Heritage Colchester
A Nonprofit Organization
Our Mission
- To promote the greater public awareness of the historical past of the Colchester Centre
area and its importance to the early development of Ontario. - To preserve the past through identification and research of historically significant structures being restored by Heritage Colchester.
- To compile authentic records of such structures with available documents and photographs for the public benefit.
- To carry out activities ancillary and incidental to the attainment of the above charitable purposes.
Lease with The Town of Essex Inked
Doug Sweet of The Town of Essex, Carol Quick and Perry Basden of Heritage Colchester make the lease official
On December 8, 2021, the signing officers of Heritage Colchester signed a ten year lease for the old S.S.#2 Schoolhouse. This is the result of a lot of determination and hard work on the part of the community. The lease is an important step in the preservation of the schoolhouse – both of the building and the historical connections centered there.
Big Events Hosted by Heritage Colchester This Summer!
Tickets/questions regarding event details can be sent to: events.heritagecolchester@gmail.com
The Colchester Village Country Market has become a very popular event
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
HISTORIC WALKING TOURS &
TOURS OF THE SCHOOLHOUSE During the Markets
Meet at the School House doors
See you there!
SUMMER THEATRE
Building on the success of last summer’s production of Almost,Maine, Heritage Colchester will once again partner with The Inspired Acting Lab at the University of Windsor to present Mary’s Wedding by Stephen Massicote. This year’s play has been quoted as “A play with a heart as big as the skies that serve as its stage, Mary’s Wedding is an epic, unforgettable story of love, hope & survival. Proceeds that Heritage Colechester receives from this event will be used to support future restoration projects in the Old Schoolhouse.
Plan a dinner at one of the local wineries and make it a wonderful time
Chimney Swifts & Restoring the Chimney
Chimney Swifts have been calling the S.S. #2 Colchester Schoolhouse home each summer for many years. Last year, Heritage Colchester members participated in a nation wide count of Chimney Swifts. The skies were observed above the schoolhouse on five specified Spring evenings, counting up to 108 active Chimney Swifts as they dropped into the chimney to roost. We continue to participate this year! A grant was recieved in 2023 from Swift Watch, Ontario, in cooperation with The Town of Essex to clean and refurbish the chimney cap, mortar and bricks needed to ensure many more years of Chimney Swifts in Colchester.
Heritage Colchester makes a difference!
JANE’S WALK 2024
On Saturday, April 27, 2024, Heritage Colchester presented a tour centered at the historic Christ Church and the SS#2, Colchester Schoolhouse. It was part of the international celebration of urban activist Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) who encouraged local communities to lead free walking conversations about neighbourhood buildings in order to share their historic significance to the area.
Heritage Information
For Parents and Teachers
Add some colour to our history with your child or class by downloading a free copy of our Local History Colouring Book.
For Residents of all Ages
Learn more about our local history and the organizations that support it.
Learn more about the merits of heritage designation.
Discover our full inventory of listed and designated properties.
Read interesting facts about the hamlet of Colchester by downloading a free copy of Colchester 225: 150 Interesting Facts.
S.S.#2 Schoolhouse Building Update
- Association with Ontario Historical Society has been attained
- “Heritage Designation” of the Old Schoolhouse has been achieved
- Non Profit Status of Heritage Colchester happened
- Insurance has been acquired
- The Rutledge Report has provided credibility to restoration efforts
- Utilities are being studied and plans made for upgrades and implementation
- Contractors are in the process of providing expert advice
- General cleanup of the school office and adapting it for Heritage Colchester is ongoing
- Awaiting approval to begin process for charitable donation status
- Fundraising is progressing
The red brick schoolhouse found at the corner of Bagot and Sullivan streets in Colchester Centre is considered to be a property of cultural and historical significance in our community. When the log schoolhouse originally constructed south of Christ Church was lost to erosion, a school was built in 1856 on the northeast corner of Bagot and County Road 50. In 1881, the year that free compulsory education became mandated by law, the schoolhouse building was moved off site and a new red brick schoolhouse was built further south on the same lot. Known as S.S.#2, the school had one room and one teacher for all grades. The school was closed in the early 1960’s, along with other township schools, when elementary education was centralized in Harrow.
Quick Family: Captured by Indians
The 18th century frontier was a dangerous place. Although many early settlers in Colchester had been taken by Indians, often as children, John Alexander Quick was one of the few who could say his entire family – he, his wife, and eight children – had been taken by the Indians. This family of Dutch origin was living in the Virginia Panhandle in 1781 when the Shawnee captured their oldest son, 7-year-old Cornelius, and kept him for 10 years. In 1789, Quick moved his family to Kentucky. The next spring, Indians raided his home and took his entire family as captives. Quick managed to secure his own release and spent the next five years collecting ransom funds and searching for the rest of his family. With help from Simon Girty, known to the Americans as a renegade traitor but to the British as an indispensable guide and interpreter, Quick managed to recover everyone except one young child. The family reunited at Detroit and immediately left for Colchester, settling on Lot 8 at the rear of the First Concession, behind the land reserved for a village. Many years later, Cornelius Quick told the story of his captivity to his nephew, Joseph Munger Jr., who relayed it and other local histories to Lyman Copeland Draper, the American historian who famously compiled an enormous collection of personal accounts and historical documents related to the northwest expansion of America in the late 18th century. Their correspondence can be found in the Draper Manuscripts.
“The Real McCoy”
Elijah McCoy, inventor and engineer, was born in Colchester Township on May 2, 1843 (some records say 1844). His parents, George McCoy and Emillian Goins, had arrived in Canada via the Underground Railroad. Elijah attended school in Colchester Township during his formative years and then went to Edinburgh, Scotland to earn an Engineering degree. His parents moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1861. When Elijah returned from Scotland, he sought employment with the Michigan Central Railroad and acquired menial work as a locomotive fireman, stoking the boilers and lubricating the steam cylinders and sliding parts of the trains. Using his mechanical abilities, he designed a revolutionary lubricating cup system that used steam pressure to pump oil when it was needed. He patented his “Self Regulating Lubricator” in July 1872 and buyers were soon asking for “The Real McCoy” when purchasing engines. Elijah McCoy filed 57 other patents in Canada and the United States over the next 50 years, many of them related to lubricating steam engines. Other inventions of note are the folding ironing board and the lawn sprinkler.
Today we use the phrase “the real McCoy” when referring to the best, highest quality item.
Colchester Village
On early maps of “The New Settlement,” lots 68, 69 and 70 were identified as “Land Reserved for a Village.” Colchester Village was the first village laid out in Upper Canada west of Niagara. But the village did not materialize until a new survey conducted in 1841 laid out one-acre village lots in the front and 25-acre park lots in the rear. The graveyard and old stone church were included in the layout.
Built in 1876, the white frame church on Bagot street has significant historical value, not only for its own vintage but also for the Christ Church congregation that has worshipped here since the early 19th century. In 1807, Rev Richard Pollard, chaplain of the garrison at Amherstburg, started walking on occasion from Amherstburg to minister a small Anglican congregation in Colchester. As the congragation grew, so too did the need for a church. Built by William McCormick (Colchester’s first postmaster, a mgistrate and the elected Member of Parliament for Upper Canca from 1812 to 1824), thee original church was situated in the middle of a graveyard dating back to at least 1808 or earlier. The oldest dated tombstone in the graveyard isknow to belong to Stephen Brush who died in that year. The “Old Church” was built of limestone McCormick transported from Pelee Island. Dedicated in 1821, Christ Church was officially Anglican (as Church of England was the only sanctioned religion at the time), but locally, it was considered to be a place of worship for all denominations.