achieving only a limited success. It was felt that this form of conservation might 

 be a suitable activity for Conservation Authorities. Authorities sometimes obtain 

 control of historic sites or buildings in connection with their purchases of land 

 for conservation purposes. It was felt that the former might be marked and the 

 latter preserved if possible, or even restored and made accessible to the public. 



Early buildings worthy of preservation were often found on sites that could 

 not be included in a conservation area. The desire to preserve these has lead 

 some Authorities to undertake or assist in the setting up of outdoor museum areas. 

 These outdoor museums are included in several conservation areas. At first a 

 share of the cost was contributed by the Provincial Government, but later the 

 policy with regard to grants for historical schemes was changed and government 

 contributions were discontinued. The Authorities were permitted to continue 

 historical conservation out of the general revenue collected from the member 

 municipalities. The several Authorities that had embarked on historical conser- 

 vation projects have continued them on this basis. 



The first example of historical conservation was the acquisition of the O'Hara 

 Conservation Area near Madoc, Hastings County, by the Moira River Conserva- 

 tion Authority. This contained the sawmill built in 1846-47 and operated until 

 1908. The upright saw of the Muley type, and most of the machinery of the mill 

 were intact and are the only examples of their kind in Ontario still in their 

 original location. The mill and pond have been carefully restored and, with the 

 surrounding area, were officially opened to the public in 1958. Another example 

 of an historic mill was the Backus Grist Mill acquired by the Big Creek Region 

 Conservation Authority. This mill, in Walsingham Township, was built in 1798, 

 and operated by the family until sold to the Authority, with the surrounding 

 estate, in 1955. 



More ambitious projects are the "Pioneer Villages" established by several 

 Authorities. The Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority,' the 

 Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, and the Grand Valley Conserva- 

 tion Authority have undertaken such projects. The first two Authorities have 

 undertaken the actual development of pioneer villages while the latter has con- 

 fined itself to providing a site to a local historical society. 



The largest of these is the one located in the Black Creek Conservation 

 Area in the north-west comer of Metropolitan Toronto. This Pioneer Village 

 is a development of the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Au- 

 thority. The project started with the acquisition by the former Humber Valley 

 Conservation Authority (now part of the Metropolitan Toronto and Region 

 Conservation Authority) of a large dressed-log barn, with the Pennsylvania- 

 type of overhang, built in 1808. This bam was restored to house collections of 

 pioneer objects made available to the Authority and was opened in 1954 as a 

 summer museum. In 1957 the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation 

 Authority acquired, through Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a 

 property on Black Creek at Jane Street and Steele's Avenue, which contained 

 the buildings of the Stojig family homestead. These consisted of a dressed-log 

 cabin of 1816, a larger house about 1830, a bam of the same type as the 

 Dalziel bam and some other farm buildings. The Stong buildings were restored, 

 two frame houses, a smithy and a village store were added before the Black 

 Creek Conservation Area was opened and the Pioneer Village dedicated by the 

 Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, in 1960. The frame church, a brick school- 

 house, and a small cider mill have since been moved to the village. It is planned 

 to add a number of other buildings before the Confederation Centenary of 1967, 



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