THE CLAN MACPHERSON MUSEUM CONTINUES TO GROW

      The seed of the idea that grew to be today's Clan Macpherson Museum originated with the misfortune that befell the Cluny Macpherson family in the 1930s. Financial reverses led to the sale of Cluny Castle (located on the Laggan Road to the west of here) and its contents. Among the latter were many family treasures that had been acquired over centuries and these were sold at auction at Glasgow in 1943. Although there was no Clan Macpherson Association at the time, a group of loyal Clansmen were able to attend the auction and place successful bids for many of these treasures despite the wartime limitations.

      The leader of these perceptive and unselfish individuals was Tom Macpherson who was later created Lord Drumochter as a result of his outstanding service during the 1939-45 war. He and his associates arranged for the treasures to be stored until such time as the Clan could make suitable arrangements for their disposition. This group recognised that the first order of business was to establish an association in which all interested Clansfolk would have a voice in these decisions. This was achieved in August 1947 when the Clan Macpherson Association held its first Annual General Meeting in Newtonmore. Lord Tom Macpherson was the first Chairman and held CMA's Life Membership number 1.

      With the corporate life of the Clan formally established, efforts were initiated to secure a permanent CMA presence in Badenoch. These efforts took the form of locating an appropriate building and the establishment of a fund-raising programme to pay for its purchase. In 1952, these efforts culminated in the purchase of the house that now forms the eastern-end of the Museum. When the Museum first opened the only room available to display the treaures was the one now designated as the Drumochter Room (so named in honour of Lord Tom). As a result only a small portion of the treasures could be on display.

      Since 1952 the Museum has been expanded and upgraded several times as funds became available through the generous donations of our members. The most recent expansion occurred in 2002 when the building and its facilities were upgraded to include a research library and an archive storage room along with a complete overhaul of the building utilities and the Curator's apartment. The names of the donors responsible for this latest expansion are displayed on the bronze plaque affixed to the southern wall of the Drumochter Room (Panel 102).

      Even more recently the Museum has undergone further renovation with the installation of new floor cover through out the Main Room, accomplished during the period November 2004 through March 2005. This installation required the disassembling of all the displays which allowed the creation and installation of many new displays as well a reconfiguration of the older exhibits to better tell the story of the Clan Macpherson and allow its members and friends to view the treasures that have great significance to that story.

      Your generous contribution to the Clan Macpherson Museum will help us to continue to tell that story.