Thousand Islands River Heritage Society Exhibit “Canada’s First Glassworks at Mallorytown” Recognized with OHS President’s Award

Toronto – The Ontario Historical Society is pleased to present the President’s Award to Thousand Islands River Heritage Society for their exhibit: Canada’s First Glassworks at Mallorytown, ON 1839. The President’s Award recognizes an outstanding contribution to the preservation or promotion of Ontario’s history.

The Heritage Society’s work on this passion project spanned from 2017 until the grand opening of the permanent exhibit honouring Mallorytown Glass as the first in Canada on May 27, 2023. The development of this exhibit involved only a handful of volunteers, but over 10,000 hours of volunteer service.

The exhibit committee began with fundraising and research regarding this long-lost glassworks operation and expanded the project to include full exhibit design, artifact sourcing, and the development of a reproduction collection. The newly developed exhibit space celebrates sandstone as the main ingredient in glass, explores the process by which glass is made, features original brick remnants from the glassworks, as well as a depiction of the full original structure carved from red oak by a local artist to create a permanent exhibit that engages all audiences with this broad spectrum exploration of glass and early glassworks.

Further, the group has recently launched a website and is developing a knowledge centre. They continue to expand the reach of this interesting and important story of early industry in Ontario.

The Ontario Historical Society is pleased to present the 2023-24 President’s Award to the Thousand Islands River Heritage Society.

Founded in 1888, the Ontario Historical Society is a non-profit corporation and registered charity dedicated to the preservation and celebration of Ontario’s history for people of all ages and cultural backgrounds.

To learn more about the OHS’s Honours and Awards Program, or to submit a nomination, please visit https://ontariohistoricalsociety.ca/honoursawards/ or contact the Society’s offices by telephone or e-mail.