For almost 15 years, the Lincoln and Welland Regiment Museum (LWRM) has operated out of Butler’s Barracks National Historic Site, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. This space was leased to the LWRM by Parks Canada. This has been a very synergistic and successful relationship for both organizations as we share many of the same strategic goals and presentation of key historical messages. However, as the museum’s collection and overall mission has grown over the years, we have outgrown Butler’s Barracks. Moreover, the environmental conditions within Butler’s Barracks are not conductive to the proper storage and display of artifacts in compliance with commonly accepted museum environmental standards. In 2016, we moved our collection from Butler’s Barracks to a temporary storage facility in the hopes of further developing the NMHC project.

Accordingly, we propose to build a new historical interpretation facility on a portion of the Lakeshore Road property, known as the Rifle Range. A new purpose built facility, the Niagara Military Heritage Centre (NMHC),  will strengthen the public’s knowledge of Niagara’s military heritage and the contributions of the region’s citizen soldiers.  The scope of educational and public programs would include exhibits and working demonstrations, seasonal and special community events, historical lectures and symposiums and programs for school groups. This site is near the location where the initial stages of the Battle of Fort George were fought, as such the help fulfill the goals of Parks Canada to preserve this historic site. The commemorative integrity of the lands and battlefield would not be threatened and the site’s national historic significance would be communicated to the public. This facility will apply green building techniques to minimize any impact on the environment.

On April 7, 2017 we announced our plans for the Niagara Military Heritage Centre and our fundraising campaign to the public. For more information about this project and to donate, check out our website dedicated to this project https://niagaramilitaryheritagecentre.ca/