November 2014
Lorne Thompson, consultant for our “Special Places” heritage grant project, toured the district with CDMHAC members in October to get an overview of the heritage resources in Carman/Dufferin. Nice to get to know Lorne better. We are looking forward to working with him in the coming year.
May 2016
Special Places project. In 2015, consultant Lorne Thompson completed an inventory of 152 local heritage sites. Over the winter months, folks from the Historic Resources Branch did a further analysis and evaluation of the inventory and identified some 30 places that rank high on a list of sites that merit special heritage recognition. CDMHAC will be looking carefully at the short-list and will be working with the Branch to see what can be done to preserve these important parts of our heritage.
November 2016
Special Places Inventory. Members of the committee met with David Butterfield, recently ‘retired’ from the Historic Resources Branch, to discuss short-listing local heritage sites for special recognition. It was a productive meeting. All parties agreed on a few sites that will now receive certificates recognizing their heritage value.
Sadly, we have lost a couple of significant heritage sites that have deteriorated since the last inventory. Faced with the cost of preserving and maintaining unused structures, private owners have opted to let time take its toll. Could earlier community recognition of their historic significance have resulted in joint private and public initiatives to preserve and repurpose these structures?
For the rural municipality, this is now pretty much a hypothetical question. A few years ago, we started drawing up a heritage tour of the R.M. The plan was put on hold when we realized that, given trends towards agribusiness and changing transportation patterns, most of those old sites where schools and churches once served as hubs for small but vibrant communities are now cultivated fields. With removal of the railway lines, elevators and train stations have disappeared and with declining rural population, small town businesses are closing. Our rural area has become, in effect, a graveyard of local history. The issue now for the CDMHAC is which of these rural or small town sites should be commemorated by a ‘gravestone’ in the form of a monument or sign.
On a much more positive note, we must acknowledge how much we have appreciated working with David Butterfield over the past several years. MHACs like ours have been inspired by his knowledge and enthusiasm for local heritage. We are delighted that, unlike our heritage sites, he has been successfully ‘repurposed’ as a consultant.
David Butterfield (left) and CDMHAC President
Nedra Burnett at Special Places meeting
February 2018
“Special Places” certificates. Over the past couple of years, C/D MHAC has worked with the Historic Resources Branch (HRB) to do an inventory of heritage sites in the Town of Carman and the R.M. of Dufferin. As part of the project, HRB consultants examined each building or structure using specific criteria, such as historical importance, architectural significance and structural integrity, to prepare a short-list of 21 sites warranting special recognition.
The HRB also designed, printed and framed certificates which we will be distributing to building owners during the coming weeks. At that point, the information also will be made available on our website. To give our readers a sneak preview, here is one of the certificates.
We also received a heritage grant this year to follow up on the project by providing outdoor signs to mark the sites. The objective is to identify and encourage preservation of valued heritage sites. Recognition is strictly honorific and places no obligations on owners. More later on this important aspect of C/DMAHAC activities.
November 2018
“Special Places” signs. The third phase of a larger “Special Places” project has just been completed. In 2015, we received support through the Heritage Grant Program to work with consultant Lorne Thompson on an inventory of over 150 significant heritage sites in Carman/Dufferin. The Historic Resources Branch (HRB) then applied set criteria to the information collected and identified a short-list of sites that warranted special recognition.
Nine of the sites already have Designated Municipal Heritage Site status; the remaining 21 structures were awarded certificates. In this latest phase of the program, we designed and distributed signs to further acknowledge the historic and architectural significance of the ‘certificate’ sites.
Marg & Dale Warkentin display their sign
To add to the interpretive and promotional value of the project, we also designed two new heritage tour brochures, one for the R.M. of Dufferin, the other, a revised tour of the Town of Carman. When these brochures are printed in 2019, free copies will be available at the Memorial Hall, Museum, and at several businesses around town.