Heritage

The story of Tillsonburg begins in 1825, when George Tillson, and other immigrants from Enfield, Massachusetts, settled along the shores of the Otter Creek. The name of that first settlement? Dereham Forge. In 1836, the town was renamed 'Tillsonburg' in honour of its founder, with incorporation following in 1872. 

A growing concern

George Tillson's son, Edwin Delevan Tillson (aka E.D. Tillson), was the Town's first mayor and an aspiring industrialist. In time, Tillson family enterprises included a sawmill, planing mill, grist mill, spinning mill, pottery and a tannery. Ever an innovator, E.D. would eventually develop a new process to turn oats into a useful breakfast food. (His process was much later sold to Quaker Oats.)

He also built what became the town's most famous home, Annandale House. Part of a 600-acre model farm called Annandale, the latest technologies were used in the home’s construction, including steam heat and gas lighting. The house took seven years to complete, and cost just over $30,000.

A Wilde Connection

During Annandale’s construction in 1882, Mary Ann Tillson attended a talk delivered by Oscar Wilde in nearby Woodstock, Ontario. Wilde spoke on ‘The House Beautiful,’ and Tillson applied much of what she heard to the decoration of her new home. With extravagant, hand-painted ceilings, intricately designed inlaid floors, ornate mantels, stained glass, and more, Annandale is one of the few surviving Canadian examples of homes decorated in this style. 

Today, you can tour the restored Annandale National Historic Site, and even enjoy dinner and an overnight stay t in the last of Tillson's mills, now known as Mill Tales Inn.

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