Share your memories of Cumberland Heritage Village Museum
Help us celebrate Cumberland Heritage Village Museum’s 50th anniversary!
The 50th anniversary Memory Wall
In 2026, Cumberland Heritage Village Museum marks its 50th anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, we’re creating a memory wall filled with photos of the museum from past five decades. In addition to photographs from the museum’s archive, we’re inviting community members to submit photographs from 1976 to today to be included on the Memory Wall!
Whether the moment was big or small, your memories are a part of the museum’s story!
Do you have a photograph that captures:
A time you visited the museum or attended a program or special event hosted by the museum?
A time you celebrated or marked a milestone or life event at the museum?
A time you attended a community gathering at the museum?
A time you volunteered at the museum or helped with a museum event?
A time your group, organization or club delivered or participated in an activity, demonstration or event at the museum?
A time you worked at the museum (e.g., former staff, contractors, etc.)?
A time you enjoyed the picnic area, walking paths or natural environment at the museum?
A personal memory of the property?
A personal memory of the houses or buildings at the museum?
The Memory Wall will be unveiled in the Community Hall (Loyal Orange Lodge) as part of Cumberland Heritage Village Museum’s 50th anniversary open house celebration on September 20, 2026. The Memory Wall will be on display in the Community Hall through December 2028.
About the museum
As Ottawa’s very own living history museum, Cumberland Heritage Village Museum (2940 Old Montreal Road) offers visitors an opportunity to step back in time to experience rural life in a recreated 1920s and 30s village. Explore acres of green space, gardens, homes, a schoolhouse, a church, a caboose, a firehall, a sawmill, a forge, a printshop and more.
Chat with costumed villagers. Meet heritage breed farm animals. Observe a skilled interpreter demonstrating their trade, handicraft or even a recipe. See vintage automobiles, machinery and equipment that are still in operation today. Catch a ride on a tractor-pulled wagon. From daily activities and demonstrations to special events and workshops, there is something to spark curiosity for visitors of all ages! Plan your next visit at ottawa.ca/cumberlandmuseum.
Cumberland Heritage Village Museum first opened its doors as Cumberland Township Museum in 1976. The museum has welcomed visitors to discover the built heritage, stories and traditions of rural Eastern Ontario ever since. As a recreated village, most of the buildings on site were relocated to the museum from surrounding communities including Vars, Orléans, Cumberland, French Hill, Sarsfield, Clarence Township, and Navan.
It is one of five museums and historic sites operated by the City of Ottawa along with Billings Estate National Historic Site, Fairfields Heritage House, Nepean Museum and Pinhey’s Point Historic Site.
Before you submit a photograph
Before submitting a photograph for the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum’s 50th anniversary Memory Wall, please read the following notes in full.
By submitting a photograph, you confirm you are the copyright owner of the photograph, or that you have obtained permission from the copyright owner and have authority to submit the photograph to the City of Ottawa for this purpose.
By submitting a photograph, you grant the City of Ottawa a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, display, publish, crop, resize, photograph, record, and otherwise use the photograph for the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum 50th anniversary Memory Wall and related City promotional engagement purposes, in print and electronic formats, including on City and museum websites and social media.
You confirm that the photograph does not infringe any copyright, privacy, publicity or other rights of any third party, and that you have obtained any necessary consent from identifiable individuals appearing in the photograph, including from a parent or guardian where applicable.
The City may credit the photograph using the credit information you provide. You consent to reasonable formatting changes, including cropping, resizing, and caption editing, as required for the Memory Wall and related uses.
Due to space limitations, the quality of a submitted photograph or the content of a submitted photograph, the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum may choose not to include a submitted photo in the display.
If accepted for the display, the photo will be reproduced in a physical format and displayed in the Community Hall (Loyal Orange Lodge) at Cumberland Heritage Village Museum.
The Memory Wall will be on display at Cumberland Heritage Village Museum until December 31, 2028. If the display is extended, the museum will notify you and request written permission for the photograph’s continued inclusion as part of the Memory Wall.
Cumberland Heritage Village Museum may contact you for further information about the photograph before, during or after the 50th anniversary Memory Wall is on display to the public.
Unless further written consent is obtained, submitted photographs will be deleted and physical reproductions destroyed within six months of the Memory Wall being removed.
