Elgin County Heritage Centre

09/13/2026

Commemorative plate, Friends' Meeting House Sparta, Ontario

Sparta is a historic village in Elgin County, known for being one of Canada's earliest Quaker settlements founded by Jonathan Doan in 1813.

The building featured on the plate is the third meeting house constructed by the Quaker community.
Built in 1820, The very first Quaker meeting house was a log building constructed on the corner of the pioneering settler Jonathan Doan’s farm.
In 1821, as the congregation grew, a larger wood-frame structure replaced the log building. This second site is where the Friends' Cemetery sits today.
In 1865, the Society of Friends chose a new location for their place of worship— maple grove located just north of the village along Quaker Road.
The entire construction of the structure cost $1,507.57.

The Friends' Meeting House stands today as one of the longest-running, active historic Quaker structures in southwestern Ontario.

Photograph Friends (Quakers) Meeting House c. 1990. Elgin County Archives.

09/12/2026

Open Today - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
𝗘𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗲𝘀 is a travelling interactive exhibit on loan from 𝗜𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝗺. 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, developed in cooperation with 𝗡𝗔𝗩 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗔, bringing the world of Canadian air traffic control down to ground level.
📡 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 how planes are guided across the country
🛫 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 in interactive activities designed for all ages
🍁 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 the science and stories behind Canadian aviation
📍 Elgin County Heritage Centre (460 Sunset Drive, St. Thomas, ON)
📅 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟮𝟬 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟯, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

09/10/2026

Tripod Loupe Magnifier, c. 1890

Also known as a map magnifier or botanical microscope.
This instrument features a heavy brass frame on three legs, holding a thick optical lens over a threaded barrel. Two rings sit around the center mechanism.

To bring your subject into focus, you manually twist the rings up or down to slowly raise or lower the lens housing.
The stable, three-legged design keeps the lens perfectly steady and hands-free.

09/06/2026

Commemorative Plate, Broderick Memorial Baptist Church, 1981
Celebrating the church's 60th Anniversary (Diamond Jubilee),1921–1981.

The church was officially organized in 1921. It was established to serve a growing Baptist congregation in St. Thomas during a large growth period for Elgin County.

The former Broderick Memorial Baptist Church was located at 73 Fifth Avenue, St. Thomas, and is now a private dwelling.

Colour postcard showing Broderick Memorial Baptist Church c. 1960.

09/05/2026

The Elgin County Heritage Centre will be closed on Saturday September 5th. We will reopen for regular hours on Tuesday September 8 at 10am.

09/04/2026

Medical I.V. Drop Calculator & Metric Conversion Tables, c. 1970
Also known as a volvelle or medical wheel calculator.

To figure out a patient's intravenous drip rate, a nurse had to manually spin these cardboard dials to line up the prescribed fluid volume against the target time.
The interactive layout let clinicians bypass bedside math to instantly find the correct drops-per-minute.

09/03/2026

NEXT WEEK: Join us for "St. Thomas at the Movies"— a curated compilation of historical vignettes, starring some early and not-so-early St. Thomas events from our vault of local films. We have fascinating looks at our community from the 1920s to 1970s. You may see your grandparents, parents or even yourself!
There will also be a short Annual General Meeting session preceding for the EHS executive to present highlights from our organization's activities for the past year and choose officers for the upcoming year.
Also, EHS will have a sale of historic pictures, memorabilia, curiosities and EHS merch. Come check us out!

WHEN: Wednesday, Sept 9, 7pm
WHERE: St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre (NOTE location change)
301 Talbot Street, St. Thomas. Plenty of on-street parking
on Talbot & adjacent side streets.
Everyone welcome; free admission, and donations are welcome. Note: Current members only will have opportunity to vote on board activities. Memberships, (still only $10!) new and renewals for the upcoming year will be available.
This photo is a still from a 1923 movie about St. Thomas.

09/02/2026

08/30/2026

Commemorative Plate, Corinth United Church, 1980
Commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Corinth United Church.

Located at 1311 Henry Street (Best Line) in Corinth, Bayham Township.

In the 1840s before a formal church building existed, two separate Methodist congregations, known as Moss-Benson and Jones' Corners, operated in the Corinth area.
In 1880, these two congregations merged. They constructed the brick building featured on plate to serve the community. It originally functioned as the Corinth Methodist Church. In 1925, the Methodist Church merged with several other Protestant denominations to form The United Church of Canada.
At this point, the church officially became the Corinth United Church.
The church closed in 1997 and was rezoned for residential use.

Photograph of Corinth United Church, circa 1970. Elgin County Archives.