The Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre is pleased to announce that they are in the process of receiving the Arthur Amos Shipwreck Research Collection. This donation is the first step in developing the new Marine History and Underwater Archaeology Research Centre at the BCM&CC.
This new Research Centre, approved by Bruce County Council in early April, fills a major research void in Underwater Archaeological Sites in Bruce County and the province at large. As a result, it is expected that the BCM&CC will ultimately become an important new destination for divers, historians, researchers, students at all levels, as well as the general public from Bruce County, Ontario and beyond.
Arthur Amos was a local diver and historian for nearly 50 years who researched and conducted field work on shipwrecks in Bruce County, the Great Lakes and beyond. This uniquely valuable Amos Collection, being donated by the family, includes shipwreck documents, photographs, drawings, and various other materials gathered throughout his career.
“The Amos Collection will be the first materials accepted into the new Ontario Marine History and Underwater Archaeological Research Centre under development in the Archives at BCM&CC.” says Deb Sturdevant, BCM&CC Archivist. “As the Research Centre evolves, numerous additional shipwreck and other marine site research collections, including those involving Indigenous and prehistoric sites, will be accepted from both private and public sources.”
This research initiative involves an important new partnership between the BCM&CC and the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee (OMHC). The OMHC has been active for nearly 50 years in the research, interpretation and preservation of underwater archaeological sites in the County and Province. OMHC members are expected to play a major (volunteer) role in both the initial development and ongoing activities of the new centre.
The Research Centre expands the BCM&CC’s collecting mandate to include marine history and underwater archaeology-related research materials from across Ontario, in addition to materials specific to Bruce County, which it has been collecting since 1955.
For more information about the new Research Centre, donating marine materials to the Collection or accessing materials for research contact: Deb Sturdevant, [email protected], 226-909-2426.
The BCM&CC is currently closed to the public with planning underway to reopen in phase three of the Provincial Roadmap to Reopen. Stay connected by visiting brucemuseum.ca and following the BCM&CC on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
source: media release, Bruce County Museum
