All should take time to explore the heritage of Caledon

In 1985, the Ontario government designated the third week in February as Ontario Heritage Week.

Since that time, many municipalities have used Ontario Heritage Week as an opportunity to stimulate public awareness of heritage resources and heritage-related issues within their communities.

The Town of Caledon has an extremely active and engaged heritage advisory committee, known as Heritage Caledon, made up of dedicated volunteers and councillors committed to preserving our town’s cultural heritage. For the past number of years, the committee has organized Heritage Day celebrations at the Town Hall, with displays and events on heritage themes, such as local schoolhouses, railways, sports and architectural artifacts.

Some of the recent highlights of our community’s success in promoting heritage awareness and preservation include the completion of town-wide inventories of cultural heritage landscapes and pre-1946 built heritage resources. Reports from these multi-year projects were received by council last November and we will be sharing the results through a series of public meetings across the town shortly.

The Town now has more than 100 designated heritage properties, with the addition last year of the c.1840s Horatio Haines cottage in Cheltenham, the c.1857 former Shiloh Wesleyan Methodist Church at Cedar Mills and the c.1840s John Judge log farmhouse on Horseshoe Hill Road. Designation serves to recognize and preserve significant heritage resources for the enjoyment of future generations.

As many of you may have noticed, Bolton's commercial core was the most recent focus of our Village Heritage Plaque program, with the hand-painted plaques now installed on 10 store-fronts. The intent of this signage program is to promote local heritage awareness about former uses of various historic buildings. The program involved archival research by a committee made of up village residents and members of Heritage Caledon with the invaluable assistance of members of the Albion-Bolton Historical Society.

Of course, we are very proud of the Alton Mill, a designated heritage property that received a National Achievement Award from Heritage Canada for its superb restoration of the historic mill site; the first such award in Caledon.

As Heritage Week approaches, I encourage you to explore the history of our great community and discover how it has contributed to the Town we now live in.

Imagine Caledon: We need your ideas! The Town of Caledon is beginning an exciting project to create a Community-Based Strategic Plan and Vision for our Town. This goal is to lay the foundation for Caledon’s sustainable and vibrant future!

In order to maintain the economic, social, and environmental successes we’ve worked for in the Town of Caledon, we are developing a plan that will guide us 10 years into the future. We are asking all residents, businesses, and institutions in the Caledon community to share their thoughts and dreams for the future of our Town. By sharing your insight, we can ensure that the vision, goals, and strategies for the future of Caledon reflect the views and desires of people that work, live, and raise their families here.

There are many ways to become involved and I encourage you to visit the Town’s Web site for more detailed information on how you and your family, business colleagues and neighbours can help us set a course for a bright future for Caledon. I would also ask that you to take the time to complete the on-line questionnaire at www.surveymonkey. com/cbsp

Help us build a strong and prosperous future for Caledon; help us create a community-led vision for our Town.