Village Squire, 1976-05, Page 15VanEgmond house will be a living memorial to the pioneers and their way of life. The long task of
recreating that lifestyle is now underway at Egmondville.
VanEgmond House
becoming
a living museum
through long
hard work
BY ELAINE TOWNSHEND
How did the pioneers make the shingles for
the roofs of their houses? How did the women
cook on open fireplaces and preserve enough
fruit to feed a large family for the winter?
How did they create the beautiful quilts and
afghans that kept them warm on the
sub -freezing nights?
We will soon find out at the Van Egmond
House in Egmondville, and we will even be
able to try our hand at some of the pioneer
skills under the watchful eyes of volunteer
instructors. Imagine tasting preserves' that
we boiled in an iron kettle over a fireplace!
This "living museum" of the pre -Confed-
eration way of life is the brainchild of a group
of Seaforth and area people, that call
themselves the Van Egmond Foundation.
They bought the house about five years ago
and, in December 1974, began restoring it to
its original state.
Why doe the house generate such
enthusiasm? Its original owners, the Van
Egmonds, spearheaded the industrial devel-
opment of Egmondville and district. Constant
Van Egmond, who constructed the mansion
around 1847, founded the village of
Egmondville and served as the Justice of the
Peace. He and his four brothers, guided by
their strong-willed mother, operated a grist
mill, a flour mill, a woollen and carding mill, a
distillery, a hotel, a gunsmith shop, and
several saw mills.
The family's achievements were inspired
by the boys' father, Colonel Anthony Van
Egmond, one of Ontario's most colourful
pioneers, and it is to his memory the Van
Egmond House is dedicated.
Colonel Van Egmond was born in Holland
in 1778 ancj was a:Dutch army officer during
Napoleon's seige. He and his family
emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1819. Eight
years later they moved to Upper Canada,
settling briefly near Berlin in Waterloo
County and then moving to the Huron Tract
near Seaforth. Working with John Galt of the
Canada Company, he built the Huron Road
that William "Tiger" Dunlop surveyed from
Stratford to Goderich, now Highway #8. As
payment for his services, the Colonel
accumulated approximately 13,000 acres of
land.
He operated Huron's initial transit system,
transporting settlers into the tract first with
oxen and later with four -horse teams. In
addition, he laid the educational foundation in
.the community by building a school and by
paying the first teacher's salary for one year.
He protested against the Family
Compact's unjust treatment of the immi-
grants. In 1835 and 1836, he represented the
Reform Party in Huron's first two elections.
He was defeated, however, because many of
the settlers didn't own land and were thus
denied votes; others misunderstood the
connection between the Canada Company
VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1976, 13