The House that Janet Built
- This Is the House That Janet Built. Vote to transform Janet Carnochan’s historic home into a research and archival centre, giving the community and scholars access to the Museum’s remarkable collection and the stories that shaped our nation.
- The House that Janet Built
- The Janet Carnochan House
- Niagara Historical Society/Niagara-on-the-Lake Musuem
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Your vote for the Carnochan House helps bring Canada’s history to life while protecting a place that will continue to shape it. Niagara-on-the-Lake was Ontario’s first capital, a key site in the War of 1812, and an important Indigenous gathering place where treaties and agreements were discussed. It helped shape Black history through early anti-slavery legislation, hosted military training camps during both World Wars, and was the birthplace of modern Canadian wine. These stories live on in the Museum’s remarkable collection.
By supporting the Carnochan House, you are helping transform this historic building into a dedicated research and archival space, with proper climate control, fire protection, accessibility upgrades, and secure storage. These improvements will ensure that the collection preserving these stories is protected and made accessible to scholars, students, and community members alike.
Vote for the Carnochan House today and help preserve a place where history is not just remembered. It is actively explored, shared, and brought to life for future generations. -
The updates to the Carnochan House will transform a historic home into a vibrant space where Canada’s history can be explored, studied, and shared. Once complete, it will serve as a dedicated research and archival centre, providing students, researchers, and community members with meaningful access to the Museum’s collections and the stories that have shaped both Niagara-on-the-Lake and the nation.
Designed to support research and learning, the space will enable deeper exploration of topics such as early settlement, Indigenous diplomacy, Black history, and Niagara-on-the-Lake’s agricultural evolution. Improved access and proper facilities will ensure these materials can be used more fully for study, education, and public programming.
The project will also strengthen partnerships with local schools, universities, and heritage organizations, supporting internships, student research, and hands-on learning opportunities. These collaborations will foster ongoing engagement and make Carnochan House a community hub for knowledge sharing.
Located beside Memorial Hall, the museum founded by Janet Carnochan, the house will extend her legacy by creating a space rooted in access, learning, and community connection. Its restoration not only preserves an important historic place but ensures it continues to be a place of discovery, learning, and inspiration for generations to come. -
Over a century ago, Janet Carnochan envisioned a place where Niagara-on-the-Lake’s history could be preserved and shared. She donated the land for Memorial Hall, Ontario’s first purpose-built museum, and later built her home next door. As the first president of the Niagara Historical Society and one of its long-time curators, Janet collected artifacts, documented the town’s past, and laid the foundation for a community committed to heritage preservation.
Today, Memorial Hall remains the centre of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum, connecting visitors with stories that shaped both the town and Canada. The Carnochan House offers something more intimate. It brings us closer to Janet Carnochan not just as a historian, but as a person, grounding her legacy in the place she called home and reflecting her deep and lasting connection to the museum she helped create.
Restoring the Carnochan House is a way of honouring that devotion. It ensures that her legacy endures and that future generations can experience not only the history she preserved, but the passion, vision, and determination that made that preservation possible. - https://www.notlmuseum.ca/
