The Sharon Temple is an open-air museum site, located in the village of Sharon, Ontario, that was in 1990 designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. It is composed of eight distinctive heritage buildings and dwellings, and houses 6,000 artifacts on a 1.8 ha. site. The building is made available for public use such as tours, concerts, weddings, and special occasions by its current owner, the Sharon Temple Museum Society.[1][2] It was constructed between 1825 and 1832 by the Children of Peace, a Quaker sect led by David Willson on whose property it was built. Other restored buildings include David Willson’s Study, which is a smaller architectural gem. The Ebenezer Doan house of 1819, constructed by the Temple’s master-builder and relocated from the former Doan family farm nearby, has been restored in an early garden setting. Also on site are the cook house where communal meals were created and served, the drive shed complete with period carriages, and another of David Willson’s architectural curiosities – the round outhouse. The Ontario Heritage Trust has a public easement to ensure its preservation meets conservation standards. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Temple Samuel Lount, a leader of the 1837 Rebellion, was hanged on 12 April 1838. At the time, his silver watch and key were given to Robert McGowan, whose great-grandson David Davidson has donated these treasured artifacts to the Sharon Temple. [I assisted in this donation suggesting that Sharon Temple would be a good place for it to go]. - Peter William Lount. Lount, who lived on the hill overlooking Holland Landing, had long standing ties with the Children of Peace in Hope (Sharon) across the Holland River valley. He was closely related to many, such as Samuel Hughes, and had immigrated with them from “Hughesville” (Catawissa), Pennsylvania. Lount also shared many of the values of the Children of Peace. He was a reform leader. He was widely known for his charity. And as an elected member of the provincial assembly, he had sought to incorporate the Farmers’ Storehouse, the farmers co-operative for York County led by Samuel Hughes. Most schoolbook histories refer to Lount as a simple blacksmith, although this was only one of his many occupations. He was, for example, a surveyor, helping his brother survey many of the new townships in Simcoe County. He was in partnership with his brother George, a merchant. He was a shareholder and manager for the fi rst steamboat on Lake Simcoe, the Colborne, in 1832, which he also helped build. And lastly, he was a politician who sought to reform the abuses of the “Family Compact,” the pseudo-aristocrats who monopolized government offi ce in the province. Lount, a former Quaker, turned to rebellion only after years of political fraud and electoral violence. He was fi rst elected for the riding of Simcoe (of which Holland Landing was a part) in 1834. He lost this seat in 1836 to William B. Robinson, a Family Compact member who owned the “Red Mills” in Holland Landing. Lount complained that the tories stacked the vote by distributing land deeds to former soldiers (which allowed them the vote) at the “hustings” on the day of the election. Voting was open, with no secret ballot, which resulted in many riots, and in assault on reform supporters. Robinson boasted in Newmarket after the election that he had “whipped the bully of David Town [Hope].” In 1837, the defi ant tories passed a law which allowed the House of Assembly to continue to sit despite the death of King William IV; by British law, a new election had to be called within 6 months. Th e defeated reformers then began to organize a “constitutional convention” under William L. Mackenzie’s leadership to demand democratic reforms. Delegates to the convention, including Samuel Hughes and Samuel Lount were elected. Lount laid the germ for the rebellion when he suggested a “grand demonstration” at the House of Assembly to put pressure on the government to call an election. Th is was the plan that he presented the Children of Peace to draw them into the rebellion. Mackenzie called a meeting of reform leaders at the home of Silas Fletcher in Queensville, East Gwillimbury, in early Nov., 1837 at which the plan for the rebellion was set. Th e next week, Mackenzie published a draft constitution and set the date for the convention to adopt it as 21 December - exactly 6 months after the death of the king, when the Assembly would no longer be legitimate. Had Mackenzie’s rebellion succeeded, we would no doubt remember Lount for much more than his ignoble death. sharontemple.ca/pdf/Biographies/bio_samuel_Lount.pdf
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 21:46:09 +0000
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