Why Vote for Us? | Pourquoi voter pour nous ?
Do you believe in protecting Canada’s heritage and identity for future generations? Willowbank is Canada's only school combining heritage skills and theory in our innovative Heritage Conservation Diploma – delivered at a National Historic Site. With 95% of graduates working in the field, we are helping preserve iconic sites in communities across Canada and abroad – including UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Lunenburg in Nova Scotia and Kew Gardens in England, and locally important projects such as adaptive reuse for affordable housing. Alumni become stonemasons, carpenters, heritage planners, designers, artisans. Your support will help build a third-floor fire escape - expanding our learning space, attracting more students, and welcoming Indigenous and local communities to this treasured space. Your vote will directly contribute to protecting Canada’s identity, ensuring that historic places continue to thrive. Willowbank: Our School. Your History. Your Future.
Our Project's Impact | Les effets de notre projet
Your vote for Willowbank is a vote for protecting communities across Canada. Community has always been integral to Willowbank; from its 9,000-year history as an Indigenous settlement, a War of 1812 battlefield, and a beautiful early 19th-century estate which was home to the Hamilton Family (1800s), and the Bright Family (1900s). Today, it is a National Historic Site, and the Estate House is home to the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts training the heritage conservators of tomorrow in Canada’s only diploma combining heritage craft skills and conservation theory. This project will install an external fire escape to the third-floor of the Estate House, expanding learning spaces for carpentry, stained glass, and decorative arts. It will support the School’s specialised reference library and enrich the local area and benefit community partners as the space will also serve as a venue for Indigenous and community events. Students, faculty, alumni, and board members will be actively involved in planning and construction, reinforcing hands-on training in heritage conservation. The project will enhance the functionality and preservation of Willowbank, and benefit the community as it will strengthen Canada’s heritage workforce, ensuring the future of historic places across the country.
About This Place | À propos du lieu
Willowbank’s rich history spans thousands of years and Indigenous communities used its ravine as a key portage route. By the late 18th century, Scottish trader Robert Hamilton commercialised the area, establishing a wharf and rail system. In 1812, it became a battleground, changing hands multiple times before British, Canadian, and Mohawk forces repelled U.S. troops.
In 1834, Alexander Hamilton commissioned Willowbank’s Greek Revival mansion, an architectural gem built with local sandstone. The Hamilton’s lived at Willowbank until the Bright Family purchased it in 1934. Over the years, it has served various purposes, including as a monastery, a boys' school, and later, a developer’s project. Facing potential demolition in 2001, a passionate group of heritage advocates, led by Laura Dodson, rallied to save it.
By 2006, the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts was founded, following its designation as a National Historic Site in 2003. In 2014, HRH The King of Wales, then Prince, became its royal patron, praising its sustainable and conservation-focused approach. Today, Willowbank is a global leader in heritage conservation education. Your vote positively impacts the local community who will use this space, while also enabling the School to expand its classroom space and admit more heritage conservation students!
