The Making of a
Museum: Behind the Scenes at Benares Historic House
An old house doesn't become a museum overnight! Descendants of the Harris family of Benares in Mississauga donated the house to the Ontario Heritage Trust in 1968. Yet it took almost thirty years before it opened as a museum in 1995. Why did it take so long? And what finally came together to make it happen?
Geoffrey Harris Sayers, Barbara Sayers Larson, and Dora Sayers Caro arrive on Opening Day of Benares Historic House, June 25, 1995
Credit: Museums of Mississauga
Geoffrey, Dora, Annie, and Beverly Sayers, Benares, 1917
Credit: Museums of Mississauga
Benares, which was home to three generations of the Harris and Sayers families, is filled with their original artifacts and art, and has been restored to reflect daily life on the home front in World War one. It also has intriguing and mysterious connections to Canadian writer Mazo de la Roche, author of the best-selling Whiteoaks of Jalna books.
Join Annemarie Hagan, founding curator of Benares and former Manager of the Museums of Mississauga, as she shares some of the secrets, stories, and challenges behind the unique restoration of Benares Historic House.
Ready to get the inside scoop on Benares Historic House?
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