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160 Main Street East, 1895. Dr. Donald John McIntosh M.D., spouse Eleanor Jane Keough. Child is possibly their daughter Margaret age 3. Boy on porch possibly James, age 16, son of Dr. McIntosh and first wife Georgia Augusta Parker. This photo was donated to the Vankleek Hill Museum in 2018 by Mr. Sydney Hay

160 Main Street East, 127 Main Street East: Dr. McIntosh and Dr. McDonald

The Vankleek Hill Museum recently received a donation from Mr. Sydney Hay of this wonderful c.1895 photograph of the house located at 160 Main Street East, Vankleek Hill. On the back of the photograph is the name of the photography company “United States Photo Co., Wm. Martel, Manager, 8 Place d’Armes Hill, Montreal.” There is…

This digitized page appears on the Our Ontario site, and is from a Belleville Public Library book about Ontario Loyalists. It indicates that at his farm in Poughkeepsie, Simon Vankleek had slaves.

Addressing Racism in Vankleek Hill’s History

Museums have a responsibility to research and interpret the culture of their community. That includes the presence of racism and other destructive ‘isms’ that have or do impact members of our community. At the Vankleek Hill Museum, we tell the story of the laundryman Wing Lee who worked in Vankleek Hill, and in May on…

VKH Board of Health Minutes January 31st, 1919

Public Health Scares: Looking to Our Past for Perspective

In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, we decided to look at some of the public health concerns in Vankleek Hill’s past.  Some of these include smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, typhus, and chickenpox. We wondered, how was their dangerous presence in the community managed? In 1808, the first municipal council for West Hawkesbury was formed,…