The Dairy Building shows the cheese making process from barn to the sale room. At one time at the turn of the century there were many cheese factories in Ontario. In 1928 there were 273 cheese factories in Central Ontario. In fact in our local area in the Township of Rawdon there were in 1900 there was a cheese factory on each of the 14 concessions and there were 28 in Prince Edward County.

Cheese making was very important in this area. Farmers ran the cheese factories as co-cooperatives. They added value to the milk by making high-quality Cheddar cheese and they used local resources to feeds the cows and fuel the factories.

Each cheese was labeled with the cheese maker's mark, and the cheeses were sold internationally. The cheese makers competed in both local and international competitions.

Watch Ernest and Peggy Reid: cheesemaking in Hastings County and Cheese Making in Hastings County

The Dairy Building is also home to an apple display, and a working bee hive. There is also a replica of the 1940s Whitehead’s Restaurant, with its authentic jukebox and soda fountain. It was a popular spot in Stirling for many years.

Hastings Federation of Women’s Institutes has recreated a typical farmhouse from the 1930s in the Dairy Building, with a kitchen, a parlour and a bedroom. From time to time the WI puts on exhibitions of historic and modern quilts at the museum.