The Ontario Heritage Trust, in partnership with the Huron-Wendat Nation and the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, are unveiling new provincial plaques to commemorate the Jean-Baptiste Lainé (Mantle) Site. Our founder Ron Williamson will be giving a walking tour, and we have created a small exhibit of Wendat artifacts.
The Jean-Baptiste Lainé site is one of the most significant sites that we have ever excavated. It is a large 16th century ancestral Huron (Wendat) community, which was discovered in an agricultural field just south of the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. It was excavated by a team of ten archaeologists between 2003 and 2005 and was found to cover an area of almost ten acres (4.2 ha). It would appear that the site represents a community of 1800 people who originated from several villages that joined together in the late 15th century. A generation after their occupation of Jean-Baptiste Lainé, this community abandoned their ancestral homeland, possibly joining with others to form one of the Huron tribes in the Orillia-Georgian Bay area.
Please join us on Friday, August 25th at 10:30 am to commemorate this significant place in Ontario’s history. The event will take place in the park adjacent to the Wendat Village Public School, 99 Reeves Way Blvd., Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario.
