About Commanda Museum

By 1977, the Commanda General Store had deteriorated to such a state that it closed and it was recommended that the building be demolished. In 1979, a small group of volunteers formed a charity called the “Gurd and Area Historical Corporation”.  Some of the objectives of the incorporation were to purchase, restore and create a pioneer museum from the historical Store and to provide space for the community to gather and for local artists and craftsman to display/sell their wares. In 2016, a heritage church, built in 1883, which serviced the Lutheran population in Commanda and surrounding areas, was added to the Museum exhibits. 

 

From 1978 onwards, against all odds, a small group of volunteers saved the Store and in 1980 the Commanda General Store Museum (the “Museum”) was opened.

 

Since the Museum opened, it continued to act as a community hub and gave visitors the opportunity to identify directly with the land, community, ancestors, tools and the skills that were necessary to colonize the region. Over the past 40 years, the Museum has met the objectives set out in 1979. 

 

As the only designated historical site in the Loring-Restoule region, the Museum has played, and continues to play, a unique role in the community.  The Museum’s location on both Highway 522 and on the TransCanada Trail makes it uniquely positioned to provide historical context, offer tourist resources and to serve as a community archive and gathering place. The building improvements will save the very important historical buildings (the Store and the Church) as well as will add greatly to the ability of the community to gather at the Museum.  

 

Due to lost records, we are unable to determine the scope and cost of the building projects from 1979 to 1998. From 1998-2022, the Museum was renovated a few times, including a major restoration project to stabilize the structure of the Museum in 2020-2021. From 2001-2022 grants in the amount of approximately $137,000 were received from various sources to allow the restoration works to proceed. 

 

The Museum has functioned almost totally on a volunteer basis, with the addition of summer students paid by grants, except for the years 2000-2005, when there were paid employees at the Museum. A Restaurant functioned from 2002-2005 (dates may not be accurate) and there were paid employees associated with this also.

 

Due to lack of volunteers, structural issues with the Museum building, COVID epidemic, etc. the Museum was not open in certain years: 1999, 2006, 2020, 2021 (dates may not be accurate), but dedicated volunteers have managed to time and again reopen the doors to keep the dream of Clare Hankinson, and her team of volunteers, alive.