Thorold, Ontario Volunteers Produce Fabulous Brochure On This Community’s Heritage Sites

By Doug Draper

The Heritage Committee of Thorold, Ontario has released a brochure that showcases 48 of the community’s designated buildings and sites – some of them dating back to the area’s history as a battleground during the War of 1812 and as a key mill town during the fledgling years in the history of the first Welland Canal.

The Keefer Mansion Inn in Thorold, Ontario, going back to the 18th century and owned by a founding family of the community that played a key role in the construction of  the first Welland Canal.

This brochure, produced by this dedicated committee of volunteers on a shoe string budget, is now available at Thorold’s Tourism Center at Lock 7, at its main library, at the Keefer Mansion Inn off St. David’s Road in the community, the Quebec Bank Gallery and City Hall You can also find it by visiting the Heritage Committee’s website   http://www.heritagethorold.com/designatedproperties.html  

Pamela Minns, the secretary-treasurer for Thorold’s Heritage Committee and a long-time, passionate advocate for protecting and preserving all of our greater Niagara region’s heritage sites, says the committee wishes “to extend our thanks to all of our designated heritage property owners for their commitment to stewardship of some of Thorold’s finest heritage sites.

We, in Thorold, are very proud of our extensive built and natural heritage, and we invite you to view this latest display of our heritage on our web site, or pick up a copy of the brochure at the locations mentioned.”

“Even better, adds Minns, “use the brochure to take a tour of these sites using the maps supplied.

Minns finishes by sharing a quote from Ontario’s Ministry of Culture which goes like this;

“Every community in Ontario has its own unique culture and heritage. Each City, town, township or county has places, spaces and stories that enrich it, inspire it, enlighten it and guide it in its growth and development.  These places are integral parts of the identity of our communities, but they also play a significant role in economic development by helping to enhance a community’s quality of life, strengthen its distinctiveness, stimulate revitalization and attract tourist dollars.  Formal designation of heritage properties is one way of publicly acknowledging a property’s heritage value to a community”

Let Niagara At Large simply add that wonderfully, dedicated volunteer groups like Heritage Committee in Thorold, Ontario deserve our full support. Most of them do their work out of passion, on a shoestring and will little or no support from the politicians-that-be in their communities. Yet the positive legacies they are leaving to present and future generations likely add up to far more than any that those politicians that nickel and dime budgets for heritage preservation leave.

Call or email our local members of municipal government to make sure they understand that we want our tax dollars being invested in enrichment programs for our communities like this.

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