This historical lakefront estate-turned-museum offers tours, exhibitions & local history programs.
Oakville Museum in Orangeville
Description
Nice lakeshore view and good for walking. No BBQ at this location thats why its less crowded.
MoreFantastic park with great views. There is a walkway to lighthouse. Few benches thru out the park. Parking is on the street. Best times to visit are either evening or night. Go when its full moon. No place to BBQ or swim.
MoreIt’s nice to Wally back in time and history. A small museum but interesting. Guided tour also available.
MoreNicely put together
So good.
Good place to visit to know the history of oakville
Tour guides are nice. Tours are by donation
As an American who learned about the Underground Railroad in the deep south, this was a refreshing and eye-opening perspective on one of the bravest achievements of mankind.
MoreBeautiful old structure with heritage value. The house with original furniture and some artifacts. The property is full of history. Beautiful garden with amazing landscape. Very interesting and informative guided tour we had a chance to enjoy at the museum.Also children learned the story about slavery in Canadian history. Highly recommended to visit it with Family.
MoreI visited around the museum this time, but visited the museum couple years ago, l was impressed how much details of authentic lifestyle is reflected throughout the museum wings and display corners
MoreFriendly and helpful staff. A great tour. Worth a visit.
Our tour guide Tasha was very knowledgeable. Really enjoyed my visit.
If this place doesnt make you love Oakville, I dont know what will. Its such a great place to learn the towns history and understand Canadian life. Super nice!
MoreGood to explore the heritage and history of the beautiful town of Oakville.I dont recommend it for its preschool tour.
MoreOakville Museum is not so big but worth to visit. You sure can learn something new. It locates aside the lake, and gardening is beautiful in summer and autumn.
MoreLoved going here for my tour. The staff was super knowledgeable and friendly. Check this place out if you are ever in Oakville!
MoreGreat neighborhood to walk around and see old historic homes
Unfortunately closed but I’m enjoying there
Located next to Lakeside Park, this museum is a great place to learn about the lives of the people who settled Oakville. A tour of the museum will give you a better understanding of the history of the area and is recommended for children. The museum is now closed due to the effects of COVID-19.For now, you can take a self-guided tour of Old Downtown with a mobile audio tour.
MoreLovely little museum where you can learn about history of Oakville. The garden is exquisite.
MoreIf you want get out of your home and have good walk as well as looking some Historical place come to this spot.
More**If youre in a hurry, please skip to the last paragraph for the "coles notes" version**Absolutely beautiful piece of Oakville History. I used to come here as a little girl, (about 20+ years agoand I loved looking at the different rooms and how they were from a whole different time period. Absolutely beautiful piece of Oakville History. I used to come here as a little girl, (about 20+ years agoand I loved looking at the different rooms and how they were from a whole different time period . I would play with the toys that girls my age back then would have played with, (for example the dolls with the paper dresses with folding tabs that you bend to hook onto the little dolls, oh the memories.I can admit that I dont remember much of the actual history I was taught but nonetheless my mother would still bring my brother and I, maybe a handful of times a year, to this beautiful historic residence. It was the perfect mixture of educational and recreational to satisfy parents and children alike.As I aged and our routines changed, as they inevitably always do, we somehow sadly stopped our quarterly outings to this breath-taking historic site. But back to the review. When Covid began, and we realized that businesses were going to be closed a lot longer than the initial 2 week period, my father and I decided to go for walks all around the different parts of Oakville to keep healthy and connected. We would drive to a new part of Oakville everyday or every other day depending on how much we walked the day before, and would park the car somewhere and begin our trek. We began this little adventure in early April, and although its only twice a week now, we are still currently exploring this gorgeous town, and finding new things/places even after 27 years of living here. The only other thing, (apart from the frequency of our walksthat has changed is where in Oakville we walk. We have decided that this part of downtown Oakville, is by far the most mesmerizing and beautiful part of Oakville. The variety it has to offer is never-ending. The lake views, the landscape, the Heritage Homes, the history, the museum, the lighthouse, the parks/trails, the people...I could write a 20 page essay on all the endless offerings that this little part of Oakville holds.Just like each and every Heritage Home in Oakville has a story, so does the Oakville Museum, also known as, The Erchless Estate. The story that that this residence holds is one of the main reasons we love this part of Oakville so much. The generations of the Chisholm family each have such epic and fairytale-like chapters it really engulfs you and teleports you back to their time period. I get so lost in all the beauty of not only the actual house, but the beauty of the creation of Oakville. Was it not for the Chisholm family, Oakville would cease to exist, so really this Museum is the heart of Oakville, where it all began. You wouldnt be here reading this review (that has turned into more of a story, so I apologize if youre itching for me to get to the pointif it werent for what happened in and around this estate long ago.**POST COVID VISIT TO MUSEUM**When the museum finally got clearance to open their doors to the public again I quickly went online to book a private tour for the next available time slot, (which turned out to be half an hour later! Needless to say, my father and I were thrilled). The tour guide was full of knowledge and experience, all relevant as well, she was kind and seemed to have a real passion for the place too. She also didnt seem to mind that we would ask a question at every turn and deviate from the "planned" tour. I could be wrong here but I believe that her name was Natalie. Very lovely woman.
MoreOne of the Best Places In Oakville !!!
Great place to visit, it’s amazing so many locals have never been inside.
I went there to know more about the contributions Black people made in Oakville and even though it was a small section of Black History in this museum I was very surprised how much my ancestors contributed to this city of Oakville
MoreOnly the park and the lake view is nice. Few sculptures around are also nice to see as you hardly get to see anywhere in Toronto GTA are. Otherwise nothing is actually there at the museum. City should spend the budget on finishing road construction project never ending for last many years.
MoreHouse of the founder of Oakville. Theres a guided tour thats free but they take donations for support. Worth seeing the pre-electricity and pre-plumbing era.
MoreBeautiful area at the waterfront.
One of my favorite spot in Oakville to visit.
Wonderful little museum with lots of history. With the park and lake beside it, the kids loved it.
MoreVery nice
I was taken back to history of Oakville and how the town was founded. Small place but is packed with lots of history and artifacts displayed. One lady was kind enough to take us for a guided tour. I loved it.
MoreAwesome bits of history - the historical walking guide to Oakville they sell is well worth the price!
MoreI like this place because its one of those place that you get a chance to learn about the history of what use to happen in the 70s, 80s etc.
MoreA lovely little spot on the lake for people to visit. They have great programs for kids and the staff is super friendly
MoreAwesome experience, will definitely go back!!!!
Nice place. I stumbled into it while walking nearby and it was a nice surprise. Its not huge but it offers a nice glimpse of the way people lived in Oakville back in days. The admission is free.
MoreI have lived in Oakville for over 10 years and honestly I did not know that this place even existed! Although Oakville is small, it is jam packed with interesting history! Did you know that Oakville was a route for freed slaves to come in through the Underground Railroad? The main family exhibit was wonderful and the tour guide was great, but when we reached the Underground Railroad Exhibit I felt that the tour guide was being a insensitive.
MoreNice, cosy place to touch to a history.
There are 2 parts: kitchen and upper floor. Upper floor is available for guided tour only. Upstairs is really nice. You need to see bathrooms from 1800s. Museum entrance & tour is free. Friendly & helpful staff.
MoreLovely little museum that is rich in information about Oakville!
A really interesting, historical Museum.This Museum is located near the centre/nicest part of Oakville. It is housed in the founder of Oakville-- the Chisholm family. One can take guided or self guided tours. Many aspects of Oakvilles history is presented as well as that of a prominent local family! The nearby area has many lovely older homes with wonderful gardens. There is also a small piece of U.S. "Black History"... as Oakville was one of the stops of the "Underground railway" which transported former Black/African slaves from the US to Canada.I hope that thus Review was helpful.
MoreThe tour guide was very good, gave lots of information and the kids loved learning about it. Awesome experience.
MoreThe programs for kids here are excellent and the staff are very friendly. Its a cute little museum to visit and the nearby park has a nice playground.
MoreNice place to find out about some Oakville history. Takes about an hour to take in the inside Nice grounds to wander during the summer months.
MoreA must see, very interesting place with interesting information.
Lovely garden around the museum
Knowledgeable staff. Great guided tour. This is the very start of all of Oakville and therefore is not a place to miss.
MoreVery nice and well informed team at this museum. Its a small one but has a lot of unexpected history in an original heritage house. Lots of great items and stories. Its worth the extra time to take the guided tour to the upstairs for sure.
MoreIts quite small. If you are looking for an interesting half an hour, its free, but they run on donations. Its nice to see the historical society keeping bits of history
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