The history of Penetanguishene has never been so accessible.
The Penetanguishene Centennial Museum announced the launch of its online collections portal called PastPerfect, featuring over 18,000 curated items on a digital platform.
“The most surprising thing about this project is how much time it took for us to get the project online,” said museum curator Nicole Jackson.
“We had our collection in a collections management system that we were upgrading but it took a lot of time to make sure that our records were compatible with the upgrade. We started this project last year and there were many hours spent ensuring that the collection would be upgraded properly.”
Searches on the site can be accessed through specific keywords, such as ‘gateway angels’ or ‘Minnicoganashene Hotel’ for example, as well as a deeper advanced search with a narrower lens to the town’s history.
An additional curiosity is an option for random images, which brings up a selection of photographs, scanned documents, postcards, slides, and many other visual items for exploration.
According to Jackson, PastPerfect is part of the Centennial museum’s ongoing efforts to make its collections more accessible to the public, through preserving and sharing the history of the town and surrounding area.
Further information can be found on the Penetanguishene Centennial Museum website.