ECNHS' Doors Open

Access

About

The doors are open again at Sault Ste. Marie's beloved heritage sites! Discover something new from our nationally, provincially and locally recognized sites, or revisit your favourite places as you celebrate our heritage. Choose from military history, the fur trade, heritage buildings or Indigenous history and culture to build your own adventure. You will be spoiled for choice.

Built in 1812-14 by Charles Oakes Ermatinger, the Ermatinger Old Stone House is one of the oldest stone buildings west of Toronto. It has served many purposes over the years — as a hotel, a sheriff's residence and, prior to being abandoned, apartments. Restored in 1967, the building is now a historical site and museum.

The Clergue Blockhouse stands today as a reminder of two important periods in Sault Ste. Marie's history. The base of the blockhouse contains exhibits on the city and the fur trade while the top floor showcases exhibits on the early industrialization of Sault Ste. Marie and the man who made it happen — Francis H. Clergue.

Links

• Visit our website ecnhs.com

Organizer

Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site

If the two buildings, the Old Stone House and the Blockhouse, could talk they would tell stories steeped in adventure and intrigue about the rich and turbulent times of the fur trade; the aches and pains of early pioneer life and the development of industry along the St. Mary's River.

Visit the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site to take a trip back in time over 200 years. See how some of the earliest European settlers in Sault Ste. Marie lived. Learn about the war of 1812 through interactive displays. Take part in some great events throughout the year that will bring these historic buildings to life. Enjoy an interactive audio tour to help guide you through the site or sit in the 50-seat theatre to watch a 25-minute movie that introduces visitors to the history of the area, the historic on-site buildings and the people that lived in them.