Thank you for entrusting Watson’s Mill Manotick Inc. with your stories & objects.
Dickinson Square has thousands of artifacts in its holdings which help tell the story of Manotick’s industrial and social history as well as of the Mill’s three owners, the Dickinsons, Spratts and Watsons.
Some notable artefacts making up the collection are:
-The Dickinson notary seal used by William Dickinson to certify documents as part of his role as Notary Public.
-Moss Kent Dickinson’s safe
-George Dickinson’s autograph book which includes an autograph from Joseph Currier’s only adult son, James.
-Clapp family photos- a collection of photos of members of the Clapp family including Tom and Hannah and Annie Clapp/Tomkins.
-Quern stone for hand grinding grain
Donating Objects
Do you have an object or document that you would like to donate that is significant to Manotick, Watson’s Mill or the Dickinson House? Then we would love to hear from you!
Watson’s Mill Manotick Inc. (WMMI) on behalf of Dickinson Square is interested in acquiring objects that help promote the history of our unique sites. If you have any objects that you believe would benefit Dickinson Square and would like to donate it to the museum please follow the steps below. Thank you for your time and for thinking of Dickinson Square.
To inquire about making a donation please contact our Curator:
curator@watsonsmill.com
613-692-6455
We kindly request that you do not drop off any potential donations to the site before speaking with our Curator. They will not be immediately considered for donation or stored on your behalf.
Artifact Donation Procedure
If you are interested in donating an item(s) please contact WMMI before dropping off any item(s). We kindly ask that you wait until WMMI has contacted you before you bring your item(s) to Dickinson Square. The more information you can provide about the piece helps us determine its significance to our mission to promote, preserve and educate.
All potential donations to Watson’s Mill Manotick Inc. (WMMI) are reviewed by our Collections Committee
who evaluate and make determinations on all new potential donations. Once an outcome about the donation has been reached, all potential donors are contacted regarding the decision of their donation and any accepted donations require a transfer of ownership. Item(s) with a clear title, detailed history or provenance and relevance to our mission are more likely to be accepted.
Furthermore, item(s) that are donated are not guaranteed to be on permanent display. Our collections includes item(s) for reference, public programming and display. All of these objects help promote our commitment to preserving and promoting the history Dickinson Square and Manotick.
There are several considerations our Committee makes when deciding to accepting a donation into the site’s permanent, working, and archival collections, such as:
- Does it fit within our orgnizations mandate/mission?
- Does it fit within our collections mandate?
- Does it have a compelling story?
- Do we already have one of these?
- Do you own it and are able to transfer ownership to WMMI?
- Is it something that can be used in a exhibitions, research, or programming?
- Will we be able to properly care for it?
- Will it fit in our limited storage space?
Please be aware that unfortunately we cannot accept all items offered for donation.WMMI is committed to providing the best care for the items in our collection and as a result we must be conscious of accepting more items that we can properly care for and store.
If your donation is accepted WMMI’s Curator will assist you with the formal transfer of ownership, documentation, and tax receipt if required. Your object will then be an important part of telling the story of Dickinson Square as part of our collection.