
Port Stanley & Sparta invited visitors to their 8th consecutive Doors Open on Saturday. Along with the old favourites there were some new attractions: The Morrow Cottage in Port Stanley, the Sparta temperance walk, the Patterson log cabin, the Kilmartin cemetery and St. James Presbyterian Church.
St. James Presbyterian Church was designed by well-known St. Thomas architect Neil Darrach and built in 1905. The congregation is celebrating their 175th anniversary in 2013.
Kilmartin Cemetery was the site of the original Kilmartin Congregation log church built in 1838. Many of the tombstones of the original settlers have been preserved in a small enclosure in the centre of the cemetery.
Above: Kilmartin Cemetery (11499 Yarmouth Centre Road).
The Morrow Cottage at 232 Colborne Street in Port Stanley, built circa 1840, is believed to be one of the oldest residential properties in Port Stanley. It served as the community’s library from 1896 until the early 1900s, and in the mid 1900s was Dr. Clinton Bell’s medical practice. It features a three bay front façade, gable roof-line with returned eaves, deep frieze extending the length of the front façade, and central entrance door inset framed by transom and plain pilasters.
Above: Doors Open volunteer Margie Cole entertained visitors to the Morrow Cottage.
The 1939 King George VI Lift Bridge in Port Stanley is the oldest of its type in Ontario. It is opened hourly to allow boaters passage from the inner harbour.
Above: Bridge operator Duke Cummings welcomed visitors to visit the bridge tower and enjoy a tower-view of the harbour.
Info above from the 2013 Doors Open booklet.