The Erland Lee (Museum) Home is widely recognized and valued as the "birthplace" of an important national and international movement for rural and farm women. The constitution of the first Women's Institute was drafted in their house which was the home of the organization's co-founders and leaders, Janet and Erland Lee. In 1897, at the Lee family dining room table, Janet (Chisholm) Lee with her husband Erland, a founder of the parent organization, the Farmers' Institutes, drafted the constitution upon which the organization was based.

  From this foundation, Janet (Chisholm) Lee and other women like her built an important rural women's organization based on local community needs. In many rural communities, Women's Institutes are real institutions that have enabled women in the rural population to break free from their isolation and improve their living conditions by building libraries and community centers.

Women's Institute meeting at Tapleytown, c1900

  This well-preserved home is widely recognized and valued as the 'birthplace' of an important national and international movement for rural and farm women and speaks to the legacy of the Stoney Creek Women's Institute.

  Stoney Creek was typical of other Women's Institutes in creating a symbolic place in the community for women. This institute began with domestic science education, but soon branched out into social reform. The members of the Institute came to realize that issues of concern to the family were often decided in the schools or municipal governments. The Stoney Creek women campaigned and raised funds for a library, asked the municipality to build a rink, advocated rural electrification, and attempted to elect a woman to the school board. They also sponsored talks on laws relating to women and discussed the implications of women's newly acquired right to vote.

- The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada

    Created in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Minister of Canadian Heritage regarding the national historic significance of places, persons and events that have marked Canada's history.  

 

Erland Lee home (c.1950) - left,           NHS plaque on the lawn  (2005) - right