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A Journey Through Time
The Simcoe County Museum began in 1926 with the County Women’s Institute Historical Research Committee, which collected artifacts and compiled local history. By 1930, Mrs. C. P. Stocking and Mrs. R. A. Sutherland established a Museum Committee, leading to the first display in the Barrie Public Library’s basement.
As the collection grew, the museum moved to the old registry office in 1934. By 1961, the need for a larger space led to the construction of a new museum in Midhurst, opening on August 1, 1962. The museum has since expanded three times, adding galleries, artifacts, and heritage buildings.
Today, the museum boasts over 30,000 artifacts, five galleries, and 16 heritage buildings on 325 acres of County Forest. Thanks to a generous bequest from Charles Matthews, a new 10,000 square foot expansion will open by 2030, featuring the Charles Matthews Automotive and Innovations Gallery.
In all the Women’s Institute records and newspaper articles about the founding of the Simcoe County Museum, two names feature prominently: Mrs. C. P. Stocking of Waubaushene and Mrs. R. A. Sutherland of Stroud. Both these women, and the Women’s Institute in general, were essential in creating the Simcoe County Museum.
Mrs. R. A. Sutherland
Mrs. R. A. Sutherland was born Elizabeth Jane Johnston on October 29, 1868. Elizabeth married Robert Sutherland on March 15, 1893, and had eight children.
In 1909 Sutherland was a charter member of the Stroud Women’s Institute and its first president. She served as president of the South Simcoe District WI from 1914 to 1919, overseeing her district’s substantial contribution to the Home Front during World War I. Under her leadership, the South Simcoe WI produced countless numbers of care packages for Canadian soldiers and raised funds to support the Red Cross, civilian relief efforts in Belgium, France and Serbia, and to purchase a field kitchen for overseas service.
Sutherland succeeded Stocking as president of the Simcoe County WI from 1929 to 1931. In addition to her work with the Women’s Institutes, Sutherland was very active in her church, and was a member of the Women’s Missionary Society. She also helped organize the Women’s Section of the Barrie Fair and served on her local library and community hall boards.
Sutherland spent most of her life on the farm on which she was born. She and her husband moved into Stroud just a few months before her death on October 8, 1946.
Mrs. Stocking
Mrs. Stocking was born Agnes Anderson in Ayr, Ontario in May 1868. She married Charles Pecham Stocking on August 4, 1904, and together they had one son, Charles. They settled in Waubaushene.
Agnes Stocking was a charter member and first president of the Waubaushene Women’s Institute when it was formed in 1911. She was an active member of the Women’s Institute, working in her own branch, as well as the larger district, area, and provincial associations. She became an active delegate at the Simcoe East District WI, serving as vice president from 1914 to 1920, and president from 1921 to 1923.
In 1925 she became the first president of the Simcoe County Area WI, serving until 1929. Stocking’s leadership was described as “quiet, but strong and effective.” In 1929 the organization honoured Stocking by endowing a bed at the Barrie Children’s Shelter in her name.
Agnes Stocking passed away at her home in Waubaushene in 1946. She is buried in Newmarket, Ontario.
The Women’s Institutes
In August 1889, when her young son died from drinking impure milk, Adelaide Hoodless of Hamilton realized how little she knew about domestic hygiene, and that many more women shared her lack of knowledge. In response, Hoodless devoted herself to the promotion of domestic science education among Ontario’s rural women.
On February 19, 1897, Hoodless addressed a meeting of 101 women in Stoney Creek, Ontario to promote the idea of forming a network of rural women’s groups that would help teach members about domestic science. At a time when scientific knowledge was increasingly being applied to how farmers raised their crops and livestock, it made sense that rural women should also use science to care for their homes and families. Out of that meeting emerged a new organization called the Women’s Institutes (WI).
The Women’s Institutes were considered a parallel organization to a network of male agricultural science groups called the Farmers’ Institutes, and both organizations were administered and funded by the Ontario Department of Agriculture. During this time, the scope of WI activities grew and diversified. Not only did local branches offer members courses in domestic education, but also in legal and financial literacy. Many branches also began to focus on rural social reforms, raising funds to increase local access to libraries and hospitals and to improve conditions at local schools.
During both world wars, WI members worked tirelessly to make wool socks and jam, and to assemble care packages for Canadian soldiers overseas. Through the Great Depression, many WI branches became the recognized social welfare agency in their communities, despite struggling to maintain steady finances and membership.
The postwar years saw a boom in membership and activity in the Ontario Women’s Institutes, with 1,503 branches in 1953. In many communities, the local WI earned a reputation as the caterers and entertainers of record, preparing meals for countless local celebrations and hosting a variety of well-attended events throughout the year. The size of the organization during this time also gave it considerable political pressure and it turned increasingly to lobbying, especially on issues regarding consumer protection and improving the status of women.
By 1967, years of compiling local history into scrapbooks called the Tweedsmuir Histories had established the WI as the undisputed authority on local history, and many WI branches were essential in helping to organize local celebrations during Canada’s centennial year.
The Women’s Institutes Today
The years after 1967 brought several challenges for the Ontario Women’s Institutes as rural society changed. With more young people leaving the countryside and many women taking on jobs outside the home, membership in the Women’s Institutes began to decline from 30,000 members in 1971 to 3,000 members today. Compounding these challenges was the withdrawal of provincial funding and staff support for the Women’s Institutes due to government restructuring around the beginning of the 1990s.
Around this time, the Women’s Institutes implemented organizational changes to adapt to life without government support. The planning and delivery of educational programming returned to the local branches through the ROSE (Reaching Ontario, Sharing Education) Sessions program. Old standing committees were abolished and replaced with a single officer in charge of programming, so the WI could focus all its energies on one issue at a time rather than multiple issues at the same time. The first such project was a province-wide effort to institute new waste management and recycling programs and raise awareness about environmental issues.
Although a lot has changed for the Women’s Institutes since 1897, they continue as always to offer educational programming and community support, to advocate for social, environmental and economic change, and to encourage personal growth in all women. The Women’s Institutes also continue to maintain their Tweedsmuir Histories, many of which have now been digitized and are accessible online.