Grey Highlands Museum

09/07/2026

Museum Monday

This photograph captures the Rocklyn Fair in 1909, a time when agricultural fairs were among the most important events on the rural calendar.

Organized by the Rocklyn Agricultural Society, the fair dates back to the late 1860s and continues today as one of Ontario’s long-running agricultural traditions. More than just a competition, fairs brought neighbours together to showcase livestock, crops, baking and handicrafts, exchange ideas, celebrate the harvest and strengthen community ties.

That tradition remains very much alive in Grey Highlands today. Each year, our fall fairs in Markdale, Feversham and Rocklyn bring their communities together, each with its own traditions, character and unmistakable sense of home. Different fairgrounds, different events and generations of volunteers, but all sharing that same remarkable ability to turn a fall weekend into a celebration of the community itself.

Looking at this 1909 scene, with everyone dressed in their Sunday best, it’s easy to imagine the excitement, pride and fellowship that made fair day one of the year’s most anticipated occasions, and continues to make our local fall fairs so special today.

09/05/2026

Join the Friends of the Grey Highlands Museum for the next presentation in the 2026 Speakers Series

THE REWILDING OF SUDBURY with FRANCO MARIOTTI

Thursday, September 17 at 7pm at the Annesley United Church, Markdale

Discover the remarkable story of how decades of restoration transformed Sudbury’s once-blackened landscape into a thriving, greener environment.

Admission by free-will donation. Everyone welcome!

09/04/2026

GREAT NEWS!

Our Grey Highlands 25th Anniversary merchandise is back in stock, including prints, drink koozies, and 4oz soy candles celebrating the beauty and diversity of our municipality.

Artwork featuring Flesherton Pond, Feversham Gorge, Old Baldy, and Eugenia Falls will only be available during our 2026 anniversary season, so don’t miss your chance to take home a little piece of Grey Highlands!

16” x 20” Prints: $11 each or $40 for a set of four, plus tax
Drink Koozies: $9 each, plus tax
4oz Soy Candles: $14 each, plus tax, created by our partners at Serendipity Candles

Can’t make it to the museum? No problem!

Simply email [email protected] with your order. We’ll send you an online invoice, and once payment is complete, your merchandise can be picked up at the museum or held at The Bakery of Flesherton for convenient weekend pickup. Please note that all orders and payments are handled through the museum; the Bakery is our generous pickup partner only.

Shipping can also be arranged for an additional cost through Canada Post.

Thank you for all the kind words and incredible support you’ve shown our GH25 merchandise this year. And there’s more to come! We’re working on expanding our clothing collection to include long-sleeve T-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies, so stay tuned.

From all of us at the Grey Highlands Museum, have a safe and relaxing Labour Day long weekend with family and friends!

09/04/2026

In keeping with a request from the municipality, we are closed for the Labour Day long weekend, but we’re back Tuesday, fully stocked with Grey Highlands 25th Anniversary prints, candles, and koozies. Explore the updates in the main gallery and fill out a ballot for your chance to win a Markdale Curling Club membership.

The Grey Highlands Museum has been busy this summer, and we’re excited for all the changes coming this fall. It’s a great time to come and explore the history and heritage of Grey Highlands.

Enjoy a safe and relaxing long weekend with family and friends.

09/03/2026

Be a part of Markdale history.

Join us on Saturday, September 19th at 1:00 p.m. at the Grey Highlands Public Library in Markdale as we officially dedicate the Markdale 175 Time Capsule.

Filled with items that tell the story of Markdale’s 175th anniversary and the community we are today, the time capsule will preserve a little piece of our shared history for the generations who will open it 50 years from now.

Come celebrate the people, stories, and community spirit that have made Markdale home for generations, and help us mark this special moment together.

Bonus: The first 50 guests will receive a limited-edition Markdale 175 commemorative fridge magnet… and because every celebration deserves a treat, there will be cake.

Come for the history. Stay for the cake. Leave knowing you were part of a moment that won’t happen again for another 50 years.

09/02/2026

08/31/2026

MUSEUM MONDAY

Twenty-five years ago, a new chapter in our local history began.

On January 1, 2001, the Village of Markdale and the Townships of Artemesia, Euphrasia, and Osprey were brought together through Ontario’s municipal restructuring process to form the Municipality of Grey Highlands. Flesherton had previously amalgamated with Artemesia Township in 1998. The new municipality brought together communities with their own distinct histories and identities under one municipal government.

This week’s photograph captures the first Grey Highlands Council, 2001–2003.
Back Row: Mayor Don McCausland; David P. Thompson; David Clarke; Deputy Mayor David Fawcett�Front Row: Manley Risk; Anastasia Sparling; Brian Mullin

As Grey Highlands celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026, residents are once again preparing to decide who will represent them on council. The decisions made around the council table help shape our roads, recreation, planning, public spaces, services, and the future of our communities.

Twenty-five years after the formation of Grey Highlands, the responsibility for choosing the people who sit around that table still belongs to us. Learn about the candidates. Ask questions. Make your choice. And most importantly, vote.

Our history is shaped not only by the people whose stories we preserve, but by the people who participate in shaping what comes next.

08/26/2026

Every second Wednesday for the rest of the year, we’ll be sharing a moment in Grey Highlands history, paired with a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork. Just as our shared history never truly breaks, our anniversary art will be created by a single, continuous line… pen never lifting from paper.

Twenty-five stories. Twenty-five uninterrupted lines. One community, traced thoughtfully across time.

INSTALLATION FIFTEEN: THE OLD MARKDALE FIRE HALL

Standing prominently on Toronto Street North, Markdale’s old fire hall has been a community landmark for more than a century.

Built by the Village of Markdale in 1913, the red-brick fire hall was designed with an unusually tall, 75-foot tower. More than an architectural flourish, the tower provided the height needed to hang and dry the brigade’s long canvas fire hoses. It also housed the community’s fire bell, which summoned Markdale’s volunteer firefighters when an alarm was raised.

For more than 80 years, generations of volunteer firefighters operated from the hall, protecting a community that had experienced several serious fires during its early history. Eventually, Markdale’s firefighters moved to a modern station, but the old hall continued serving the community as home to organizations and activities including the Chamber of Commerce, Agricultural Society, tourist information centre, and farmers’ market.

By 2012 deterioration had forced the building to close, and its future was uncertain. Community efforts helped save the landmark, and the original 1913 structure was protected under the Ontario Heritage Act before being sold and restored. In 2021, it reopened as Marilynne Restaurant, a locally focused restaurant created by Grey County chef Brandon Bannon, bringing new life to the old hall.

More than 110 years after it was built, Markdale’s old fire hall remains one of the community’s most recognizable landmarks.

08/24/2026

Exciting News!

Come to the Grey Highlands Museum this fall, to celebrate the history & heritage of curling in Markdale. On Thursday, October 1st, 2026, the museum will unveil our newest gallery display:

Stones, Brooms, and Belonging: Markdale Curling Club & the Power of Community Sport

Since its founding in 1922, the Markdale Curling Club has been bringing people together on and off the ice. Through interviews, photographs and artifacts, we’ll explore the power of friendship, volunteerism and competition, and how they empower community sport.

To celebrate the opening of our upcoming display, visit the museum between now and October 10, 2026 to fill out a ballot for your chance to win a one-night-a-week adult curling membership, courtesy of the Markdale Golf and Curling Club and the Grey Highlands Museum. Whether you’ve never thrown a stone or you’re a seasoned skip, everyone is welcome to enter! No purchase necessary. One lucky winner will be
selected in our main gallery on October 10th, 2026.

One day a week not enough to scratch your curling itch?

You can pay to upgrade your prize to a full adult membership and enjoy a full season of curling, friendship and camaraderie. But hurry in for your chance to win... HURRY HARD!