The wonders of today’s technology have now made it possible for the 1812 Online Museum to be created!
People from all around the world can now get a very detailed glimpse of Niagara’s history, especially of that of the War of 1812.
With a grant from the Canadian Government, the scanning and computer technology of Brock University along with countless volunteer hours of work of Brock students and the areas museums, an online “virtual museum” has been launched displaying the artefacts of the War of 1812.
Niagara Falls and all of the surrounding communities had once played a role in that terrible war fought between Canada and the USA. Because of the Niagara Peninsulas unique geographical and border location it made for a great place for the two countries to battle.
Many battles took place throughout the area and ended up being turning points in history with such famous battles as the “Battle at Lundy’s Lane” and the “Battle of Queenston Heights” its no surprise that the area is filled with many artifacts and memorabilia of the time.
With the approaching bicentennial of the war, local museums wanted to find a way to help make the information and war memorabilia more accessible to greater numbers of interested people. The best way to do this now a days is to digitize it all and have it available to anyone who wanted to see it.
In the process that has taken several years to come to fruition, a website has finally been launched to virtually display the artifacts, some of which include old letters, paintings, musket parts and cannon balls to name a few.
At the time of launching there were almost 1000 items in the databank and more than 22 thousand high quality images available to be searched. The collection of period items is expected to grow as more museums throughout the area continue to add their collections to the effort.
