The Wellesley Township Heritage and Historical Society (WTHHS) mapped out more of its past last weekend with a donation from local residents.
John and Mary Ottman donated one of the original maps of Hawkesville at a presentation held Jan. 29 in the Historical Room in Wellesley. The map was created in 1862 and has been in the Ottman family for as long as John could remember.
“They had it tucked away in the back room of our house,” said Ottman, who received the map almost 20 years ago when his parents passed away. “We had it in our basement and we just started to think, ‘nobody sees it.’ We thought this was the best place for it to be, in the historical society.”
Ottman has no idea how his family came to be in possession of such a significant piece of Hawkesville history, but has ties in the community going back three generations. When his children showed no interest in taking the map, Ottman was concerned about its well-being.
“It’s being looked after, that’s the biggest part,” he said. “It was starting to deteriorate and it was going to end up in the garbage – that would be a shame.”
The map was restored using the original backing and frame and was covered in museum-quality glass that filters out ultra-violet light and protects it.
Nancy Maitland, curator for the historical room, was excited to receive the piece, which was created only six years after John Hawke received the Crown deed to his land.
“It’s very, very early,” she said. “It shows John Hawke’s early thinking on what he planned to do with the land.”
The map shows a variation of the spelling of Hawkesville without the “E”, which appears twice on the map. Maitland said the difference is not necessarily a misspelling, having seen it spelt both ways on early documents. Eventually the village settled on the current spelling.
During the ceremony Mary Ottman said the family will also be donating old photographs, containing early images of Hawkesville and its residents, to the collection. Other recent acquisitions include the 25th anniversary quilt students made for the Wellesley school and a Crown deed from a farm in the township dating back to 1857.
WTHHS has decided on permanent hours for 2011, so the public can view the collection. The historical room in the old Wellesley School will be open 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on the last Saturday of every month except December. The schedule coincides with the Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival in September.
“I’ll be trying to refresh the collection and make it more available,” said Maitland. “I think it’s important to start being open on Saturdays so the community can come in and see the collection.”
