On Sat. July 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 17 heritage sites in Erin, Hillsburgh, Alton, Caledon and Orangeville will participate in the Ontario Heritage Trust Doors Open program.
Special events in Erin Village include a guided walking tour at 10:30 a.m. to the site of the Woollen Mill ruin, and another, more challenging, guided walk at 2:00 p.m., across the top of the moraine.
The Victorian ambiance of the Main Street will be enhanced throughout the day with actors from Century Church Theatre in period costume. All Saints Anglican features Kersti Finnie on the pipe organ built in 1947 by Casavant Freres of Saint‐Hyacinthe, Quebec. All Saints also features Anna Marie Holtom and John Wright screening Stars of the Town, one of a collection of 85 black and white films depicting day-to-day life in small town southwestern Ontario captured by the Rev. Leroy Massecar between 1947 and 1949.
From the Charles Street dam visitors will likely be able to watch kingfishers trolling for chub, and an enterprising pair of muskrats who have set up residence under a huge black willow behind the Porcupine’s Quill.
Complete details of the day’s events are available, where background documents available for download include the complete text of The Cromaboo Mail Carrier, a novel written by Mary Leslie which offers an unflattering fictionalized depiction of Erin Village as it was in 1878. On a more positive note, A Backwoods Hero by Alexander McLachlan eulogises in verse the considerable achievements of Daniel McMillan, whom many consider to be the father of Erin Village. A Brief History of Erin Village documents the architectural history of the Main Street. A Brief History of McMillan’s Mills looks at the industrial history of the village.
Have you been to any previous Doors Open event? What have you enjoyed seeing? Is there any place or building that you would like to see open its doors?
For other events happening along the Niagara Escarpment, see our Calendar of Events.
These articles in Escarpment Views give you more insight into some of the interesting people of Erin Village and surrounding areas:
“The Creative Hands of Benitta Wilcox”
