Current Exhibits
Self-directed exhibit tours at the Sarah Jane Williams Heritage Centre are available. Please see our Visit the Museum page for more information and hours of operation.
Clarington at Work – On now at the Sarah Jane Williams Heritage Centre – Explore the industries and innovations of Clarington’s history through the work tools, clothing, locations, and remarkable careers within the community in the past & present.
Research Requests
Please see our Visit the Museum page for more information.
Virtual Museum: Collection Corner
Collection Corner highlights objects and stories from the collection, bringing Clarington’s history to life! Enjoy this short video series where we feature unique objects and explore how these items connect us to our community’s past.
Please see our Virtual Museum page for more information.
Archives & Collections
Approximately 300 linear feet of storage house the archival resources and local artifacts at the Sarah Jane Williams Heritage Centre.
The archives and artifacts document the history of Clarington and the individuals, organizations, businesses, and events that contributed to that history. It is divided into categories ranging from churches, businesses, agriculture, clubs/associations, buildings, and individual families.
The Archives contain several subjects and various formats of material including account books, photographs, land deeds, records, census reports and ledgers from 19th century Clarington businesses and citizens. It is comprised of the collections of both the Bowmanville Museum and the Clarke Museum and Archives. We have been collecting material since 1961 and many of our information resources are unique. The Archives are located in the Sarah Jane Williams Heritage Centre, 62 Temperance Street, Bowmanville.
NEW — We now offer a research area on the main floor of the Centre in which items of interest may be perused. We also have a large reference library of books on local history displayed for researcher’s use.
Among our archives the Sarah Jane Williams Heritage Centre preserves many artifacts that tell stories of what life was like in the past on Clarington soil.
Historical artifacts include:
- A large physical collection of period clothing (ranging from early 1800s – present)
- Local citizen’s personal household items E.g. cameras, records, record players, toiletries, knitting, bedding, furniture, toys, dolls, carriages, lamps, etc.
- Business items E.g. Signs, registers, uniforms, equipment, marketing, advertising, stamps, etc.
- Dominion Organ and Piano Company Collection – made by Local craftsmen.
- Agricultural and farming equipment (ranging from 1800s – present)
Spotlight of artifacts:
- Charles Bowman’s Legal Documents
- Werry Family History
- Boy’s Training School / Camp 30 Collection
Digital Newspapers
In addition, the archives have a large collection of newspapers including the Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville Merchant, and Orono Times. In 2012 a partnership was made with the Clarington Public Library to plan the digitization of the newspaper collection. It was decided that the company: MTL Microimage Technologies Limited would complete the digitization. We still have all copies of the physical newspapers until such a time as preservation is no longer possible or needed.
Check out the online digitized newspapers.
Scope of Waverley Place
Waverley Place contains 3300 square feet of public space staged to depict an Edwardian period (1900-1930s) home. It is set up in period fashion and shows the lifestyle of a wealthy merchant family. We have various artifacts on display throughout the house’s nine rooms including: portraits, china, silverware, furniture, quilts, bedding, clothing, toys, books, fireplace fittings, area carpets/rugs, appliances, etc. Many of the items were made in Clarington or have a strong historical connection to the area.
Spotlight of artifacts:
- Jury Dominion upright concert Grand Piano, c. 1901
- Painting of Anne Jury above fireplace, painted by Sir Wiley Grier in 1920
- Bowmanville Built Furniture: Wardrobe, Baby’s Bed, Chairs, and Bureau
Scope of Clarke Schoolhouse
The Clarke Schoolhouse houses a number of artifacts that help to tell the story of early schools in Ontario. On the Clarke Schoolhouse grounds, there are 3 buildings which include:
- an 1878 one-room schoolhouse, approx. 1200 square feet
- An original blacksmith’s shop, approx. 100 square feet
- A separate storage building, approx. 2500 square feet,
The one-room schoolhouse is staged to depict how it would have appeared in the late 1800/early 1900s. Some artifacts on display include: Student desks, a dominion piano, school textbooks, and student writing tools (E.g. Individual chalkboards, feather pens).
The blacksmith shop was originally built and used by a local farmer, Garland Cathcart from 1914 – 1970s. It was moved to the Clarke Museum ground in the early 1990s. Artifacts original to Mr. Cathcart are currently on display with additional artifacts from the Tyrone Blacksmith shop.
Our Storage Building preserves the bulk of our local artifact collection. It contains a large number of agricultural machinery & equipment, horse carriages/wagons, locally built furniture, framed artwork & portraits, business storefront signs, masonry, china, household and business items distinct to local development, clothing, pioneer archeological material (E.g. shells, fossils, native artifacts, etc), plus many more.
Spotlight of artifacts:
- Massey Harris, showroom, “Reaper” and “Tedder”
- Linton Plow – Made in Orono
- Dominion Organ and Piano Large Floor Safe
Popular Research Topics
Many of the requests we get are regarding genealogy. However, the number of requests to research properties and homes continues to grow steadily. We can often help with such requests, but a visit by the researcher to the registry office may be required first.
The German Prisoner of War Camp in Bowmanville (Camp 30) is also a popular research topic. We have some records pertaining to this camp as well as a detailed scale model.
Fees
Please note that fees are temporarily being waived.
Related Policies
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Contact Us
EMAIL: info@claringtonmuseums.com
PHONE: 905-623-2734
ADDRESS: 62 Temperance St. Bowmanville, ON, L1C 3A8
Clarington Museums & Archives 
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