Submitted by Christine Whelan

Nov 25, 2021, VOL. 3 ISSUE 7

What started as a rumour, became our local history, and has now been corrected. As many have grown up learning local history both in classrooms and while sitting with a family member in conversation, the stories around the Dollhouse Museum, or Bertie Hall, have always been the same.

But now, the story needs to be updated, re-learned.

In April, the old plaque connecting Bertie Hall to the Underground Railroad was taken away by the Niagara Parks Commission, which acquired the building in 1982, corrected from 1983. The story was told that its secret room hidden in the basement behind a bookshelf was used as a safe house for Black Americans to hide, being the final stop along the Underground Railway to freedom into Canada.

Over the years, evidence has never been found to prove Bertie Hall was ever associated with the Underground Railway.

While the old plaque, provided by the Region Niagara Tourist Council, stated that Bertie Hall was constructed circa 1830, the new plaque, provided by the Niagara Parks Commission, begins with the building’s construction circa 1833.

William Forsyth Sr. remains stated as the owner and developer of the building, however, his name has been cleaned up, from well-known smuggler to local businessman, War of 1812 veteran, and colourful entrepreneur.

The new plaque focuses on the unique details of the building itself as “one of the earliest examples of Greek Revival style in Ontario, recognizable by the squared columns and large triangle pediment above the portico”, as well as touching on all that went on around the building, including the Underground Railroad.

Removed from the tale, is the reference to “concealed, secret passages and a tunnel running from the basement to the river bank to smuggle both human and physical cargo”, as the previous plaque, and therefore old teachings included.

The new plaque goes on to tell, “The Forsyth family constructed a large dock on the riverbank, where they operated a ferry across the river and this location served as a stagecoach stop, later as a hotel in the 1870s.

“The transportation routes along the Niagara River corridor became important for travelers to the area including freedom seekers arriving on the Underground Railroad until the start of the US Civil War in 1861. The house was involved in the largest Fenian Raid into Canada in June 1866.”

From 1983 to 2010, the Mildred M. Mahoney Silver Jubilee Dolls’ House Gallery operated from Bertie Hall. This detail remains the same and is why the building is still well-known as the “Dollhouse Museum”.

Photo provided by Christine Whelan