Friends awarded a provincial honour

Announcing the 2012 Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Award Winners!

Once a bustling hamlet, Wesleyville, which lies within Port Hope, is today often regarded as a ghost
town. In the 1970s, an oil-fired generating station was planned, but the rising price of oil killed the
scheme. The site, which had been acquired for the station, was left to deteriorate. With some of the
remaining structures demolished, and amidst rumours of an impending nuclear power plant,Hope
Township LACAC supported by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and ACO's Port Hope Branch,
undertook a study to determine the heritage value of what remained of the village: its church, a
schoolhouse, two architecturally significant houses, and two barns.

It concluded that Wesleyville. . . is not a disjointed collection of abandoned buildings and overgrown vegetation but layered with archeological, built and natural significance. . . . As a cultural landscape, its core heritage character is as a sanctuary of historic structures and cultural aspirations, amidst a regenerating natural landscape.vegetation but layered with archeological, built and natural significance.

To support revitalization of this abandoned community, six heritage advocates formed the Friends of
Wesleyville Village in 2008. The Friends, now a charitable organization with 150 members, began its
work with the rapidly decaying church, which was owned by the United Church of Canada, represented
by nearby Welcome United Church. Although Wesleyville Church had been designated in the 1990s, its
condition rendered demolition its most likely fate.

Welcome United was willing to sell the building, but was prepared to consider other alternatives. Lengthy
discussions resulted in a 20-year lease including explicit goals for the first five years. This precedentsetting
arrangement, written up in The United Church Observer, has led other communities to approach
the Friends for advice.

As volunteers worked to restore the church, they spoke of feeling AK's presence. Wesleyville's church is
now largely restored, thanks to the Friends, and the community, which has been highly supportive.
Efforts continue to work with OPG-owner of the rest of the village-so that the rest of Wesleyville can be
preserved and revitalized.

For their innovative approach to working with Wesleyville's owners, and their success in rallying the
community, ACO is pleased to present the Friends of Wesleyville Village with the A. K. Sculthorpe
Award for Advocacy.