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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 22, 2014 | 6 Sovereign House holds keys to the past by David Lea Spotlight "Connected to your Community" R Oakville Beaver Staff esidents keen to learn how Bronte helped build Toronto or how it was home to a renowned romance writer are invited to satisfy their curiosity with a visit to Sovereign House, 7 West River St. The two-storey dwelling was built in 1846 by local farmer, businessman, justice of the peace and community leader Charles Sovereign, and today serves as a showcase for Bronte's history. The museum contains artifacts including a stone hook, used to pull Dundas Shale from Lake Ontario in the early 1800s. The stones would be shipped to Toronto to serve as the foundation for buildings and used in the construction of wharfs and harbours. Some treasures include Charles Sovereign's journal, which spans 1834-84 and gives readers great insight into life at the time. Sovereign wrote about everything from politics of the day to weather, shing, business and his family life. Other rooms feature photos of the 1800s' Bronte waterfront lined with sh shanties. "This place adds a dimension to the community and it educates generations -- serving as a reminder of where we started," said Betty Strong, a volunteer with the Bronte Historical Society, which maintains Sovereign House. "It shows us the technologies that were in place at the time." Strong and the other volunteers who run the museum explained that in the mid-1800s, Bronte Harbor allowed ships to transport lumber from Bronte to building projects in other parts of Canada and even the U.S. The harbor also facilitated the movement of grain and wheat when those industries took off in Bronte and accommodated a thriving shery and shipbuilding industry. "Back then, there were no roads and no railroads so these small ports along Lake Ontario and Lake Erie were very important," said Fred Coutts, Bronte Historical Society volunteer. "They were able to move the products, like grain, from the farms and into places like Toronto, Rochester or wherever." Like the community it sits in, Sovereign House has its own history. The home, which was originally located on Shoreline Drive, was placed on a atbed truck and moved to West River Street in 1988 by the Town and the Bronte Historical Society to save it from demolition. see Sovereign on p.14 Sovereign House, built in 1846 by Charles Sovereign, above, sits atop the Bronte Bluffs, anxious to welcome visitors for another season and to share its own past as well as local history. The house was relocated in 1988, below at left, and is a standing tribute to author Mazo De LaRoche, below at right, author of the Jalna series, as well as a plethora of Bronte history books. | photos by Riziero Vertolli ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) Volume 52 | Number 61 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Advertising Department (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4444 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 DANIEL BAIRD Director of Advertising ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor