(Photo by The Ridgetown Independent News)
By Michael Bennett
Local Journalism Initiative
The Ridgetown Independent
The Ridge House Museum reopened for the 2025 season on the weekend with a fresh new look in time for the community’s 150th and its own 50th anniversary.
The exterior of the restored 1875 Victorian-style home has been repainted, and the pollinator garden has been cleaned up in time for Ridgetown’s Sesquicentennial celebrations.
The museum had been on the Municipality of Chatham-Kent’s waiting list for an extended period for lifecycle projects.
“The fence is up, but not completely painted,” said Marlee Robinson, volunteer and advocate for the Ridge House Museum. “The Pollinator Patch Garden that the Ridgetown Horticultural Society looks after has been totally cleaned up for spring … and looking amazing.”
Robinson, a retired art historian and active volunteer in Chatham-Kent’s cultural, tourism, and art community, said she is glad the building and grounds will be pristine for Canada Day weekend when Ridgetown celebrates the 150th anniversary of its incorporation as a village.
The Ridge House Museum will have exhibits to tie in with the celebrations.
A new exhibit titled “Making the Map: the Settlers of Ridgetown” will highlight stories and artifacts from the four families who settled in the area that led to the town’s foundation.
Along with the town’s Sesquicentennial, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Ridge House Museum.
As the town prepared for its centennial celebration in 1975, the Ridgetown Rotary Club purchased the Victorian house at 53 Erie St. S. as its centennial project.
Led by the Ridgetown & District Historical Society, the Ridge House Museum was established to collect and preserve artifacts and specimens significant to the area represented by Ridgetown and the former Howard Township.
The Discovery Den, an interactive creative space for children, will host activities tied to the museum’s 50th anniversary.
The museum will host “Escape the Ridge House: Happy Birthday Ridgetown” events on the July 19-20 and Aug. 16-17 weekends.
Other than these dates, the Ridge House Museum is open to drop-in visitors for the 2025 season on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Visitors will be offered guided tours to see what middle-class life was like in 1875, and children can play in the Discovery Den. Visitors can walk around the grounds and enjoy the Pollinator Patch, a mix of Ontario native plants and heritage flowers developed in partnership with the Ridgetown & District Horticultural Society.
Admission is by donation.
The museum closes for the season on Aug. 31.
