Erland Lee (Museum) Home National Historic Site of Canada

The Erland Lee (Museum) Home was designated a national historic site of Canada in 2002 because:

• it is the site of the drafting of the constitution of the first Women’s Institute and the home of the organizations’ co-founders and leaders, Janet and Erland Lee;
• it is widely recognized and valued as the birthplace of an important national and international movement for rural and farm women;
• it is a well-preserved and interpreted home that speaks to the legacy of the Stoney Creek Women’s Institute.

The Erland Lee (Museum) Home, built as a log home in 1808, was altered and enlarged in 1860 and 1873 by Abram Lee, the father of Erland Lee, and today retains its appearance from the 1890s. It is associated with the founding of the first Women’s Institute as the home of Janet Chisholme Lee and her husband Erland Lee, who together organized the founding meeting, drafted the constitution, formalized provincial government support, and set an excellent example in Stoney Creek.

The house has become a potent, widely recognized symbol of Women’s Institutes both in Canada and internationally. Home of the “Mother Institute”, it is the site most intimately associated with the development of an important farm women’s organization, with its focus on family, and improvement of self and surroundings. The house itself is typical of many so-called “Ontario cottages” with their one-and-a-half-storey, rectangular massing, three-bay façade with centre door, central gable breaking a front-sloping pitched roof, and centre-stair interior plan. Its decorative elaboration speaks to the “improving” objectives of the movement.