In Season 5 of The Open Door, we’ll be highlighting stories from interviews for The Brown Homestead Oral History Project. Each episode will take one tiny aspect of everyday life to tell a broader story of childhood, nostalgia, and rural living that we can all relate to. By peeling back the layers of the everyday, we reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary.…

To honour the long tradition of storytelling during the holidays, we are pleased to offer Jennifer Humeniuk’s reading of A Child’s Christmas in Wales , a classic tale written by Welsh poet and author Dylan Thomas. Merry Christmas from The Brown Homestead team!

Whether or not you believe in the supernatural, ghost stories can offer valuable insight into the past. Haunted histories often feature real people, places and events - the ghostly tales serve as the medium for sharing. Hamilton and Niagara-based podcaster and Ghost Walks leader Ghost Guide Daniel takes a tour of the John Brown House and considers his approach to storytelling through the lens of the paranormal.…

When a historic building is preserved, the stories embedded into its walls and floorboards are also preserved. On this special crossover episode with Brock University’s Foreword , we take The Tattooed Historian YouTuber and podcaster, John R. Heckman, on an immersive audio tour of The Brown Homestead. We peel back the layers of history found in floor stencils, lath walls, and wallpaper to uncover why purpose-driven adaptive reuse matters in the heritage field.…

A history of whisky in Niagara offers a flavourful glimpse into Loyalist agricultural industry and trade in Upper Canada, the social nature of tavern culture, and the unexpected outcome of the temperance movement. Ajay Bhardwaj, Canada’s first certified whisky ambassador, leads a live, guided tasting of three select whiskies paired with insightful stories from Niagara’s past to help us understand whisky culture today.…

The Kanesatake Resistance, or Oka Crisis, was a defining historic moment with an enduring legacy in Canada’s challenged relationships with Indigenous peoples. Mohawk writer and director Tracey Deer speaks to her experience as a twelve-year old girl in the summer of 1990, and how it helped shape her powerful, and immensely personal 2021 Canadian Screen Award winning film, Beans .…

In celebration of the holiday season, we are happy to offer Jennifer Humeniuk’s reading of Truman Capote’s classic tale, A Christmas Memory.

Is E.A. Brown Dead? In 1894, Charles McCain published a History of the SS Beaver containing a chapter recounting the events of the night that Edward Brown disappeared. Does it contain clues to what really happened or an answer to the mystery that followed and the ultimate fate of his friend? You be the judge!…

A young man from Pelham moved to Vancouver in 1888 following a family tragedy. Four years later, on New Year’s Eve, a friend reported that he drowned, leaving behind a wife and two children. But did he? Rumours and reports of sightings began flooding into the police and newspapers and continued for many years, leading people to ask … Is E.A. Brown Dead?…

The old barns scattered across our countryside are the iconic backdrop to Canada’s rural heritage, yet comparatively little has been documented about them. Studying the structure and style of a barn can enrich our understanding of rural life, and how farming has evolved over time. In this episode, author and Ontario Barn Preservation President Hugh Fraser shares the unique qualities of the historic swing beam barns of early Niagara.…

Maligned by some and misunderstood by most, heritage designations are, nonetheless, the most immediate means we have to protect the historic buildings that represent our local history and define the character of our hometowns. City of Hamilton Planner Chloe Richer guides us through the mazework of heritage designations, addresses common misconceptions, and considers what we lose when we lose our built heritage.…

Much of Niagara’s urban history is closely linked to our marine history, particularly after the Welland Canal began operation in 1829. Maritime archaeologist Dr. Kimberly Monk has worked to piece together the nuances of the local shipbuilding industry of the early nineteenth century, and, in this episode, delves into the major players, their contributions, and challenges in an era of changing technology.…

The Brown Homestead is one of the oldest Loyalist homes in Ontario. Navigating the known and unknown about its early history is an exploration of our heritage. We recently undertook an archaeological survey to add to our understanding of this important historic site. In this episode, supervising archaeologist Dr. John Triggs joins us to talk about the value of what is found and not found, and to reveal some of the stories we uncovered.…

Doctors during the War of 1812 faced an uphill battle to save the lives of soldiers damaged by battlefield trauma or ravaged by diseases without known treatments. We often look at medicine before anesthesia or the discovery of germs as barbaric, but Kaitlyn Carter has a different perspective, choosing to see the humanity behind the history in a time when pain, service and heroism had a different meaning than they do today.…

The Métis Nation and its history is often misunderstood having been either poorly taught, misrepresented or ignored. On our journey to discover a more complete history, we are very happy to have the opportunity to sit down at the kitchen table to chat with Graham Paradis. Graham is Michif/Wiisaakodewin from Penetanguishene with ancestral ties to the Métis homelands in Lesser Slave Lake and the Red River Settlement.…