Before the “Huron County Pioneer Museum” opened in 1951, J.H. Neill, the Museum’s Founder and first Curator, made plans for a travelling museum.  He designed these custom trailers to cart his collection around to local fairs and festivals.  Unfortunately the trailers were deemed unsafe for road use and were never used.  As a result, Mr. Neill required a permanent location for his collection which he found in the recently closed, Goderich Central School – the current home of the Huron County Museum.

Outreach Programs

Virtual and in-person presentations available to groups from across Huron County and beyond!

Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol staff are available to present to your group, event, or organization. Our programs can be tailored to meet the needs of your audience. We are happy to tailor programs to suit the unique needs of your audience. Learn more below about the Guest Speakers, Curator Talks, and Outreach Programs currently all available.

Book an Outreach Program!

 Curator Talks:

Invite Museum staff to speak with your group across Huron County.   A variety of presentations are available.  Topics may focus on Museum or Gaol, exhibits, artifact collection, archival collection, current research,  or ‘how-to’ subjects.

Talks from Senior Curator Elizabeth French-Gibson

  • If These Walls Could Talk: Huron Historic Gaol
  • The Huron County Museum: The Past & Future of Your Museum

Talks from Curator of Engagement and Dialogue Sinead Cox

  • What you Should Know about Treaties & Huron County
  • Prisoner Profiles: Stories from the Huron Historic Gaol
  • Our Oldest Inmates: Senior Prisoners in the Huron Gaol
  • Jailbreak!: Strange and Thrilling Escapes from the Huron Gaol
  • Death Sentence: What life & death were like for the inmates and staff at the Huron Gaol
  • Women of Huron County & the World Wars
  • Hot off the Press: Behind the headlines for the scoop on Huron’s weekly newspapers
  • Stories of Immigration & Migration: Family Migration Stories to Huron County
  • Old News is Good News: How to search in Huron’s digitized newspapers
  • Huron’s Untold Histories: Searching for Grey Township’s Black Pioneers
  • Salt of the Earth: Salt Mining in Huron County
  • Victorian Christmas in Huron County

Talks from our Archivist Michael Molnar

  • Archives Collecting
  • Researching Your Home & Property

Reminiscence Kits with Hands-On Artifacts

  • School Days
  • Games & Toys
  • Huron County Homefront during the World Wars