Enjoy a Heritage Caledon Walking Tour this summer

Written By KIRA WRONSKA DORWARD

This summer, take in both Caledon's natural beauty as well as the historic scenery of our Town with one of Heritage Caledon's Walking Tours. 2019 happens to be the 200th anniversary of settlement in Caledon, with the first recorded reference to the first settler on the land being that of Frank William Jr. in Mono Mills. Accordingly, Heritage Caledon has created multiple walking tours (a project that began in 2016) to celebrate the occasion.

“It was specifically an interest that several of us had in Bolton's history,” says Valerie Mackie, Member of the Committee. “We had the information hanging around in drawers, folders, and filing cabinets…the Town was also interested in creating tourist interest…but it was really an initiative to document and preserve visual history.”

There are currently ten self-directed tours now available, with three more in the works (in Palgrave, Belfountain, and Mono Mills). Three tours focus on Bolton (the East section of town, the village core, and the West). There are also three tours of Alton (West towards the Millcroft Inn, the North and East, and the South). Also available are tours of Caledon East, Caledon Village, Cheltenham, Inglewood, and Terra Cotta.

Some of these tours had already been in existence before the Heritage Committee expanded them with support from the Town. The Town allowed the Committee to use their mapping services to make the tour maps, with the local trails also being identified in addition to each building being numbered and all local landmarks shown. Every tour is also done in coordination with each town's local historical society. A brief history or timeline is provided, in addition to a section on every individual identified historical site. Future hopes are that the tour maps might become more interactive.

As all these heritage tours are currently self-directed, information and maps can be found online at www.caledon.ca/walkingtours. More information can also be found in the various tourist offices throughout Caledon, or by directly contacting Heritage Caledon with further questions.

In the fall, guided tours will be coordinated in Mono Mills. A September 14th celebration to mark the 200th anniversary of settlement will take place, with guided tours being offered on that day.