Centre of the community
The Bell House and Tower were erected in the centre of the village in 1874. This is where the first election and early council meetings were held. The property was home of the Third Division Court for the County of Wentworth, the village lock up and the fire department’s sole hand pumper. Residing in the tall wooden tower was an enormous cast iron bell, that tolled to mark the start and end of each workday and to alert locals of emergencies such as fires.

The wooden frame structure was declared unsafe in 1920 and was demolished. The site was subsequently purchased by the Waterdown Women’s Institute who then joined with various community groups to raise funds to build a community hall to honour local soldiers who died in the World War 1 (1914 – 1918).

Construction started in the spring of 1922. Fortunately, the partially built structure survived the Great Fire in May, and the hall was completed by late fall. The building was officially opened on January 24, 1923.

The bell from the original tower was retained and mounted to the roof of the new building inside an elaborate clock tower. The tower was dismantled in 1948 when deemed unsafe, but the bell remained until 1963 when it was removed. It is now displayed in front of the hall, along with the original plaques listing the names of local soldiers lost in the Great War.

Many communities feature commemorative monuments. Waterdown Memorial Hall is one of only seven memorial buildings erected in Canada after World War 1. In its 100-plus years, Memorial Hall has served as a meeting space, dormitory for farm workers, library, shooting hall, cinema, jail, roller skating rink, theatre and special event centre.

A major renovation finished in 2017 saw the addition of a new accessible entryway and elevator, bringing the hall up to code. Landscaping and new front steps were added and unveiled in 2020, completing the interior and exterior renovations.

Credits

Mural art by Bhairavi Jathar Talpade

Metal art by Soul Metal, Carol Nasvytis

Learn more about the Heritage Art Walk HERE.