“Dundas Tavern Tales”
Every citizen of Dundas is familiar with the striking façade of the Collins Hotel, but do
they know of the great fire of 1881 which nearly obliterated the building? Are they
aware of the steamships and schooners which loaded great cargos of local liquor and
sailed them off to market on the Desjardins Canal? And as they pass the Elgin House
do they know why it was once derided by townsfolk as “McDonnell’s Folly”?
The streets of Dundas once played host to a staggering number of famous (and
infamous) drinking emporiums and groggeries. Their swinging signs and painted
awnings bore proud names like the “Bucks Head Inn”, “The Red Lion”, and the “St.
George and Dragon”. Tavern halls were the centres of local recreation, commerce,
and politics; the Town Hall even had a furnished saloon in the basement!
Austin Strutt, Exhibitions Coordinator at the Dundas Museum and Archives, will
present an intimate history of these local landmarks, liberally illustrated with previously
unseen archival photographs, maps, newspapers, and artifacts, discovered while
researching for his summer 2019 exhibit.
This is the second Speakers Night of 2020.
Presentation 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Members Free, Guests $4.00 pp
