Storage facility being added at Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum

A storage building is being added at the Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum at Co-An Park in McGregor.

Work is underway at the Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum to give them more room to operate.

A storage facility – measuring 64’ x 48’ with 16-foot ceilings – is going up on the front of one of the buildings. Museum president Gary Struhar said the new addition will house such things as the threshing machine, lawn equipment and the chip wagon, among other large items.

“We need the height,” said Struhar. “It’s strictly for storage.”

The desire of the museum was to clear out space in the two buildings to allow people to view the steam engines and other antique engines, tractors and agricultural equipment they have on site.

“We wanted to have more space for viewing in the display area,” said Struhar. “That was our biggest concern. There was no room.”

The Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum has wanted to expand and add a storage facility for the last two years. Now, thanks to a donation from an estate, they were able to go forward with the project.

“We had prices but we didn’t have the money,” Struhar said. 

The new addition won’t be heated but it will have hydro. 

The estate left the museum $50,000, with the estimated cost of the project being $74,000. Struhar added the museum pays its own way and does not receive government funding.

“We don’t ask the government,” he said. “We do it ourselves.”

A recent steak dinner helped the museum raise money and they have their three-day show every August. They also plan a Family Day open house and will have an event Mother’s Day weekend.

The museum also hosts tours, with Struhar stating Academie Ste. Cecile has been touring their students as 350 students have gone through since June. Many of those students are from Colombia, and it is part of their English as a Second Language program. 

Another 54 students are coming through Oct. 16, he said.

The new addition will be a positive for the museum, Struhar added, noting it is Canada’s most southern steam museum.

“It’ll be a plus for our Co-An Park,” he added.

People interested in taking a tour of the Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum can book a tour by calling Struhar at 519-817-5712.  Storage facility being added at Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum

By Ron Giofu