Westfield Heritage Centre
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The Westfield Heritage Centre is home to the Westfield Heritage Village. The village contains over 30 historic buildings on a 3.4 square kilometres (840 acres) site. The village is located just west of Rockton, Ontario, Canada.
[edit] Brief history
In 1961, the Westfield Pioneer Village Association acquired the original 30 acres of land. The goal was to create a hands-on educational facility to teach pioneer life. The original name of the facility was the Westfield Pioneer Village. The village unofficially opened in June 1963 and officially opened in 1964. The village had at least four buildings at this time. In May 1968 the former Wentworth County agreed to purchase the village for CAD $32,700. Ownership transferred to the Wentworth County on November 1, 1968.
The name was changed to Wentworth Heritage Village in 1981 because much of the collection was not of the pioneer era.
The village ceased operation on September 3, 1984 due to a financial crisis. Over the next few years various ideas were discuss ranging from moving the facility to creating a theme park.
A five year redevelopment began in 1990. The goal was to create a "special events theme centre" and the facility was renamed the Westfield Heritage Centre.
[edit] External links
- Westfield Homepage
- Cultural Landmarks of Hamilton-Wentworth: Westfield Heritage Centre
- Avonlea Treasures - fansite with information on the filming of Anne of Green Gables at Westfield.
