When war was declared in the late summer of 1914, many young men from the village and surrounding East Flamborough Township volunteered to serve, several of whom lost their life during the four years of hostilities. In early 1919, a Community League was organized for the purpose of erecting a Memorial Hall – with the idea that the building would serve as both a memorial to those local citizens who had enlisted and served during the war and as a community hall to meet the needs of the growing village population.

Using funds collected during the war years by the Patriotic Society, the Women’s Institute (W.I.) purchased the Bell House site on Dundas Street and turned the property over to the ownership of Waterdown council. The Institute, together with various church groups, raised funds to finance the building of the hall. While council was initially supportive of the project, the request by the W. I. for a debenture of $20,000 to help fund the construction was refused due to concerns over costs.

Waterdown Memorial Hall was dedicated at a service on Jan. 14, 1923. During the ceremony, a commemorative tablet containing the names of villagers who had enlisted in the war and those who had died was unveiled. Three days later, on Jan. 17, the hall was officially opened with a banquet attended by approximately 500 people, followed by a ball on  Jan. 19.

Since its opening in 1922, the hall has seen many activities and events take place within its walls. In addition to housing village council meetings, it briefly continued as a venue for the Third Division Court. During the 1940s, the basement was used as a dormitory for transitory farm help and later as a shooting gallery for the local gun club. Between 1948 and 1956, the village library operated on the main floor. The building has also served as a cinema, election centre, jail and since the 1960s, home of the Waterdown Lions Club and of Village Theatre, since the 1970s.

In 2008, Memorial Hall was designated as a building of historical and architectural interest under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. While many communities across Canada recognized the service and sacrifice young men and women had made on behalf of Canada during the First World War, by erecting war memorials and cenotaphs to their memory, the village of Waterdown chose to erect a hall, one of just eight such buildings across Canada.

Sylvia Wray is the former archivist with the Flamborough Archives. She can be reached through the Archives at archives@flamboroughhistory.com.

This article was originally published in the Flamborough Review, 13 February 2014.