Virtual Exhibit:
The John McCrea Collection: Kawartha Lakes in Miniature
John McNeely McCrea (1865-1957) drew from his boyhood memories of hometown Omemee to faithfully recreate tiny wooden models of buildings and the homesteading implements of everyday farm life.
In 2005, the McCrea Collection was selected to be profiled on the Virtual Museum of Canada website. This exhibit showcases a large portion of the total display. Mr. McCrea with his craftsmanship has left a permanent legacy of the "wooden age" of pioneer Ontario.
The McCrea Collection room at the Olde Gaol Museum.
Reproductions of a variety of pioneer homes, furnishings, buildings and other structures were created by McCrea during the last twenty years of his lifetime - 1937 to 1957. Each model, whether a tiny flycatcher on a mantel or a large grist mill is replicated in detail and true to the original.
The collection was formerly with the Royal Ontario Museum and then with Museums and Heritage Services, Culture Division, City of Toronto. It is now with the Victoria County Historical Society and can be viewed at the Kawartha Lakes Museum & Archives.