Niagara/Toronto area.

My wife is taking me to Niagara in early May to celebrate my 65th birthday.We will be in the area for about 5 days before flying back to England. Can any of you good tractor collectors suggest anywhere we could visit in the area, that has a tractor or farming theme, please? We plan to rent a car, so travelling will not be a problem.Thanking you in advance, Phil.

Not exactly in Niagra Falls but not that far away, (half a days drive) is a place I intend to visit someday. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
I have been told it is THE best museum of Americana that there is!
Henry Ford Museum

There is or was a good mueseum farm in Milton a few years ago. I think it is still there. It had different barns for each different brand of tractor.Can't think of the nsame of it know,I'm sure someone from that area will be able to help more

Here's an idea that's not exactly tractor oriented, but is local history. It's museum representing 19th century life in Upstate New York. It's about an hour away from Buffalo and it opens for the season on May 14th.

If you like tractors though, I'd strongly urge you to spend a day at the Henry Ford Museum. I've never been, but it's on my list.

Good luck.
Genesee Country Villiage

First you will have to spend a day enjoying the sights of Niagara, from Niagara on the Lake, (Lake Ontario) all the way to (Lake Erie)Fort Erie, including the Welland Canal, system.

Five days is really cutting it short, coming such a distance, but you can do all of this including the Dundurn Castle, (if you care to see another) trip into Upstate New York, back to Milton, of course you have to take in the CN Tower only on a clear day of course.

Your visit to the Henry Ford and Green Field Village is a one day event in itself, between is the Petrolia Oil Field Museum and Baines Machine Shop in Lambton County.

Essex County you have numerous wineries along with the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary in Kingsville, with Pelee Park nearby, the wife may enjoy these sights on your way to Detroit, Michigan!

This is the Site for the Museum in Milton, Ontario. It's only 65 miles or so from Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Formerly Agricultural Museum

I am sure you will find a working water wheel at this museum.

Kitchener-Waterloo area, including Elora Gorge/Falls is also a nice area to visit, out-door markets!

The Henry Ford museum is great! But impossible to really see all of it 1 day. When we went, we spent 2 days and missed a lot of stuff. Another good place to visit ( too far awy from Niagra) is Ft. Myers, Florida. The 3 of them, Ford, Harry Firestone and Thomas Edison were great friends. They had houses side by side there. Edison's winter lab was across the street. All of it can toured. Edison's house still has the original light bulbs that were installed when the house was built and they burn every day and still work! Edison realized that he would never sell but one set of bulbs per installation so he changed the design so they would burn out after so much use! In his lab is his Model T, Ford wanted to give him a new car every year but Edison liked the one he had, so Ford would have it sent to Dearborn every year and rebuilt with the newest model's features. It was like Johnny Cash's Caddy in the song "One Piece at at a Time".

Lots to see and do. In Toronto go up the CN Tower,especially at night, beautiful view. The Hockey Hall of Fame, The Ontario Science Center, The Art Gallery of Ontario,theatre and restaurants. And if you are lucky and go to the nnalert Center you might get tickets for a Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Game. Scalpers will sell you tickets, make sure they are seats together and wait till about game time and the price gets reasonable Niagara has many attractions and as pointed out Niagara on the Lake is a quaint little town of shops and restaurants. The Milton museum and farm machinery display is awesome but I am not sure if it will be open..Google and find the info Shoot me an e-mail if I can help!

Henry Ford and Michigan State side attractions are interesting but you only have five days.
It's a trip from Niagara to Detroit and can be grueling test of endurance going not once but twice through Detroit/Windsor customs.That will use up two days in total.
Stick with the Milton, Toronto, Niagra and Kitchener/Waterloo sights and sounds. It would take a month to see the highlights of just southern Ontario.
Early May is a little advanced as many tourist sights are open from May 24 weekend until Labour day early in September. Thanksgiving until Easter we mostly shiver in the dark.
Tractor shows run from the end of June until late Sept in Ontario.
Maid of the Mist on the Niagra is a real hoot.
Interested in rural or urban sight seeing?

Having a car in that area, this time of year, does not guarantee you can get around very well. Also, I can't think of any place worth seeing this time of year, with a farming-related theme, within a close distance.

I live 15 miles from historic Cooperstown. They've got the Farmers Museum, Baseball Hall of Fame, etc. Farmers' museum is a great place to visit spring, summer and fall - but not in the dead of winter. It's more related to 1800s farminmg and hores-drawn equipment though.

Now, the Henry Ford Musuem and Greenfield Village is an amazing place, anytime of year, since much is indoors. If you happen to hit a week of nice weather (which I doubt), it would only be a 550-600 mile round trip. You could could spend several days at the Ford Museum and not see everthing. Henry Ford not only collected stuff, he hired other people to collect stuff for him. And, he had tons of money to spend while doing it. I've been there five times and only seen a small fraction of Ford's entire collection - including stuff from his pals Henry (aks Harry) Ferguson, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, Charles Lindberg, President Herbert Hoover, etc. They even have the chair Abe Lincoln was in when he was shot (blood and all), along with the limo John F. Kennedy was in when he bit the dust. My wife's grandfather worked part-time at Greenfield Village till he was 100 years old, so we used to go there quite a bit.

Thanks for the fast response, guys. It shows just how friendly old tractor collectors are.The Henry Ford museum sounds goo, but the American Government put so many obstacles in the way of visitors that we will not be able to go there. You have given us many more ideas, Google will be busy checking them out. Thanks to you all, Phil

St Jacobs near Kitchener has lots of touristy things. There are lots of mennonites around and they make things like maple syrup and maple candy. There is an outdoor market called the Waterloo Farmers market that has lots of stuff. If you go to Elmira you will see horses and buggies in town. Early May there should be some land being worked by horses around there. I grew up in that area but don't live there anymore. It is also about a 3 or 4 hour drive from Niagara Falls. Don't remember any place with old machinery other than the Milton Museum. There are Steam Shows, but they are early fall. Have fun!

If you decide to use Jdemaris's suggestion of the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown,
http://www.farmersmuseum.org/ you might as well go to the Hansford Mills Museum also. It also has a working water wheel and sawmill. And Howe caverns isn't far from these places
http://www.howecaverns.com/ There's also an Auto Museum in Norwich, New York
http://www.classiccarmuseum.org/
Hansford Mills Museum

I agree with Mathias - Genesee Country Museum in Mumford NY is well worth a look. Can easily spend a whole day there if you're into that kind of stuff (19th century American living).

If you are more into tractors, the Tired Iron Museum in Cuylerville NY is worth a look. But call ahead first (585-382-9736). Since the death of the founder a couple years ago Tired Iron is now open only by appointment.

Also Vintage Tracks museum in nearby Bloomfield is very good. The collection primarily early crawlers and earthmoving equipment (hence the name). There are however several vintage ag tractors, associated farm equipment and much period farm memorabilia in the collection.

All 3 museums are within a 30 minute drive of each other.
Vintage Tracks

If the weather was as good as last year you"ll be here when all the heavy planting is underway so you can head anywhere northwest of toronto to see farms in full operation. By me in huron county there is a gentleman who has one of the biggest Massey collections in Canada. He is not a museum,but is more than happy to take anyone for a tour. The univesity of guelph has a huge agriculture program and that's always interesting to look at. Niagara region is softer soil with more orchard and wine producing farms. North west of toronto is heavy farming with corn,beans and wheat with more livestock operations.

Indeed! Also the muckland at Newmarket (about 30 min north of Toronto - Hwy 400 runs right through the middle of it) is well worth a visit.

My wife worked at Hanford Mills for almost twenty years as the Asst. Director. I used to know the guy that created the place (old Ken Kelso). If he saw it now, I think he'd be rolling in his grave. Nice place with a bunch of college jerks running it - who have zero interest in what it is, or its history.

Holland Marsh is the name usually used for the area.

Thanks! I've traveled Hwy 400 enroute to Parry Sound for many years. But I was unaware that muckland is known as Holland Marsh.

Hi Phil and Pat, seems like you have plenty of good sugestions from the locals. Bring plenty of photos back for our club website. MJ

Thanks everybody for helping Phil and Pat on their trip. I am chairman of the Nottinghamshire group of the National Vintage Tractor and Engine club (N.V.T.E.C.) here in the UK. Phils wife Pat is the secatary and we have nearly 400 members in the county of Nottinghamshire and the surrounding areas with a lot of activites going of all year round. MJ