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
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.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
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.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
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.