Permanent Exhibits

Brant Museum & Archives
The Victorian Parlour
The artifacts you will see here were used during the late 1800s when rooms like these would be furnished with the very best art, furniture, and household items. The paintings currently hanging in this room is of Mr. and Mrs. Brethour by Robert Whale.
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The Edwardian Bedroom
The artifacts you will see in this room were used during the early 1900s and incorprated much of the same ideals as the Victorian Era including an appreciation for fine art and furniture. The painting currently hanging in this room is of Ella Jane (Hardy) Botham painted by Robert Whale.    
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The Pioneer Room
The first homes of Pioneers were usually single room log cabins in which the entire family lived, ate, and slept. This room represents what a typical log cabin would have looked like, including the furnishings which would go along with the house.
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The General Store
Here you will be able to see a collection of items, many manufactured in Brantford, that would have been found at the ever-important General Store.
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The Volunteer Fire Brigade
Brantford's first fire brigade had one fire engine that had to be pulled by ropes. It was housed in a frame shack whose bell tolled for funerals and fire alarms alike. In the 1880s the first horses came into the service. They were taught to break into a full gallop at the first sounds of bells.
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The Print Machine
In the 1800s printing was a much more arduous task: each page was hand-typeset one letter at a time. Here you will be able to see The Benjamin Franklin Gordon: the most popular printing machine of the time.
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Brantford Pottery
Brantford Pottery was the first and largest pottery manufacturing industry in Canada West. During its most profitable times, Brantford's pottery industry was known throughout the world. This business operated for nearly 57 years and had 8 different owners from 1849 to 1906.
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The Barber Shop
The typical barber shop allowed men to gather and discuss politics, community issues and local gossip. Hunting trophies were usually hung upon the walls to give the business more of a manly atmosphere.
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William Peirce's Undertaking
The doors you will see in this exhibit are the original doors to William Peirce's shop.

T. Collens Optometrist Exhibit
This exhibit showcases a number of different pairs of glasses. The idea behind wearing glasses to improve eyesight dates back to the Middle Ages. Eventually they were adopted by the wealthy and educated and soon became symbols of intelligence, distinction and elegance.
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The Brant Square Exhibit
This exhibit features a series of former storefronts found throughout Brantford and display products available to shoppers in the late 19th Century. You'll be able to "window-shop" at Frank Cockshutt's Dry Goods, Mason & Risch's music store, Bishop & Sons hardware store, Hawthorne's Sporting Goods, Lester's Candy Shop, and M.H. Robertson's Drug Store (later known as Daymond Drugs Limited).
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Myrtleville House Museum
Myrtleville House
Constructed in 1837, this ten room Georgian homestead was home to Allen and Eliza Good, who had emigrated from Ireland with their three children. The family would grow to include ten children and for the next 140 years, Myrtleville House would continue to be home to four consecutive generations of the family. Throughout these years the family would be renowned for their contributions to Canadian farming, education and public life.

In the 1850s the Good farm encompassed approximately 600 acres. Today, Myrtleville House Museum is situated on 5 1/2 acres surrounded by the growing city of Brantford. Visitors can view the family's extensive furnishings, early agricultural and woodworking tools, and family hierlooms, some of which date back to the 1700s. The property also includes gardens, a workshop with a blacksmith forge, and a reconstructed ice house, smoke house and back oven.