The first outdoor museum in Windsor-Essex is now open.
The Windsor Port Authority unveiled ‘Prosperity Place’ next to its main office at Sandwich and Mill Streets on Thursday morning,
The new museum shares the maritime and trade history of the region.
“The name Prosperity Place captures that what began 10,000 years ago, today creates over 2,300 jobs locally, and exports local product around the globe, and imports the raw materials and manufactured goods that support our local economy,” said Steve Salmons, the President and CEO of the Port Authority.
The museum includes story boards, murals, canoes that represent the indigenous history and an 8,000 pound steel anchor from former Great Lakes freighter John Adams.
Salmons added the outdoor museum is an attraction for Old Sandwich Town that can be used as a safe, community gathering space.
It cost $375,000 to create the museum. The Sandwich Teen Action Group used $100,000 in provincial funding to help cover the cost.
“Prosperity Place provides a free community history and Port educational learning experience where the public can gather to enjoy at their leisure,” said John Elliott, the Executive Director of the Sandwich Teen Action Group.
Elders from the Walpole First Nation performed a smudging ceremony Thursday to purify the space and recognize the historic connection to this area by several first nations.
