Erland Lee's great grandfather, James Lee, and his family emigrated to Saltfleet Township (later Stoney Creek) as Loyalists in the 1790s in the aftermath of the American Revolution. The James Lee building in Olde Towne Stoney Creek is named for this pioneer Loyalist. James received a land grant on Ridge Road, stretching from First Rd E to Third Rd E.

James Lee building, Mountain Ave S. Stoney Creek, 2003

James' son, John, built the first log cabin home in 1808 on a plot of land from John's wife's family. Young John married the next door neighbour's daughter, Mary Moore and practiced mixed farming in the early and mid 1800s. In 1848 John and Mary inherited both the Moore and Lee farms. John began the transition of the family farm from wheat to dairy produce.

John Lee farm pay record sheet, 1827

The Lee home, known latterly as "Edgemont Farm", was later added to in 1873 by Abram Lee, eldest son of John Lee, and inheritor of the family holdings. Abram built most of the additions to the home and was Reeve of Saltfleet Township in the 1860s. He was also the first President of Saltfleet-Binbrook Mutual Fire Insurance (latterly WABISA insurance based in Jarvis, Ontario).

Erland Lee and his wife, Janet, lived in the home after their marriage in 1890. Janet Chisholm was Hamilton's first kindergarten teacher (1887) before marrying Erland Lee and moving to Stoney Creek.

Both Erland and Janet Lee were instrumental in the founding of the Women's Institutes organization in 1897. A broad-minded and liberal farmer, Erland Lee invited Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless to speak in Stoney Creek in February 1897 on the need to create an educational society for minimally-educated rural women. From that initial speech, the founding of the new organization took shape under the auspices of the Lees. 

The focal point of the house's history is the dining room, where the Constitution and By-Laws of the very first Women's Institute in the world were hand-penned by Janet Lee February 19, 1897.

First page, 1897, Stoney Creek WI

By Janet Lee

Along with hosting the first planning meeting, Erland Lee, as Treasurer of the prestigious Farmer's Institutes, also successfully lobbied the government for similar financial and political support for the new Women's Institute.

Because of his role in the founding of the first Women's Institute, Erland Lee is credited by the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario with co-founding, with Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless, the first Women s Institute in the world.

After Erland's death in 1926 and Janet's death in 1940, the home was occupied by two more generations of the family. One notable Lee in the 20th century was their daughter, Alice (Lee) Freel, who became the first woman on Saltfleet Township Council in 1926.

In all, six generations of the Lee family lived in the house, from 1808 until 1972. It was opened as the WI birthplace museum in 1973.