“Edwardsburgh Past and Present: Capturing the Years” New Exhibit at Spencerville Mill This Summer

Spencerville – Every summer, the Spencerville Mill & Museum offers up a variety of special events, music, exhibits and the opportunity to browse through original artifacts within the special ambience of the historic Mill and the sound of rushing water outside.

The Mill preserves an important aspect of the history of Edwardsburgh Cardinal township and stands as a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the business people and families who first developed a Spencerville community.

This summer a new exhibit “Edwardsburgh Past and Present: Capturing the Years” is focused on local history beyond the Mill doors. This exhibit will feature photos and stories of buildings, both businesses and homes, built in Edwardsburgh Township before 1900. It will turn old-time images into modern-day reality with a walking tour brochure which highlights 27 historic buildings in the village and its outskirts.

These old buildings have a fascinating and sometimes dark story to tell. The Blackwood house just outside the village was built by one of the original 1830s Scottish families and the strangely shaped Octagon house a bit further out was set back from the road and eventually burned down.

Imrie House at 9 Spencer St. was built in 1853 by William Imrie who ran a grocery, pharmacy, and the village’s first post office. It was sold in 1906 to Dr. P. MacIntosh, great-grandson of the famous apple grower, who built the present imposing stone structure in 1925. Almost 100 years later, it continues to be known locally as “the
Doctor’s house.”

The former Victoria Hotel at 6 Spencer St, is not only one of the oldest stone buildings in the village, it also defined itself with an upstairs ballroom and secret passageway to a store of liquor in defiance of the 1878 Temperance Act. Appropriately, it is now called The Odd Spot and owned by an innovative couple who also run a café-deli and a family games entertainment hub.

Mill organizers of this challenging venture already have an impressive archive of photos and captions but are calling on locals to add depth to the exhibit by sharing their personal stories and memories as well as any historical photos or postcards. These stories, anecdotes and memories associated with the buildings will be presented with the completed exhibit linking past ingenuity and hard work with the lives of today’s thriving small village.

Contributors need to contact organizers before May 1 to discuss the details of what they have to offer. The collection of materials will begin in early May. The exhibit will be open to the public from July 2 to August 11, 2024.