Stouffville pilots additional educational signs for Wendat village site

The Jean-Baptiste Laine Site was an ancestral Wendat village in the late 16th to early 17th century

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 7, 2023
Simon Martin

Stouffville has launched a pilot project at the Jean-Baptiste Laine Site to provide users of the trail system with additional information about the late 16th to early 17th century ancestral Wendat village.

“The signage was created in collaboration with the Wendat Nation as an opportunity for education that further solidifies the Town’s commitment to Reconciliation in our community,” Mayor Iain Lovatt said.

After Ward 6 Councillor Sue Sherban brought forward a resolution last year at council, educational panels have been placed at each of the main entry points to the Jean-Baptiste Laine Site and leading to the commemorative Ontario Heritage Trust plaque, which was installed in 2017.

“We are happy to see the Town of Stouffville continue to move forward with significant steps recognizing this important site,” Sherban said.

Entry points can be found near Wendat Village Public School, James Ratcliff Avenue, Lost Pond Crescent and near the intersection of Byers Pond Way and Jonas Millway. Additional panels with further information can be found along the trail. Trail users will have the opportunity to learn more about the Wendat and provide their feedback to the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum & Community Centre at wsmuseum@townofws.ca prior to the installation of permanent signage in the future.

The Wendat were a Iroquoian civilization of farmers, masters of trade and diplomacy and fishermen-hunter-gatherers. The settlement had a population of 1,500 to 2,000 people. Following excavations by Archaeological Services Inc. between 2003 and 2005, over 150,000 artifacts were uncovered. Those artifacts are now housed at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.

The town extended its thanks to the Huron-Wendat Nation, Office of the Nionwentsio, Archaeological Services Inc./ASI Heritage and the Mantle family for their ongoing partnership and assistance with this project.

To learn more about the Jean-Baptiste Laine Site, visit Archaeology Alive, a virtual exhibit at www.townofws.ca/jbl.