Description of Historic Place

Off Highway 21 on the northeastern edge of the Town of Unity, Unity Heritage Museum is a Municipal Heritage Property. The Museum features a collection of 12 contributing and 20 non-contributing buildings and structures, the most prominent of which were built between 1907 and 1950 and moved from a variety of locations in the Unity area to the Museum grounds between 1980 and 2005. The buildings are arranged to form a semi-circle surrounding a large picnic area.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Unity Heritage Museum lies in its representation of historic life in the Unity area. The property features a complex of historical buildings that have been used as a Museum since 1980. The buildings represent the kinds of structures that existed in the area during the settlement era and have been relocated and reconstructed on the site to preserve and exhibit important aspects of the area’s social, cultural and economic history. The buildings include residences, farm buildings, schools, churches, a community hall, a railway station and rolling stock.

The heritage value of the property also lies in spatial arrangements of the buildings in the museum. The complex is designed to facilitate easy public access, continued usage and to create a social and family atmosphere. The most prominent buildings have been placed in a semi-circular fashion around a large picnic area, which provides a picturesque view of the complex. The southern end of the picnic area is not fenced and is adjacent to the Unity Regional Park, allowing individuals in the park unimpeded access. The two largest buildings, Swarthmore United Church and Adanac Hall, continue to be used as places of community gatherings.

Source:

Town of Unity Bylaw 687-P-99.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Unity Heritage Museum resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the property’s spatial arrangements, including the organization of the major buildings in a circular fashion around a large picnic area;
-those elements of the Swarthmore United Church and St. Thomas Anglican Church that reflect their religious purposes, such as the pointed-arch windows with tracery and towers as well as Swarthmore United Church’s sanctuary, religious symbols and original pews and the hand-painted “Praise Ye The Lord” inscription on St. Thomas Anglican Church’s tower;
-those elements of Adanac School and Eastbank School that reflect their role in education in the local area, such as their typical one-room school architecture, including gable roofs, rectangular floor plans and simple wood-frame constructions;
-those elements of the Rosemary School Barn typical of school barns during the settlement era, such as its small rectangular floor plan and utilitarian design;
-those elements of Robertson House and Horsman House that represent early 20th-century residential architecture, such as their rectangular form, regular massing, and wood-frame construction, as well as the Classical Revival elements present in the Robertson House including the columns and lintelled windows;
-those elements of Adanac Hall that reflect its boomtown architecture and original purpose as a meeting hall, such as its simple wood-frame construction and false-front facade and its large main meeting room, supporting kitchenette and secondary meeting rooms;
-those elements of the CPR station that represent the importance of rail transportation in the Unity area, such as its typical second-class station architecture, including the two-storey structure, hip roof, dormer windows, board overhangs and wood-frame construction;
-those elements of the CN caboose that represent the importance of rail transportation in the Unity area, such as its form and placement on railway tracks;
-those elements of Pete Craig’s Stone Milk House and Blacksmith Shop that are representative of farm buildings used by early settlers in the area, such as their utilitarian designs, simple rectangular forms and plain gable roofs, as well as the Milk House’s original fieldstone construction.