Virtual Lecture: For Home and Country

For Home and Country: The Women’s Institue & Their Community Histories

Join us online on Thursday, February 24th at 7:00 pm for a presentation by Erland Lee Museum Curator Mara Benjamin about the history of the Women’s Institute.

Three Women’s Institute branches were established in the Dundas area in the early 20th century. Although these branches no longer exist today, all these groups championed women’s participation in community planning, education, health and safety, and historical preservation.

Register here to be emailed a link to the virtual presentation:

About Erland Lee (Museum) Home

The Erland Lee (Museum) Home is a National Historic Site of Canada which serves to tell three stories: that of the Lee family, who built and lived in the home from 1808 until 1970; of the Stoney Creek community and those who have called it home through history; and of the Women’s Institute which was founded in the home’s dining room in February 1897. Called Edgemont by the Lee family for 6 generations, the Lee home is a beautiful example of carpenter gothic revival architecture situated on the Niagara Escarpment, overlooking the city and lake below. Museum tours are available on Fridays and Saturdays from 11-4 or by appointment and the grounds are open for public use from April through November each year.

About Curator Mara Benjamin

Mara Benjamin is the Curator of the Erland Lee (Musuem) Home in Stoney Creek, Ontario. She studied anthropology and archaeology at McMaster University where she was first introduced to the concept of community memory surrounding historic places. She went on to earn her Master of Museum Studies degree from the University of Toronto, during which she interned with the City of Hamilton’s Civic Museums. Mara became the Curator of the Lee in February 2020 and quickly learned how to pivot programs to digital formats so the museum could continue serving the community while closed. While the museum is now reopened for tours on Fridays and Saturdays, virtual workshops and tours aren’t going to stop as they have turned out to be a great way to reach those unable to visit in person.