The Oakville Museum, at Erchless Estate, is located at the foot of Navy Street in Oakville. It is a magnificent building and was once the home of William Chisholm, the founder of the Town. The Museum sits on four
acres of land and overlooks what once was a thriving port of entry for sailors and merchants.
There was a customs house and a bank located on the far side of this building. The customs house welcomed many people who were escaping slavery and was a terminus for the Underground Railroad.
The first classes we held at the Museum were for the quilt "The Underground Railroad". We choose nine blocks that were especially significant and the story behind each block was told to the ladies by the curitorial assistant. The last two blocks are especially symbolic to Oakville as the ship represents the slaves being brought to Oakville and the basket denotes the basket industry that thrived in this town for many years. The strawberries grown in Oakville were the very best in the area and the basket factory provided the baskets to ship the berries.
During the month of February in the following year, The Museum requested the quilts that were made so that they could hang them during Black History Month. A tea was held for the girls by the Museum staff. Everyone was delighted to see their quilt on display.
