Community Memories: Lost Way of Life

One of the projects that the Foundation is involved in creating this season is an exhibit focusing on lost ways of life within the Kingston Community. The purpose of this project is to show lifestyles that are no longer visible in our community. This will not be shown in a continuum, rather as snapshots of time throughout nearly 300 years of Kingston history. There are five areas that will be shown, however the common thread of the exhibit is to show excavated artifacts that are no longer in use or no longer seen in everyday life in current times. Archaeology provides a second chance to see a lifestyle that has long since disappeared from the Kingston community. The project will also utilize photographs, maps and textual information, along with the excavated material to provide tangible evidence for the existence of people and their way of life.

The periods which will be focused upon include people and conventions from French and British soldiers at Fort Frontenac; the Mohawk matriarch Molly Brant (Koñwatsitsiaiéñni), known for her good works as a go between for the British and Iroquois, accomplished through her unique way of blending two cultures; the Fort Henry Garrison Hospital which will incorporate a medical perspective showcasing early medicine and medical practices which are vastly different than the way medicine is practiced today; the Naval Cottages which will illustrate early 19th century domestic lifestyle in Kingston at the Royal Navy Dockyard; and the final area will illustrate early commercial aspects of Kingston's Market Square.

This project has received financial support from the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) and will be available to visitors on the CHIN website as and on the Foundation's site as well. Expected completion is later this winter.