Mills, mining, and more: our past is filled with large industries. Most notably, IHNS celebrates mechanized power and all its results, be it our earliest railways or the turbines that turned our millstones. Some favourite themes among our members include sawmills, steam engines, ship building, and antique automobiles. It is our mandate to document, preserve, and share these stories and technologies or our past, and to explore how these industries have influenced our present and often survive into modern times.

There's more to industrial heritage than factories and mills. Much of our industry could also be found on a smaller scale, limited to an individual, a family business, or in teams of a few local workers. IHNS is dedicated to exploring all forms of our industrial past, giving attention to our coopers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and those who tinkered with the first motorized cars. The industrial revolution may represent a focal point but it is far from the whole story, and nearly every industry has its roots and its legacy in small-scale production. "Mystery tools" presented during our monthly meetings often originate from domestic industries, providing insight into the creative problem-solving that went into many small-scale industries.