The entire Grey Roots permanent artefact collection is now available for viewing online. More than 15,000 permanent collection artefacts now have a digital home on greyroots.com. Highlights include items manufactured and hand-made right here in Grey County, including genealogically significant signature quilts, weird and wonderful hair and wool wreaths, historic commercial items like Kennedy Foundry propellers, large wagons and threshers, and blacksmith’s tools.

Sharing the Grey Roots collection online has been a long-time museum goal. “This project gives visitors access to our collection,” said Collections Manager Sim Salata.  “Like all museums, we can only exhibit a small portion of our collection at any one time. Now researchers and visitors can find all of our artefacts in one place, regardless of the where they live or their physical ability, and all for free.”

“I think residents and the public will be very pleased to explore the collection, as 96 percent of the artefacts have been donated by Grey County citizens or their descendants,” said Salata. 

The project to digitize the museum’s artefact collection and its records began in 2008, and finished this past summer. “The project would have never been completed without the support of volunteers, co-op students from St. Mary’s High School and OSCVI, many summer students and Fleming College museum studies interns,” continues Salata. “A big thanks goes to them.”

The collection was started in 1955 by the former County of Grey-Owen Sound Museum. Newly donated items are digitized and uploaded regularly.  The online collection does not include the education collection, which is used for exhibit props and costumes for interpretation.

Grey Roots Museum & Archives, 102599 Grey Road 18, RR 4, Owen Sound N4K 5N6, 519-376-3690, greyroots.com

source: media release