Stouffville eyes building $3.8-million Huron-Wendat interpretative centre

The proposed Jean-Baptiste Laine Intrepretative Centre would be located west of Wendat Village Public School.

Yorkregion.com
October 23, 2019
Simon Martin

The fascinating history of a large Huron-Wendat settlement in Stouffville could become much more visible in upcoming years. Town council has adopted in principle a concept plan for an estimated $3.8-million Interpretative Centre on the Jean-Baptiste Laine site.

The proposed Jean-Baptiste Laine Interpretive Centre is envisioned as a unique space for education, local events and cultural activities. The centre would convey the Indigenous history of the area and engage visitors with interactive and inspiring structures, materials and displays.

Mayor Iain Lovatt was thrilled with the progress the town has made on the matter. “We have got four years to make a difference in our community. It’s not just about a term. It’s legacy stuff. It’s generational stuff. It’s a decision that we make that impacts our great grandkids,” he said of the project.

Lovatt’s enthusiasm was shared by many members of council and the Grand Chief of the Huron-Wendat nation, Konrad Sioui. “We are truly engaged in making our heritage a featured attraction on our ancestral lands,” Sioui wrote in letter of support for the project.

The permanent exhibit space is anticipated to be loosely modelled after the centre at the Crawford Lake Conservation Area. A representation of a historic longhouse is envisioned to act as a centrepiece to the site, which will include longhouse markers, interpretive panels, a gathering space, a garden area and a realistic wooden palisade wall. The recommended site for the centre is in the area west of Wendat Village Public School. It is a relatively undisturbed open space area next to a storm water management pond.

Brook McIlroy developed renderings, a site plan and an estimated budget for the project. It is the same firm used by Conservation Halton to create Deer Clan Longhouse at Crawford Lake, a state-of-the-art Iroquoian village, which brings more than 80,000 visitors annually.

While costs for the project are large, town staff said there would be a number of government grants available for a project like this one.

“This is an opportunity that I believe we have to grasp now,” Ward 3 Coun. Hugo Kroon said.

“I think it is fantastic,” Ward 4 Coun. Rick Upton said. “We have this Huron-Wendat history that nobody else has. Any residents I ever talk to about it are so interested.”  

Ward 5 Coun. Richard Bartley was the most vocal member in his worry about the potential $3.8-million price tag. “I got to be honest with you, it terrifies me. It would be great if we were flush with cash, but we are not,” he said.

Significant investment is needed for the acquisition of lands, planning and permitting, development and construction, implementation of services, landscaping, and interpretive plaquing and signage.

The total estimated project budget is $3,800,000. The staffing of the site is anticipated to be accessory to the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum.

A secondary component is the creation of a temporary exhibit to be located in downtown Stouffville. This space is intended to inform residents and tourists about the significance of the Jean-Baptise Laine Site and garner interest and support for the future Interpretive Centre. The estimated project cost for the creation of this space is approximately $150,000 to $200,000. Council directed town staff to investigate the project further and bring back more financial details.

In 2002, evidence of a three-hectare Huron-Wendat village from 1500 to 1550 was identified during the development of a residential subdivision in Stouffville. It was originally named the Mantle Site, after the last property owners of the site who farmed the lands. It turned out to be the largest and most complex ancestral Huron-Wendat village ever found in the Lower Great Lakes Region. The village complex included 98 longhouses, multi-row perimeter palisades, a central “plaza” area, middens and upward of 200,000 cultural artifacts.

Earlier this year the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum opened a year-long exhibition entitled Archaeology Alive! In addition to borrowing key artifacts from the Canadian Museum of History and the Huron-Wendat Museum in Wendake, Que., the exhibition speaks to the significance of the Jean-Baptiste Laine Site.