Image: Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge National Historic Site of Canada, Between Elora and Fergus, Wellington Centre, Ontario (21652033238)

Description: Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge National Historic Site of Canada is a former working farm dominated by a larger, two-storey Italianate-style stone building standing high on a hill. It is located beside the Grand River in the former hamlet of Aboyne between Elora and Fergus in southwestern Ontario. For almost a century, this was the county poorhouse: today it is the county museum and archives. The official recognition refers to the cultural landscape including the farmlands, barn and outbuildings and the residential building. Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge was designated a national historic site in 1995: - as the oldest identified example of a state-supported poorhouse or alms house; and - as an important 19th-century social institution, it provides an excellent illustration of the origins of the important 20th-century theme, state involvement in social policy. The heritage value of the Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge resides in its representation of the state supported poorhouse as illustrated by the cultural landscape of a working farm dominated by a large residential building. The Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge was built in 1876-1877 as the shelter of last resort for the homeless and destitute in Wellington County. Its original inhabitants traded their domestic or agricultural labour for spartan living accommodations. In later years it became a home for the elderly and infirm. Designed by Guelph architect Victor Stewart, the building was modified over the years, acquiring an entry porch in 1907, and rear additions in 1892-93 and 1954-55. Throughout its history, the Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge operated as a working farm. Its grounds contain a barn, built by Elora architect John Taylor in 1877, with a silo attached in 1914, an 1888 driveshed and shed, 1927 front gates, a 1947 boilerhouse, fields and pastures, and a cemetery (1888-1946). The institution closed in 1971 and the main building was rehabilitated as the Wellington county Archives and Museum in 1987-88. Part of the farm survives in agricultural production. www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7691
Title: Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge National Historic Site of Canada, Between Elora and Fergus, Wellington Centre, Ontario (21652033238)
Credit: Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge National Historic Site of Canada, Between Elora and Fergus, Wellington Centre, Ontario
Author: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes