The War of 1812- Local Celebrations

While we gear up and prepare for the War of 1812 Celebrations we have some exciting things to share.

1. The website can be found here for the Western Corridor- http://www.westerncorridor1812.com/

2. The federal government is offering 11.5 million over three years http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/war-of-1812-fund-adds-to-harpers-patriotic-initiatives/article2183947/

3. As well, you can see the news report featuring our Executive Director, Andrea Hallam on local plans which are still in the process.

http://www.ctvlondon.ca/2011/10/war-of-1812-goes-interactive/

More information will be released soon so stay tuned!

Doors Open 2011

On September 17th and 18th, 2011 52 sites across London and over 70 throughout Middlesex County opened there doors. Residents and people came from all over to experience the history and 10th Anniversary of Doors Open London and the first for Middlesex County. A shout out to Rachel and Sheila for all their hard work.

The comments, the stories shared and the interest was something that we had never seen in all our years. With the addition of Car Free Festival we were openly able to engage citizens on the street. As well, hear the wonderful stories, comments and suggestions they wanted to make for improvements, future sites and more. Social Media, with thanks to Downtown London, allowed us to interact with others in our twitter contest and receive information/comments through this. It was amazing how quickly stories, visitors and numbers were shared this way. Something that is likely to bring Doors Open into the future and help it grow even more.

We had some amazing sites, too many to mention, but we thank the efforts of each of them for helping to bring our history to life. It because of those sites and the hard work of volunteers and staff. It is because of them that Doors Open continues to be a big success each and every year.

We are delighted to share that with most sites reporting we will break the 30,000 visitors mark. A milestone for us and great attribute to those who work so hard to make this happen. We want to thank all involved for their support, kind words and efforts. Thank you all and thank you London.

We look forward to seeing you all next year

In just a short time the Doors will open

In just under a month Londoners will set off on September 17th and 18th to experience London’s rich heritage. 52 sites will be opening their doors to residents and visitors from all over. Each site will provide a unique learning experience for all those who participate. Some highlights include:

1. The first ever Doors Open Middlesex taking place around London

2. Car Free Festival taking place on Dundas Street

3. Bike tours, offered by Bike School London, through parts of Downtown and UWO

4. South Street Hospital will be offering a one time look at there facility

We are celebrating Ten Years of having Doors Open London and are excited to be sharing these sites with Londoners. We will soon be releasing details of our Doors Open London and Middlesex Launch party. We hope that you can join us.

Don’t forget look for our map guides at our new office on 251 Dundas. As well, they will be available in the September 10th, 2011 version of the London Free Press.

Our new location. Its not just about space.

Have you heard? The London Heritage Council is now located in the Central Library at 251 Dundas. So what? Well, that is a valid question. Besides the fact that our partners and citizens of London may need to contact us at our office why is this news?

Well  a few reasons:

1. The London Heritage Council will actually be working in a shared space with the London Arts Council.

2. This shared space is because these two councils often work together on a number of projects. It will allow the use of shared resources, ideas and information to benefit the culture community.

3. The shared space is just a small step in showing how re-organization and non-profit partnering can benefit organizations. As well, this will be a step forward in being able to serve those in the culture community.

4. Accessibility.  The Councils’ are located together in the heart of downtown London creating more accessibility for the sector and community. As well, we want to be available for your questions and concerns.

We hope that you will come visit us. You can find us on the right hand side when coming through the Dundas Street Entrance (See above). For all those wondering our full address:

The London Heritage Council

251 Dundas Street

London Public Library

N6A 6H9

Hope everyone is having a great week and remember that Doors Open London (www.doorsopenlondon.ca) is just over a month away. Exciting things happening in London, Ontario!

South Street Hospital A Local History

South Street Hospital will be having a one time viewing this September for Doors Open London. The Doors Open site is updated and can be found at www.doorsopenlondon.ca. This an exciting chance to share in the local history of London.

The legacy of London Health Sciences Centre’s South Street Hospital is more than 136 years old, dating from 1875 when London General Hospital opened on Ottoway Avenue, now South Street. An integral part of the city’s past, the hospital has expanded to meet the needs of the community while fulfilling its mission of patient care, teaching and research.

See a statement from South Street Below:

“As part of the largest hospital restructuring project in London’s history, South Street Hospital will soon close its doors. Join us in celebrating the first site of LHSC’s proud tradition of compassionate, high quality healthcare.

During the Doors Open London 2011event, LHSC will be opening the doors of its hospital on South Street for public tours for the first and last time in its history. Organized in partnership with Museum London, archival photographs and artifacts will be displayed within the buildings where the hospital’s history took place.

Visitors to this Doors Open London site can take a self-directed tour through many areas of the hospital buildings on the south side of South Street. The former emergency department, surgical operating rooms, hospital morgue, clinical laboratories and more will be open to the public.

This is a unique, one-time opportunity for a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at some of the spaces where Londoners have received care and worked, practiced, trained, researched, and volunteered.”

This is a must see for the 2011 Doors open season. And to seem some photos, please visit: http://www.lhsc.on.ca/About_Us/LHSC/Who_We_Are/SSH/ As well, you can find information regarding the day.

Be sure to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Doors Open London! Brought to you by the London Heritage Council and our generous sponsors.

Canada’s History Talks with the London Heritage Council

We were honoured to have the 2011 Canadian Museums Conference here in London, Ontario in 2011. As part of this Canada’s History was at the conference taking interviews with a number of different individuals to get some insight. In case you were wondering  what Canada’s History is:

“One of only two national charities devoted to the field of public history and the only one with a broad national membership base. Our loyal members include some 50,000 Canadian adults, children and youth from Toronto to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut; from Montreal to Balcarres, Saskatchewan; and from Vancouver to Centreville, Nova Scotia.”

(More info can be found at Canadashistory.ca)

Our Executive Director Andrea Hallam and former Heritage Portal and Social Media Coordinator Jason Clarke give their insight and thoughts with the organization. Follow the below link and scroll down to the bottom:

http://www.canadashistory.ca/home.aspx

Thanks to everyone who helped contribute to the conference and for Canada’s History for sharing with us!

Getting to know London, one fascinating londoner at a time…

Recently, as I stated in the previous post I have been adding the 100 Fascinating Londoners into the Heritage Portal. I just thought that I would share as I began about this task I thought that it would be nothing but data entry. However, I discovered when trying to determine each Londoners category I found a unique story. These people were not just movers and shakers  but rather people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Who at one point, spent time in London and made their contribution to its community or lead by example throughout the world.

They set the stage for arts at places like the Grand Theatre or became Ministers of Government. They survived the lost of loved ones and raise wonderful families. They saw the heartbreak of war but also the triumph of victory. Each through the eyes of someone that lived in our city. I found that although it was a different time you could still see, the places and streets, as they’re now and wonder who used to walk there.

Explorers, politicians, athletes, civic leaders, religious leaders and more. As I read about each one I could not help but wonder how many other stories must exist out there? For these are distinct short stories of Londoners that we were able to capture and I just wonder what else possibly exists.? What stories we may be missing? If you have some to share be please send an email to info@londonheritage.ca we are always looking to add to our historical figures, sites and other information you can find on the site.

It really does make you wonder though, who will be the next 100 Fascinating Londoners? Only time will tell.

Soon to come! The other book from the previous post, London Street Names!

Post by: Chad Callander

New Media and Marketing Coordinator

Have you ever wondered what fascinating people once lived in your community? Maybe you have wondered how your street got its name? A lot of the time the two answers can be related. We first want to thank the authors Michael Baker and Hilary Bates Neary, as well as the publishers, James Lorimer and Company Ltd., Publishers in Toronto for allowing us to provide you with some more information.  You can pick up these books at your local library or they’re available for purchase at various locations.

However, in launching the portal one of its goals was to share some history of London but also some important historical figures in our community. These two publications will go a long way in allowing the London Heritage Council to share some important historical information. Over the summer, starting in the next few weeks, we will be posting various sites, figures and stories to give a closer look at our community’s history. Just a little about each book:

100 Fascinating Londoners by  Michael Baker and Hilary Bates Neary

These brief biographies reflect a century and a half of London’s history and reflect key events and fascinating adventures drawn from the lives of people from all walks of life who made a lasting impression on their hometown. The cast of characters includes the venerable and the villainous, community leaders, curious minds, artists, entrepreneurs, visionaries, crooks, kooks, a brass band, and even one horse. – Amazon.com

The London Free Press said, “The visuals are a fine complement to the writers’ brief stories.”

 

London Street Names by Michael Baker and Hilary Bates Neary

Love, famous musicians, kidnapping, and embezzlement — these are just a few of the themes readers will uncover when they dip into the stories in this engaging new book about London’s past.

Most Londoners know that Guy Lombardo Avenue was named after Guy Lombardo, the famous big band leader and native son, but they seldom know about the people who gave their names to Holman, Cronyn, or McCormick Streets. Street names are a living record of a community’s history. When readers learn something about the name of a street, they often learn something new about the place where they live as well.

London Street Names includes more than 100 thoroughfares in the city. Each alphabetically organized entry has something interesting to say about the city’s social, political, cultural or military history. Richly illustrated in colour and black-and-white with modern and archival photographs, this book offers a fascinating window onto the history of London. -Amazon.com

About the Authors

MICHAEL BAKER is the Regional History Curator at Museum London, and the editor of Downtown London: Layers of Time.

HILARY BATES NEARY has written on Ontario local history, and is particularly interested in the development of pioneer mills on the Thames. She has served on the London Public Library board and its Historic Sites Committee. Canadian Author

Again, thank you to all those involved in helping to secure this and we look forward to adding the various parts of these publications over the coming months.

 

Rediscovering the Eldon House Ghost

When rescuers retrieved the officer’s drowned body and examined his pocket watch, the hands of the ruined timepiece were stopped at ten fifteen, thereby giving rise to a compelling London mystery.

 May marks the 170^th anniversary of the Eldon House ghost story – a romantic tale of lost love and a cryptic promise from beyond the grave. Ghost-lore enthusiasts have long recounted this tale with relish, but new research brings insights to the story.

John and Amelia Harris were the leaders of London society when they gave one of their popular balls at Eldon House on Friday May 14, 1841. That evening, their eldest daughter, Sarah, waited for Lt. Wenman Wynniatt of the British 83^rd Regiment of Foot to join the party. Arriving late, he looked at her intently, continued through the library and disappeared. On the Sunday morning when his body was found in the Thames, his watch was stopped at the exact time he had appeared in Eldon House. A rose Sarah had given him was still in his buttonhole. Until now, this was the gist of the ghost story, as told by family guests, history aficionados, and paranormal enthusiasts alike.  Unfortunately, it’s incomplete.

Family diaries kept by Amelia Harris and other female relatives were published in 1994. They were utterly silent on the matter of the ghost and Sarah’s relationship with Wynniatt. For forty years after that fateful night Sarah locked away the details of that chilling tale in her heart. Then, after decades of marriage to another man in Britain, separated from London Ontario by half a continent and an ocean, she was compelled to speak. That she spoke to a believer in the paranormal shows how much she might have shared those views.

Ghost hunter, W. T. Stead, wrote the earliest version of her story, in 1891. Like many Victorians he was fascinated by the paranormal, studied the papers of the Psychical Research Society, and published collections of ghost stories. Since his brief version appeared in print, however, the story of Wynniatt’s ghost has been distorted by frequent retelling, and embellished by conjectures which served to obscure the events of that fateful night.

Now, we have unearthed information which dispels these distortions and answers the compelling questions readers of this story pose: were Sarah Harris and Lieutenant Wynniatt romantically involved, and did she really see his ghost in the library of Eldon House? Sarah finally told her story to an in-law, who was a follower of the supernatural. It was then passed to a British paranormal society, whose papers Stead consulted. Sarah revealed more than Stead shared with his readers. She told of a flirtatious exchange with Wynniatt at a London horse race, where she had placed that rose in his buttonhole for winning. She confirmed that what she saw that night in the library of Eldon House was no dream.

While evidence of the paranormal remains controversial, it is clear that Sarah believed the Lieutenant’s ghost was abroad the night of May 14, 1841. Their story continues to fascinate visitors to London’s historic Eldon House.

Roxanne Lutz and Alex Chartrand are London historians who will present their research at Eldon House on May 15, 2011. For more information visit www.eldonhouse.ca.

FIRE AT ELDON HOUSE [this is only a test]

There was a bit of excitement at the LHC this morning. Our work was rudely interrupted by the fire alarm which is tested fairly often so this was no surprise, well sort of a surprise but we didn’t panic. It wasn’t until the Eldon House Manager came in and told us that there was no fire, but that we had to leave the building as the London Fire Department was on route. This was an exciting moment for our Executive Director Andrea Hallam as she has worked hard over the last 2 years on an Emergency and Disaster Plan for London’s cultural assets (including Eldon House) and this was the first time she was able to see it action….without the damage. The fire department did a great job in responding and was on site in under 5 minutes. It was a relief to know that the Emergency and Disaster Plan had worked as intended and that the London Fire Department was ready to save London’s Oldest Home if need be. It would have been nice had this happened when it wasn’t raining, but it has sure made for an exciting morning! Enjoy.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

post by: