Doors Open Ontario is a province-wide heritage tourism program that gives the public free access to explore fascinating heritage properties across Ontario. It showcases the buildings, natural spaces, infrastructure and cultural landscapes that shape and define our communities. Hosting Doors Open Ontario in your community celebrates its identity, generates volunteerism, builds interest in Ontario's heritage and drives cultural tourism and economic development opportunities. Participating sites offer free admission to the public and can include museums, places of worship, public, cultural or institutional buildings, private businesses, trails and natural areas.
In 2023, the province-wide theme is Food - exploring Ontario's historical traditions of food production as well as the spaces that shape and define our culinary traditions today. Hamilton's architecture was also featured. We were able to tour historical buildings that are being re-imagined as new adaptive reuse spaces. Venues that were once derelict are being transformed. Having lived in Hamilton for the past fifty years, I was thrilled to go with my sister, Shirley, and her husband, Edward to visit the sites presented in this book.
The Burlington Model Railway Club (BMRC) - established in the early 1980s - owns and operates model railways in three different scales. The club includes men, women and families from Burlington and the surrounding area who share a common interest of model railroading - in N scale, HO scale, and/or G scale - with skill levels varying from "beginner" to "expert."
Union Burial Ground - Cemeteries can tell a lot about the history of an area. This cemetery was established by United Empire Loyalists on a portion of the Asahel Davis farm. Now, almost 175 years later, descendants continue to manage and maintain the site. We learned about the Davis family and others Loyalist families who contributed to Burlington's rich history. United Empire Loyalists were Americans who fled from the United States to honor their allegiance to the British Crown when the American Revolution began. Union Burying Ground is the final resting place for two veterans of the War of 1812: Private Asahel Davis and Thomas Ghent.
Backed By Bees started with two guys, some bees and a yellow shipping container on Burlington's Appleby Line. The founders - a mead maker and a beekeeper - work with pollinators and the products of pollination to help sustain and increase local biodiversity, while serving the community with quality local products.
Between 1850 and 1885, Kilbride was one of the important industrial centers in the surrounding area. By 1855, it was rapidly becoming a thriving community. Kilbride United Church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2010. This attractive frame building, once known as Zion Methodist Church, New Connection, was built in 1860 on Eighth Sideroad, east of Panton Street. The church was moved in 1881 to its present location. The cemetery remained where the church was originally built, marking the graves of the forefathers who labored to establish their place of worship.
When Martha and Andrew Gage donated the land for Knox Presbyterian Church in 1845, the site was in what was then known as Wellington Square.
In 1798, King George III granted the Mohawk and British army captain 3,450 acres at the head-of-the-lake (Burlington Bay) for his services to the Crown during the Seven Years War and the American Revolution. The Museum was originally built in recognition of Joseph Brant. The original house on this site was built about 1800; the present house is a replica of the original. Conversations and Stories is a sculpture by David General. The sculpture poses two female figures walking to an event where they will share lessons that their garments bear and answer questions the gathering put forward.