Oakville Historical Society
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Phone: 905 844-2695

The Plaque Process

About our Plaques

The black and white Historic Building plaques that you see around town have
​been provided by the Historical Society for close to sixty years. They do not 
​Our Plaques:
Process
Order Form
Payment
signify any kind of designation. Owners of buildings with a Society plaque are free to make whatever changes they wish to their building - provided it is not listed in included in the Oakville Heritage Register or contravene any laws or standards! The Society has no direct role in establishing, policing or enforcing those laws. 
Picture
Picture
If we don’t have any information, the Registry Office in Milton maintains a file of all transactions for each property. A change in value or a mortgage on a property usually indicates when the first building was put up and by whom. Other records such as early censuses or books usually give us the occupation of the first owner.

Some buildings have or had a plaque which has deteriorated and needs replacement. New and replacement plaques are made by Society volunteers and cost $150.

Having a plaque made for your building – be it a store, house or other structure – is easy. Simply fill in an Plaque Order Form. We have information and the date of construction on many of the buildings in town.

Plaque Process

  1. A Property Owner contacts us. We (Jamie Macrae) may also initiate the communication. 
  2. Research Property History (OHS Archives -- Oakville Public Library -- Registry Office, Milton)
  3. Draw up Preliminary Design
  4. Owner Approves Design
  5. Carve Plaque
  6. Paint Plaque
  7. Install at no additional charge, or deliver plaque with installation instructions
  8. Photograph Plaque and Building
  9. Update OHS Records
  10. Report details of project to Plaque Committee
  11. Report to OHS Board of Directores

(All this for just $150)

Once a Plaque Order Form is received, a dedicated team of volunteers starts working on the request. A file is created to keep track of historical documentation collected. This can include copies and originals of:
  1. Plaque order form
  2. Material we already have on file
  3. Letters and other correspondence
  4. Newspaper articles
  5. Land title searches
  6. Book articles and or citations
  7. Photograph of completed plaque
  8. Photograph of installed plaque

Each current request is posted and tracked on our status board, to easily track the many requests received.
Picture
It is important to establish who built the building and when. We also want to establish some of the background of the builder.

We also like to delve into the history of people that lived or worked in the building.

Initially research is done within our own library and archives. This includes using the internet.

Visitors are welcome to visit and use books in our library. 


Land titles are searched. These are now available on-line.

(Previously, as shown, volunteers would visit the Oakville Public Library.)


The plaques are made of a waterproof material.

The plaques are designed using Computer Assisted Design (CAD) software and cut on a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) router.


To install the plaques, holes are drilled through the wide part of about 4 letters and/or numbers. 
​

After each coat of primer or paint, a plaque is set aside to cure. While one plaque is curing, another can be painted.

The backs are primed and then painted with two coats of white.

Plaque fronts receive a total of five coats:
  1. A white primer
  2. Two coats of white paint
  3. Two coats of black paint
#6 Flat Head Black Trim screws are used. The small black heads of the screws are hard to see in the plaques.  

1/8" thick spacers hold the plaque out from the wall and allow for circulation. Rawl plugs are used on masonry walls. 

Shown are just some of over 200 plaques that have been produced since 1950.

Our volunteers will carefully instal your plaque.


You may visit our offices to see more pictures.

Picture

This webpage is based on a display that was in our cottages during 2014.

Many volunteer hours go into producing fine displays and other work we do or would like to do. More help would be appreciated.

(It would be great to post more pictures of this and other activities.)

To see more plaques, visit our Facebook Page.

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Over time, plaques like most things, do wear out and need repair. Please contact us using the Plaque Order Form, or contact our general offices. We will give an estimate for repair costs before the work is started.

Sometimes when selling a home, the sellers will take an existing plaque with them. The replacement cost of a plaque, is $150. 

      
​​Our Plaques:
Process
Order Form
Payment
Donate Now
2021 Copyright & Legal notice:
The content of the Oakville Historical Society's ("OHS") website is to be used for general information only. The Oakville Historical Society and its officers and directors, members, webmaster and any other person contributing to this website do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any material contained herein. The Oakville Historical Society specifically disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to the use of this material or any results with respect thereto. The material contained in this website shall in no way be construed to constitute a recommendation by Oakville Historical Society Inc. The material contained within this website, except as otherwise indicated*, is owned by the Oakville Historical Society and is protected by copyright, trademark and/or other proprietary rights. You are free to copy and use the images herein for non-commercial purposes provided you give clear attribution to the Oakville Historical Society or the indicated copyright holder. Further details and restrictions are available here. Commercial uses are forbidden without OHS's or the copyright holder's written consent. Please use the Email Contact Form on the right side of our contact page and select information as the topic.
  • HOME
  • Contact
  • ABOUT
    • Our Story
    • Our Office
    • Our Gardens
    • The Thomas House
    • Our Volunteers
    • Vignettes of Life in Early Oakville
    • Our Interns
    • Archive Intern - Summer Paid
    • Our Sponsors
    • Our Plaques >
      • Plaque Process
      • Plaque Order Form
      • Plaque Payment
    • Supporting our Cadets >
      • 2020 Cadet
      • 2019 Cadet
    • Oakville History
    • Oakville Heritage Moments
    • Videos
    • Village Essays
  • DONATE
    • Donate Artefacts
    • Donations Online
  • Stories
    • Do You Have a Story to Tell?
    • The White House on Allan Street
    • Christena’s Story
    • A Child’s Wonderland
    • Growing Up at Holyrood
    • Oakville Children’s Centre
  • Books
    • Beautiful Oakville - 1897
    • Garden of Canada - c1902
    • Library
    • Telephone Book 1947
    • The Sumner Diaries
  • Archives
    • Archive
    • Basket Factory Memorial Plaques >
      • Basket Factory Questionnaire
    • Health Care As It Was >
      • Health Care As It Was - Continued
    • Munro Letters
    • Oakville Images
    • Oakville Memories
    • Ontario History Journal Digital Archive
    • Oakville Museum
    • Our Ontario
    • Photo Collection
    • Poppies WWI
    • World War I
    • Town of Oakville Online Collections
  • Membership
    • Membership New
    • Membership Fast Renewal
    • Membership Renewal
    • Membership Update
  • Activities
    • Speakers' Nights 2021 >
      • Speakers' Nights 2020
      • Speakers' Nights 2019
      • Speakers' Nights 2018
      • Speakers' Nights 2017
    • Guided Walking Tours
    • Self-guided Walking Tours >
      • Erchless Estate
      • Navy Street
      • Old Oakville
      • Trafalgar Road Heritage Conservation District
      • Trafalgar-Allan Corridor
      • Lot 12
    • In & Around Oakville
    • Yard Sale
    • Family >
      • Annual Family Activities
      • Colouring
      • Jigsaw Puzzles
      • Family Day 2020
      • Family Day 2019
    • Annual General Meeting >
      • 2019 AGM
    • Ghost Walk >
      • Ghost Stories
      • Video Ghost Stories
      • Question(s) or Comment(s)
      • 2019 Reviews
    • Doors Open
    • Oakville Family History Fair
    • Mayor's Historical Picnic >
      • 2019 Mayor's Historical Picnic
      • 2018 Mayor's Historical Picnic
      • 2017 Mayor's Historical Picnic
    • Museum Camp
    • Members' Christmas Party
    • Snapshots: Society events
    • Archive >
      • 2014 Activities
      • 2015 Activities
      • 2015 Youth Art Contest
  • Newsletters
  • Shop
    • Shop
    • Art of Oakville
    • Store, Photo, Archive Payment
  • Links