Museum News

2022 has been a great year for our museum! We had visitors representing almost all of Canada and 27 countries around the world. We loved chatting with you and can’t wait to welcome more visitors in our 2023 season!

Let’s reflect on our year and take a look at some of the things that happened…

Near the start of the season, we had a new roof and windows installed!

A 20-foot birch-bark canoe, “The Gift” was built on site over the summer by Marcel Labelle and his grandson Alex. We also had an amazing celebration to launch it.

Our wonderful summer team created an escape room (the first of its kind in Mattawa)! We had many groups participate. See our best times in the leaderboard (they had a total of 60 minutes to solve the mystery). Maybe we will make one again next year!

We had a draw for a beautiful quilt handmade by Diane Gallupe. Congratulations to Iwona Mooney for having the lucky ticket!

There were about 400 rocks in our garden of strength and hope last time we counted! Many visitors and members of our community have painted rocks to put in our garden since 2020! We can’t wait to see future creations!

Look at our display from the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Jane Vester and Laurelle Gagnon brought in many beautiful handmade items to showcase their culture and art.

We honored the late Jan Argo at the end of September with the Friendship Force. A cedar tree was planted in front of our museum in memory of her.

New Roof and Windows

Anthony Rota came to visit "The Gift"

Marcel Labelle building "The Gift"

Museum summer team with Marcel

"The Gift" being launched where the two rivers meet.

Cardboard Bread Tag Collection Project

Escape Room

Escape Room Groups

Escape Room Leaderboard

Cedar Tree in Honor of Jan Argo

Honor Jan Argo - Group Photo

Quilt Draw

Rock Painting - Front Garden

Rock Painting - Garden, Tree, Statue

Rock Painting - Pride

Truth and Reconciliation Display

Truth and Reconciliation Display

Truth and Reconciliation Display

We have been scanning old issues of The Mattawa Recorder and found a Christmas Issue from December 22, 1982. Check out these holiday greetings from many local businesses we found in this 46 page issue! We hope this brings back wonderful memories of past holiday seasons!

It’s the Otto Holden Dam’s 70th anniversary this year. Take a look at our online photo exhibit featuring photos from our collection that show the development and building of the dam from 1948-1952.

The Otto Holden Dam, also known as La Cave, was completed in 1952. Over 2.7 million tons of earth and rock were excavated during construction and it was built with 300,000 cubic meters of poured concrete.

As was the practice at the time, 23 houses were built in the nearby town of Mattawa for operating staff, and a 4.8-km highway was built for travel to the site.

It was originally named La Cave GS (and many still refer to it as this). However, the plant was renamed to honour Dr. Otto Holden, an accomplished engineer with Ontario Hydro who was instrumental in the expansion of hydroelectric power in the province.

Read more about the Otto Holden Dam.

We invite you to join us!

The annual general meeting (AGM) of the Mattawa Museum will be held on Thursday, November 24, 2022 at the Museum on 285 First Street beginning at 7pm.

It has been both an exciting and successful year for the Museum, with a significant number of visitors, an interesting and immensely popular traditional Indigenous canoe build on site during the summer, the realization of several funding grants, and the employment of an enthusiastic and youthful summer staff.

“We are very proud of all that has been accomplished this year,” says Judy Toupin, Curator of the Museum. “It was without a doubt one of our best years ever, and we want to build on that momentum.”

The AGM will highlight much of what has been achieved at the Museum during 2022 and will also present future opportunities and options that will allow for its continued growth and success.

“There are about two hundred email subscribers of the Mattawa Museum and almost 1,000 followers on our Museum Facebook page.” says Judy. “We want to continue to our wonderful momentum by having a membership drive.”

One of the specific areas of interest for us as a member of this community is supporting our local youth. We had one of the most amazing teams of young people this past summer and giving back is especially important to us. To that end, as part of your paid Membership to the Museum, a portion of funds collected will be given in the form of a scholarship/bursary to each high school in our community.

We see this as a win-win-win, so let’s continue to support our community. Together we can grow and enhance the museum and increase its visitation so that it becomes an integral part of the many attractions in the Mattawa area.

Snacks and refreshments will be served during the Museum’s AGM, so please register if you plan to attend so that organizers can ensure that quantities are adequate. We look forward to seeing you there. To register for the Mattawa Museum AGM, please contact us at: curator@mattawamuseum.ca or 705-744-5495

Museum Membership

Why does membership matter?

It is a tangible reflection of support for your local community museum. Membership helps us with the cost of daily operations and contributes to the support of upcoming exhibits/displays.

$5 from every paid membership will be put towards a Scholarship/Bursary for each of our local high schools.

Membership for the year is from Nov 15, 2022 to Nov 15, 2023.