Tour of Farmtown Park

The history of Hastings County and the surrounding area comes alive at the Farmtown Park; from the early days of cheese making, through the evolution of farm machinery to the unique Heritage Village, which depicts a typical village of the nineteen thirties and forties.

Numerous artifacts are displayed according to their place in history. See the barn with the dairy cows and look for the ducks. Visit the cheese factory with the cheese hoops, cheese vats and the curing room. Learn about how the unique Dutch Clock  from Holland was brought to Belleville and was used to sell cheese.

Wander through the eight buildings each of which are different. They all give you a nostalgic glimpse of our past, and chance to think about the future. You learn something about agriculture, how our food is produced and the farmers who produce it. You can watch videos and take a self-quided tour with an audio wand.

Please allow yourself at least an hour and a half to fully appreciate all there is to see. You can either pick up an audio wand for a self-guided tour or ask one of the volunteer guides to show you round.

Heritage Village

Heritage Village is a street with 19 buildings representing a village in Hastings County from the 1930s and 1940s. Going inside each store is like stepping into the past. There is a print shop with a working printing press. The Stirling-Rawdon Fire Department has given a very early fire truck and a pumper wagon for the fire hall. There is a blacksmith shop, a wood worker’s shop, a garage, a bank, a general store, a shoe store, a hotel and even a town hall and a church with a working Karn organ.

Most of the artifacts in Heritage Village the museum have been donated by local people. The volunteers have put in hundreds of hours of work to get Heritage Village for this year's season.

You can have your wedding at Farmtown Park.

For more details email Margaret at info@agmuseum.ca or call (613) 395-0015

Dairy Building

 

The Dairy Building was the first building to be built at the agmuseum. It shows the cheese making process from barn to the sale room. At one time at the turn of the century there were many cheese factories in Ontario. In 1928 there were 273 cheese factories in Central Ontario. In fact in our local area in the Township of Rawdon there were in 1900 there was a cheese factory on each of the 14 concessions. There were 28 cheese factories in Prince Edward County.

Cheese making was very important in this area. Farmers ran the cheese factories as co-cooperatives. They added value to the milk by making high-quality Cheddar cheese and they used local resources to feeds the cows and fuel the factories. Each cheese was labeled with the cheese maker's mark, and the cheeses were auctioned with the unique Dutch Clock in Belleville, now at the museum, and then sold internationally. The cheese makers competed in both local and international competitions. Watch Ernest and Peggy Reid: cheesemaking in Hastings County.

The Dairy Building is also home to an apple display, and a working bee hive. There is also a replica of the 1940s Whitehead’s Restaurant, with its authentic jukebox and soda fountain. It was a popular meeting spot in Stirling for many years. Hastings Federation of Women’s Institutes has recreated a typical farmhouse from the 1930s in the Dairy Building.

Cheese making was very important in this area. Farmers ran the cheese factories as co-cooperatives. They added value to the milk by making high-quality Cheddar cheese and they used local resources to feeds the cows and fuel the factories. Each cheese was labeled with the cheese maker's mark, and the cheeses were auctioned with the unique Dutch Clock in Belleville, now at the museum, and then sold internationally. The cheese makers competed in both local and international competitions. Watch Ernest and Peggy Reid: cheesemaking in Hastings County.

The Dairy Building is also home to an apple display, and a working bee hive. There is also a replica of the 1940s Whitehead’s Restaurant, with its authentic jukebox and soda fountain. It was a popular meeting spot in Stirling for many years. Hastings Federation of Women’s Institutes has recreated a typical farmhouse from the 1930s in the Dairy Building.

Steam Engine Building

                                                                         

The Steam Engine Building at Farmtown Park houses numerous engines and artifacts including a vast display of chain saws. There is a huge 100 year old Robert Bell steam engine, which was built in 1909 in Seaforth in western Ontario by the Robert Bell Steam Engine and Threshing Company and shipped to Stirling by train. The Stapley family, who lived just east of Stirling, used the steam engine to power thrashing machines, which harvested grain. They took the engine from farm to farm at harvest time.

Tractor Building

 

The Antique Tractor Building at Farmtown Park houses over 50 tractors, and takes the visitor through the evolution of the farm tractor. It is very impressive display, put together by the over 60 folks who are active members of the Tractor Club. The mission of Tractor Club is to preserve classic tractors and agricultural machinery

The Tractor Club raises money for the Hastings County Museum of Agricultural Heritage and other charities by raffling an antique tractor each year. In 2008 the village of Stirling and the Stirling Agricultural Society celebrated the 150th anniversaries and the Hastings County Farm Show and Plowing Match was in Stirling. There was a tractor parade, which established the first world record for the Guinness Book of Records with 601 tractors.

The Tractor Club meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the museum. Contact Secretary Steven French (613) 394-9991