It’s been 25 years since the museum at the historic Castle Kilbride opened to the public.
Many gathered at the Wilmot landmark on Sunday to celebrate the quarter century anniversary.
Among those in attendance was Jim Veitch.
“I lived here until I was about 23,” he said. “I feel like I am home again. It’s like I never left.”
Veitch is the great grandson of James Livingston: a local politician, entrepreneur, and flax industrialist.
“He started the mill in town,” said Colleen Herner of the anniversary committee. “Most of the people worked for him.”
Roughly 75 per cent of the artifacts seen in the historic home are originally from the first two generations of the family.
“That is the highest number in any national historic site in Canada,” said Herner.
The majority of the items from the Livingston family were sold by the last generation at an auction.
“Coming to the auction sale where you see everything disappearing from your childhood home was very unsettling,” said Veitch. “It was like the final chapter for me.”
Eventually, many of the items made their way back to the home.
“Other family members donated back and people who bought at the auction realized it should be at the museum,” said Herner.
