Repairs to be made to Ridge House ‘this year’

The doors swing open at the Ridge House Museum for the 2024 season this Saturday.

Staff have been busy preparing the museum and its grounds for guests. leading up to the season opener.

From June 1 to August 31, visitors can visit the Ridge House Museum Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., and Thursdays, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Admission is by donation.

The Ridge House Museum provides guided tours for visitors to experience middle-class life as it was in 1875.

The museum features the Discovery Den, an interactive space for kids, and special summer programming.

The Ridge House Museum is offering Throwback Thursdays, fun Victorian crafts and games for kids every Thursday in July and August; Creative Kids Floral Fun on July 20 at 10 a.m.; Creative Kids Fern Fever on August 10 at 10 a.m.; and Fairy Tales and Trails on August 17, an all-day activity where colourful fairy tales will come to life at the museum, T.R.E.E.S. Memorial Trail, and participating downtown Ridgetown businesses.

The museum grounds feature the Pollinator Patch, a mix of Ontario native plants and heritage flowers developed in partnership with the Ridgetown & District Horticultural Society.

Meanwhile, it appears the long-awaited life cycle project repairs to the Erie St. S. facility are finally going to happen.

Among the identified work is repairing the pump and cement pad, painting the front porch and steps, scraping and repainting the house exterior, and replacing the rotting wood fence.

Additional work is needed after mould was found in the basement after a water leak from last July.

The Ridge House’s projects were approved as a life cycle project by the municipality’s Heritage Committee in 2021.

A year ago, at the museum board’s monthly meeting in May, it was revealed that a contractor was in place to begin repairs once the municipality approved them.

However, the work was never started.

The Chatham-Kent Municipal Museum Advisory Committee reported at its Sept. 2023 meeting that Spenser Hamilton, Supervisor of Technical and Facility Services for Arts and Culture, had advised it that lifecycle projects needed to be re-tendered and would not happen until the spring of 2024.

Marlee Robinson, a Morpeth resident who is a retired art historian and active volunteer in Chatham-Kent’s cultural, tourism and art community, made a Zoom deputation at the April 29 Chatham-Kent Council meeting.

Robinson questioned the minutes from the advisory committee’s Sept. 2023 report and why the work hadn’t started.

“The Ridge House Museum Advisory Committee members in 2015 and beyond repeatedly asked to have life cycle work done on the museum, particularly painting the front porch and steps, which are currently worn down to bare wood, scraping and repainting the house exterior, and repair or replacement of the rotting wood fence,” Robinson said. “Four times Council approved funding for this work, and yet, still it has not been done.”

Robinson said the community is especially eager to get the work completed so the building can return to its pristine condition in time for Ridgetown’s 150th anniversary in 2025.

East Kent Councillor John Wright brought the state of the museum to the floor at the April 29 meeting in response to Robinson’s deputation.

“The last four times we’ve put it on the floor to get repairs, it hasn’t been done yet,” Wright said. “The museum’s getting pretty tough looking with the peeling paint and everything else.”

Edward Soldo, General Manager of Infrastructure and Engineering Services, responded that “repairs would be made this year.”

Evelyn Bish, Director, Community Attraction and Leisure, provided a response via email to The Ridgetown Independent News last Thursday.

“The preliminary work that was required to prepare for the items on the Lifecycle list has been completed, with the work to commence once the projects are organized,” Bish said.

Bish also clarified concerns raised by Robinson and Wright about why it has taken nine years since Ridge House’s repairs were first identified.

She explained the requests for Ridge House were first submitted in 2015 and were placed on the Future Building Lifecycle Projects list after being prioritized with other community-use building submissions.

“Each year thereafter, the requests were resubmitted and continued to be placed on the Future List,” Bish said.

By 2019, some items began making their way to the approved list but never moved forward because the COVID-19 pandemic halted projects.

“Presently, we are getting back on track and getting projects organized,” Bish said on work finally progressing on ‘back burner’ items such as the Ridge House.

Robinson also said in her deputation that, given the recent resignation from the CK museum advisory committee, a Ridgetown or East Kent area representative should be considered as a replacement.

“I ask that Ridgetown has a stronger voice on the Museum committee,” she told Council.

The Ridge House Museum is a restored 1875 Victorian home purchased by the Ridgetown Rotary Club. With guidance from the Ridgetown & District Historical Society, it was restored in time for the town’s 1975 centennial celebration.

The Ridge House Museum promotes the history of this region by collecting and preserving artifacts significant to the area represented by Ridgetown and the former Howard Township.

The museum was gifted to the municipality during the 1998 amalgamation. However, the Ridge House Museum still inspires strong local pride, even though the municipality and the museum advisory board now manage it.

“The museum is a vital part of our community,” Robinson said. “It has support from Ridgetown residents, who have gifted most of the artifacts and really care about the museum.”

“It is our only culture and tourism asset in Ridgetown, and they (the municipality) need to prioritize it as much as they do the other things,” she said.

For more information on the Ridge House Museum, go online to www.chatham-kent.ca, click Explore & Enjoy on the home bar, scroll down to Museums, and click on the Ridge House Museum.

You can also call 519-360-1998 or send an email to ckridgehouse@chatham-kent.ca.

Michael Bennett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Ridgetown Independent News