Photo sourced: Municipality of Mississippi Mills
The museum collections profiling the lives of two extraordinary Canadians will remain at the Mill of Kintail in Almonte.
The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority and Mississippi Mills have come to an agreement to transfer operation of the museum and the R. Tait McKenzie and James Naismith collections to the township.
The MVCA started looking for an operator to take over after changes to the funding model for conservation authorities made it impossible for it to continue operating the facility long-term.
Mississippi Mills Mayor Christa Lowry says the municipality’s proposal ensured this stayed local.
Lowry says the municipality has no plans to change hours of operation or public access but there are some improvements they’ll look at in the long term.
Mississippi Mills Councillor Bev Holmes, member of MVCA’s Board and chair of the museum’s advisory committee, says “These men are national treasures and were international leaders in their field. It was critical that their story continued to be told at the Mill of Kintail.”
The MVCA, which has operated the museum for over 50 years, will continue operations this year and next, with the municipality set to take over in 2028, once a lease is negotiated.
(Written by: Cindy Clyne)
