The Open Door

A young man from Pelham moved to Vancouver in 1888 following a family tragedy. Four years later, on New Year’s Eve, a friend reported that he drowned, leaving behind a wife and two children. But did he? Rumours and reports of sightings began flooding into the police and newspapers and continued for many years, leading people to ask … Is E.A. Brown Dead?

The old barns scattered across our countryside are the iconic backdrop to Canada’s rural heritage, yet comparatively little has been documented about them. Studying the structure and style of a barn can enrich our understanding of rural life, and how farming has evolved over time. In this episode, author and Ontario Barn Preservation President Hugh Fraser shares the unique qualities of the historic swing beam barns of early Niagara.

Maligned by some and misunderstood by most, heritage designations are, nonetheless, the most immediate means we have to protect the historic buildings that represent our local history and define the character of our hometowns. City of Hamilton Planner Chloe Richer guides us through the mazework of heritage designations, addresses common misconceptions, and considers what we lose when we lose our built heritage. 

Much of Niagara’s urban history is closely linked to our marine history, particularly after the Welland Canal began operation in 1829. Maritime archaeologist Dr. Kimberly Monk has worked to piece together the nuances of the local shipbuilding industry of the early nineteenth century, and, in this episode, delves into the major players, their contributions, and challenges in an era of changing technology.

The Brown Homestead is one of the oldest Loyalist homes in Ontario. Navigating the known and unknown about its early history is an exploration of our heritage. We recently undertook an archaeological survey to add to our understanding of this important historic site. In this episode, supervising archaeologist Dr. John Triggs joins us to talk about the value of what is found and not found, and to reveal some of the stories we uncovered.

Doctors during the War of 1812 faced an uphill battle to save the lives of soldiers damaged by battlefield trauma or ravaged by diseases without known treatments. We often look at medicine before anesthesia or the discovery of germs as barbaric, but Kaitlyn Carter has a different perspective, choosing to see the humanity behind the history in a time when pain, service and heroism had a different meaning than they do today.

The Métis Nation and its history is often misunderstood having been either poorly taught, misrepresented or ignored. On our journey to discover a more complete history, we are very happy to have the opportunity to sit down at the kitchen table to chat with Graham Paradis. Graham is Michif/Wiisaakodewin from Penetanguishene with ancestral ties to the Métis homelands in Lesser Slave Lake and the Red River Settlement.

Growing up in Puglia, Italy where his family has been farming for at least six generations, Tonio Creanza has been witness to a dramatic transition from the civiltà contadina, the peasant's civilization, to a new world of technology and globalization. In response, he founded Messors, a heritage organization focused not just on the conservation of historic places, but also the preservation of a traditional way of life.

The Niagara Jazz Festival is a highlight of summer in the Niagara Region and this year the festival comes to The Brown Homestead for the first time. In this episode, social anthropologist, Black music historian and musician Wade Pfaff shares a history of Canadian jazz in the context of his research into local Black history.

Revisiting history that we think we know through the eyes of those who lived it sometimes gives us a different perspective. In this episode, researcher Jake Breadman reviews his findings about the Brown family’s participation in the War of 1812 and brings us closer to the experience of the militiamen and their families.