Baptist Leadership Education Centre, September 30, 1989

Description

Comments (0)

Creator

Erika Thimm, Photographer

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

A colour photograph of the Baptist Leadership Education Centre.

Notes

Len Cullen conceptualized the idea for a Baptist Leadership Education Centre (BLEC) in the early 1980s. He had purchased the Hood Farm (Lot 28, Concession 3) across from Cullen Gardens and offered the land to the Baptist Convention to build a leadership school on the site. The BLEC officially opened on September 3, 1984 with 47 pupils enrolled.

Leonard Cullen was a gardener, entrepreneur, and the founder of Whitby’s biggest tourist attraction, Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village. He was born on February 5, 1925. In 1947, Cullen purchased John A. Weall Landscaping Company for $3000 and opened five Weall and Cullen Nurseries in the GTA. The growth of his garden centres meant that Cullen needed land to grow more plants in order to keep up with demand so in 1954 he and his brother Ken purchased land on Baldwin Street (Highway 12), just north of Taunton Road. His early successes in the nurseries allowed Cullen to realize his dream of building a show garden for the public. Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village was built on 14 hectares of valley farmland at Taunton Road and Cochrane Street, just west of the land Cullen originally purchased to grow his plant material. The gardens, with Lynde Creek flowing through the property, opened on May 30, 1980 and attracted visitors from around the world every year. Cullen’s dream also incorporated his interest in local history; he purchased Whitby’s Lynde House, the oldest home in Whitby, and moved it to Cullen Gardens in 1987 in order to preserve and protect it from demolition. As Cullen Gardens grew in popularity a restaurant and banquet facilities were added to the grounds and day camps, special events, and festivals were held on the property. In 2006, the Town of Whitby purchased the property and it is now a public park. Cullen died on August 15, 2006 at the age of 81.

Date of Original

30 September 1989

Dimensions

Width: 6 in
Height: 4 in

Subject(s)

Baptist churches
Farms
Gardens

Personal Name(s)

Cullen, Len ; Hurlburt, John

Corporate Name(s)

Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village Inc. ; Baptist Leadership Education Centre

Local identifier

A2013_042_071

Collection

Whitby Online Historic Photographs Collection

Geographic Coverage

Whitby

Ontario, Canada

Latitude: 43.9136476816045 Longitude: -78.9628088170242

Donor

Sue Green

Copyright Statement

This item is protected by the Canadian Copyright Act and is intended for one-time use only. Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). It is your responsibility for obtaining these permissions.

Copyright Date