The Erland Lee Museum is a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
located on the ridge of the
Niagara Escarpment in
Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Ontario. Originally a farmhouse belonging to
Erland and
Janet Lee, the museum is recognized as the birthplace of the first
Women's Institute
The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...
, an international organization formed in 1897 to promote the education of isolated rural women.
[Erland Lee Museum files]
The oldest part of the home, a log cabin, dates to 1808. An addition was built onto the log cabin in 1873 in the
Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures ...
style, part of the
Gothic Revival Architectural tradition. This is best exemplified by the steeply-pitched gables,
gingerbread trim
Gingerbread is an architectural style that consists of elaborately detailed embellishment known as gingerbread trim. It is more specifically used to describe the detailed decorative work of American designers in the late 1860s and 1870s, which w ...
, and the board-and-batten planks.
[
The Lee Family lived in the house from 1808 until 1970. Its first historical designation was granted in 1961, by the South Wentworth Women’s Institute. In 1972, the home was opened to the public as a museum, and has since been owned and operated by the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario. In 1995, the museum was designated as a historic home under the '' Ontario Heritage Act'', and in 2003 the museum was granted status as a National Historic Site of Canada.
The museum closed in December 2010, but reopened 21 April 2013.]Women's Institutes
The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being t ...
. For example, the dining room table on which Janet Lee wrote the first Women’s Institute constitution still stands in its original location. The farmhouse is complemented by an 1873 carriage house, which contains two floors of local history exhibits.
Images
Image:Erland Lee Museum Carriage House.jpg, Carriage house
Image:Lee Gift Shop.JPG, Gift shop
Image:View from museum.jpg, View over Niagara Escarpment from museum
Image:LeeMuseum2.jpg, Erland Lee Museum, main building
See also
* Associated Country Women of the World
The Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) is the largest international organization for both rural and urban women, with a membership of nine million in over 70 countries. ACWW holds a triennial conference and publishes a magazine, ''The Cou ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Erland Lee Museum
Museums in Hamilton, Ontario
National Historic Sites in Ontario
Historic house museums in Ontario
Women's museums in Canada
Carpenter Gothic architecture in Canada
Carpenter Gothic houses
Designated heritage properties in Ontario
Wooden houses