Markham Museum

Good venue for an outdoor wedding ceremony and tented reception. Lots of nice spots for photos.
Outside catering is allowed.
The staff was good to us, the guests.

Markham Museum is like a small countryside escape in a suburban city. You would have never guessed from its entrance that it is very quaint, relaxing, and peaceful. In fact, it’s location on Markham Rd. makes it even more remarkable that such a cute place exists.
We came here to attend our friend’s wedding ceremony in their church sanctuary. The parking situation is easy, and the walk to the venue wasn’t very far, probably about a 2 minute walk. As you go towards the sanctuary, you’ll notice rows of greenery cascading near sunflowers. There are small buildings scattered along the roadway, and once you get towards the end of the road, you’ll see the church sanctuary on the left side.
The building itself isn’t very big, but it is thoughtfully designed in a «shabby chic» kind of way. The eggshell tones of the façade and the dark brownish/​reddish roofing offer a nice contrast to the otherwise green environment. Inside, the eggshell colors are carried through, and simple vintage burgundy lettering on the wall have several adages.
I liked that the main area where the bride and groom stood on was elevated so the guests had an easy view of them. Rows and rows of pews adorn the space, but they weren’t very comfortable (so hard!) but luckily, we weren’t sitting for long.
Acoustics were good, and it is a good space for 100 or less person wedding. If you are looking for a grand entrance and a long procession, this place will not offer that. However, if you want a cute escape and an intimate ceremony, consider this museum’s space. The surroundings are lovely, and you will have ample privacy and peace. :)

Most towns with local history museums have collections of artifacts. Markham has a collection of buildings, specifically nineteenth century buildings from around Markham that were preserved and moved to this location, then restored (generally quite well). There are houses, barns, a church, a general store, a honey shop, a historic train car (under renovation) and a huge sundial (probably not old). In addition to being a museum they have rental facilities for parties and a little miniature golf course which actually manages not to look too tacky.
What is unfortunate about this place is lack of organization. It is staffed by volunteers and they seem to not have a lot of knowledge, mostly reading from sheets of paper. I got a personal tour, as no one else was visiting the place except for some kid’s parties. I notice they are spending a lot of money on additional restorations but they could collect more on fees (only $ 6) if they promoted themselves a bit better and had more knowledgeable guides and more info on the displays.
I actually wandered in here by mistake, as I had really intended to photograph the heritage homes subdivision next door. The nervous old biddy who showed me where to park knew nothing about that, but the two guides (one looked like a high school senior) showed me where it was. It is worth seeing as the homes are lovely and it is unusual to see a subdivision made out of re-​located historic houses.