Bronze statue of Hiram Walker unveiled in Windsor, Ont.
Immortalizing the founder of Walkerville in cast metal has been a task — years in the making, in fact — but a statue of the late Hiram Walker was finally unveiled to the public at a new parkette at his old stomping grounds.
It’s been nearly 206 years since the birth of Hiram Walker and the community came together Saturday morning to get a glimpse of the monument where a young Walker stands mounted on whisky barrels overlooking the town he built.
“He literally built the buildings and infrastructure that serviced his businesses and in so doing, he built a community,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
Hiram Walker lived in Detroit for many of his early business ventures, but took an interest in the region in the mid 1800s, establishing a distillery, farm and flour mill in Canada. He later founded the area now known as Walkerville, which amalgamated with Windsor in 1935, years after Walker’s death.
But during the decades of his interests in the region, the whisky baron made an indelible mark on the community.
“It’s been just an incredible legacy he’s left since 1858 in our community and today we get to celebrate them and everyone who is here is so proud and so excited to see this today,” Dilkens said.
On hand for the unveiling was Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, Pamela Morse, who lives in Michigan.
“Oh, it’s remarkable, we’re so proud,” she proclaimed after setting eyes on the statue.
The monument cost $400,000, half of which was offset by private donors and partly funded through the City of Windsor public art endowment fund.
Artists Mark and Laura Williams were tasked with depicting a younger Walker his in 50s based on a picture supplied by the Canadian Club Brand Centre. That’s how old Walker was when he saw opportunity in southwestern Ontario.
“He’s carrying a set of blueprints of Walkerville, and he’s walking out to make sure everything’s going correctly,” Mark said.
“It’s nice to see the young Hiram Walker, instead of the gentleman that we all know with the white beard as he got older, but this is a middle aged man, and he was a pioneer,” said Tish Harcus of the brand centre, noting that photograph is now locked in the club’s vault for safe keeping.
The monument stands at a new parkette named for Walker at the corner of Devonshire Road and Riverside Drive, a stone’s throw to his old distillery and the historic Walker power building.
“He’s a person of Canadian national heritage and significance,” said Jake Rondot, who chairs the Walkerville Business Improvement Association. “We’ve very excited that this parkette could get developed and help develop this site here with the power building.”
Hundreds turned out for Saturday’s ceremony which falls just a few days shy of July 4, Walker’s birthday and what’s now known as Hiram Walker Day in Windsor.
“It speaks to how connected they are to this man, this distillery and the livelihood that he’s created for generations,” said Dilkens.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.