Public Meetings in May for the Heritage Inventory Project

Several public meetings will be held for the Heritage Inventory Project over the coming months.

A public meeting will be held in Bobcaygeon on Monday, May 8 at 7pm at the Boyd Heritage Museum, located at 21 Canal Street East, Bobcaygeon. During this meeting, the project team will provide an update on the field work that took place in 2022 and discuss next steps.

This summer, the Heritage Inventory project is expanding to Fenelon Falls and Omemee. Public meetings will take place to launch the project and provide information and opportunities for participation to community members.

The first public meeting will take place in Omemee on Wednesday, May 3 at 7pm at Coronation Hall, located at 1 King Street West, Omemee.

The second public meeting will take place in Fenelon Falls on Thursday, May 11 at 7pm at St. James Anglican Church, located at 19 Bond Street East, Fenelon Falls.

Progress made in 2022

A recent update on the Heritage Inventory Project was presented to Council by Emily Turner, Economic Development Officer - Heritage Planning. She highlighted the following work completed in 2022.

Bethany inventory fieldwork was led by a community partnership with Manvers Historical Society. There were 83 historic resources were identified, with the majority being residential, and primarily located along Highway 7.

Bobcaygeon inventory fieldwork was City-led with the help of community volunteers.  There were 303 historic resources were identified, with the majority being residential homes built between 1850-1930, with a concentration of commercial properties in the downtown core. 

Public engagement in 2022 included a project page on Jump In, Kawartha Lakes, public information sessions, and training sessions for field survey volunteers.

The Heritage Resource Survey Form was developed to be filled out by inventory volunteers when collecting information about a historical site. The Heritage Evaluation Matrices was developed as a framework to evaluate sites in Kawartha Lakes based on Provincial standards. Factors include architectural and historical value, architects, contextual values, and others.

Next steps also include developing and publishing Historic Context Statements, created for key themes or places that helped shape Kawartha Lakes. The purpose is to relate properties to these context statements to understand their importance in the community as a whole. The project team will also develop a public-facing mapping and data sharing system.

What is the Heritage Inventory Project?

The City is undertaking a comprehensive inventory of its historic places, buildings, and landscapes. We will be identifying and documenting the many heritage resources in our communities to understand what resources are present, their significance, and how best to preserve them. Our historic places define our communities, tell our stories, and provide opportunities for the future.

This is a multi-year project that will inventory the diverse communities across Kawartha Lakes to help fully understand our heritage resources. The inventory will be undertaken on a community by community basis and there will be lots of opportunities to get involved, have your say, and share the history of your community.

For more information and to subscribe for project updates, visit the Heritage Inventory project page on Jump In, Kawartha Lakes.