The museum documents the beginning of the Wallaceburg community from the founding of the Baldoon Settlement by Lord Selkirk in 1804 to its success as an industrial hub in the mid-1900s.

[1] The group sought to create a means of preserving and exhibiting the history of the Wallaceburg community, and decided on the creation of a public museum.

In 1975, the WDHS used funds from the recently acquired "New Horizon Grant" to purchase microfiche and recording equipment to begin compiling materials for the project.

In 1997, the museum was massively renovated to include a larger basement for future exhibits, as well as an upstairs auditorium for guest speakers, concerts, and presentations.

The entire complex, containing both the auditorium and the museum, was given the name Von Ayres Cultural Centre in honour of late Wallaceburg WW1 veteran Sgt.

The WDHS worked with retired workers from the Sydenham Glass Company (which had just recently closed in 1999)[5] to collect and authenticate new pieces for the overhauled exhibit.

The exhibit showcases baseball gear, water taps, pressure cookers, and other various products and tools that were manufactured and used in the various factories, and are important relics of Wallaceburg's industrial past.

The room is home to several models, including those of ships that were built in Wallaceburg, the shaft and prop from the Annette Fraser steamer, and a photo display of John McCallum's Lake Superior rescue bid.

The exhibit features full recreations of local companies and storefronts, inspired by both personal accounts from people alive during the era and photos taken of the James Street area during the early-mid 1900s.

[8] As one of the newly renovated rooms in the museum, the exhibit features records of every single inductee in the hall of fame since the first induction ceremony held in 1982.

[8] The room also features displays dedicated to some of the more recent successes in professional sports born in Wallaceburg, such as previous Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham, and Toronto Maple Leafs centre Seth Griffith.

Exhibits here aim to demonstrate to guests what life was like for the first settlers from Scotland, and to showcase what kind of fashion, tools, and responsibilities were common in early pioneer lives.