KIRKLAND LAKE - A newly formed not-for-profit has secured $750,000 in funding to help save a museum located inside a historic château of a legendary eccentric prospector.
The Oakes Project: Heritage, Arts and Tourism (TOPHAT) has secured funding from local mines to keep the Museum of Northern History — located in the historic Sir Harry Oakes Château — open for at least three years. TOPHAT also wants to transfer the museum’s lease from the town.
The three-year deal is for $250,000 annually. Alamos Gold and Agnico Eagle are each giving $100,000 a year and there’s $50,000 from a “royalty partner.”
At the Sept. 17 Kirkland Lake council meeting, TOPHAT detailed its progress since it last presented in early summer, noting that it’s now a registered not-for-profit corporation.
“You have seen a problem and have basically solved it. Incredible hard work and dedication went into it, and I personally wish you all the success with the Ontario Heritage Trust,” said Mayor Stacy Wight.
“This is now out of our hands. The role that we played was to state that we wanted to terminate the lease. Moving forward, it is all you and OHT, and I really, really want to throw my support behind you.”
Coun. Rick Owen echoed this sentiment, acknowledging the difficult decision to close the museum.
“Closing the museum, from council’s perspective, was not an easy decision. We feel the pinch all the time from all sides. We hear my taxes are too high. My roads are terrible. My water is terrible,” he said.
"Sometimes we have to make very tough decisions and the museum was one that we had to make… Having said that, I want to congratulate you. I am so happy. I don't think anybody on this council really wanted to see that building closed down or used for something else.”
The building is nearly a century old and was built by Oakes, an eccentric prospector who became a multi-millionaire during Kirkland Lake’s gold rush. He built the home in 1929 to use during visits to his mining properties. His permanent home was in Niagara Falls.
In 1934 Oakes moved to the Bahamas as a protest against the Canadian tax system and was knighted by King George VI in 1939. Four years later, Oakes was murdered at his Bahamas home. The crime remains unsolved.
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TOPHAT’s founding directors are Ann Black (president), Beverley McChesney-Rumble (vice-president), Martha McSherry (treasurer) and Kim Skjonsby (secretary). Representatives from Agnico Eagle Mines and Alamos Gold Inc. are also on the board of directors.
During meetings with both mines, TOPHAT secured commitments for operating costs that will allow the museum to remain at its current location in the historic Sir Harry Oakes Château.
TOPHAT has also met with three executive members of the Ontario Heritage Trust.
The group was started by concerned residents to save the museum.
The Sir Harry Oakes Château is owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT) and the town has been operating the museum out of it.
The Town of Kirkland Lake has overseen operations of the château through the lease agreement with the OHT since 1981.
In March, Kirkland Lake council voted to close the museum and leave the property by the end of the year.
SEE: It may be your last summer to visit the historic Oakes château in Kirkland Lake
RELATED: People rallying to save Kirkland Lake's historic château
In June, the OHT confirmed funding about $740,000 in repairs at the château this year.
The work includes repairing and stabilizing elements of the front porch, rear balcony, north retaining wall and selected hard-scaping, as well as repairs to areas of the roofing and water goods, like the gutters and downspouts. The work is expected to be done by the end of 2024.
The project has been in development since 2022. It was tendered earlier this year and Roof Tile
Management has the contract for the project and is working under the supervision of Stevens Architects.
