Seeking to maximize my museums-per-day on a recent visit to Kleinburg (see also McMichael Canadian Art Collection), I was delighted to discover that a new facility has appeared on the main street: the Pierre Berton Heritage Centre.

The centre is in a newly restored historic site, the City of Vaughan-owned Gothic Revival style former Kleinburg United Church (1926).

A video is worth far more than a thousand words, so please check out the City of Vaughan’s commemoration of the opening ceremonies from September 22, 2018.

The interior features a quite wonderful free exhibit including educational videos, which I gather has only been open to the public for three weeks, exploring Canadian history via Pierre Berton’s 50 books.

The renovated basement multi-purpose area has the intricately carved original doors of the church on display, as well as the stained glass window formerly over the doors (above).

It’s obvious that a lot of thoughtful work went into this altogether lovely facility, which will be a great resource for the community.

The Pierre Berton Heritage Centre is museum no. 17 in my #100museums challenge (see 100 Museums Challenge).