Henderson Cabin (1854), and the Shadd Barn (restoration completed in 2009). Local church cemeteries (1857) are on the grounds adjacent to the museum. Facilities include a large picnic shelter and barbecue, washrooms, a wheelchair access ramp to the museum and plenty of free parking. Of special note is the Research Area, which contains resource materials, pertaining to local history and genealogy.
Reviewed By LorneM107
We were fortunate to arrive at a time where the Curator, Shannon Prince was able to guide us around, answering our questions so personably, articulately and ably. She is as much a centrepiece of this cultural 'must' as the artifacts. She brings it alive! Without a docent such as she to bring each stop in the museum to attention, we would have missed a great deal. The objects on display are markers on the journey, but beyond the item itself, each has a story Shannon told so vividly, opening our eyes to this chapter in Canadian history so often ignored in learning environments. Both of us have lived our seven decades in Ontario and had benefit of higher educations but were only dimly aware of the breadth of this Underground Railroad effort in support of the freed slaves, liberated by the Emancipation Proclamation in the USA, which in part sparked the Civil War. Our son teaches high school in a city nearby and has been made aware of the rich experience offered here in a compact setting and only an hour's drive from his home. His school catchment area features a growing diversity of late and it will certainly now be a stop his classes will journey to on their way to understanding this aspect of Canadian history. Our deepest thanks to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent for funding this museum. It is a story that needs to be told; particularly when we two residents of 70 years learned so much, it can only benefit the waves of new Canadians to know the history of this country from a cultural perspective. Shannon Prince brings this story to life and we highly recommend it to cultural groups integrating into Canada, knowing how it was accomplished a century ago and can be today. Canadian history has had its cultural inequities and outright failures, but this is not one of them. Buxton and the Underground Railroad is a Canadian story that needs to be told to those newly arrived in Canada, fleeing oppression, war, famine and tragedy.
2. Thames Art Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 14 reviews
Reviewed By SergioFromToronto
Friendly staff who intimately knew each piece. Art was from local artists. Not much to see when I went... due to covid-19 I bet.
3. Black Mecca Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 11 reviews
Covid-19: Open to Booked Tours ONLY, no walk-in visits at this time. The Black Mecca Museum is a Black History Museum in the heart of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Located in close proximity to Downtown Chatham, The Black Mecca Museum tells the story from Slavery, the Underground Railroad and Life in Chatham. The Black Mecca Museum will offer a great learning experience about part of the Black Experience in Chatham-Kent.
4. ARTspace
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9 reviews
ARTspace is a not-for-profit gallery dedicated to the promotion and development of Chatham-Kent artists engaged in contemporary visual arts practice. Exhibitions and art works change every 6 weeks and are accompanied by artist talks and workshops. ARTspace features a gift shop with locally, hand made goods such as fashions, jewellery, bird houses and ceramics.
5. Chatham-Kent Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 15 reviews
For over 60 years, the museum has been selectively acquiring artifacts of local and national significance. The second floor of the museum has been transformed into the Imagination Station as a way to use play-based learning to connect to our past. Through exhibitions, public programs, educational tours, and a museum gift shop, the museum staff provide opportunities for people to engage, interact, and enjoy the community's stories and artifacts. The Chatham-Kent Museum also includes the restored Milner Heritage House that depicts the 1905 lifestyle of a successful industrialist and his family. Visitors go back in time when stereoscopes, gramophones, and magic lanterns were the family's means of entertainment and a "modern" kitchen consisted of a wood stove, ice box and a new, all-purpose "Chatham" cupboard.
Reviewed By boomgraham - Toronto, Canada
A very interesting exhibit featuring pinhole camera photos greets you as you enter the Museum. Fascinating pictures of buildings used to house those traveling through the Underground Railroad... and, did you know Chatham made cars!? I didn't know and I enjoyed learning about the local history of the region and actually seeing actual models. Upstairs there is an excellent exhibit all about Rocks!
6. Chatham Railroad Museum
7. Milner Heritage House
Currently CLOSED for the season and not available for group and school tours due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
