New exhibit highlights E.D. Tillson’s farming innovations

Annandale National Historic Site Heritage Manager and Curator Kate Bakos places a coloured cow in an outline drawing of Annandale Farm’s three-storey barn. The exhibit A Marvel Farm: Annandale’s Farm is currently on display in the Pratt Gallery at Annandale House. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

A new exhibit at Annandale National Historic Site highlights the farming innovations for which E.D. Tillson was responsible.

Widely known for changing the process for preparing oatmeal after he was given a doctor’s diagnosis that he needed to increase his oatmeal intake, Tillson invented a new pan-dried process for preparing oats because he didn’t like the flavour of commercial oats available at the time. That technology was eventually purchased by Quaker. His innovations went further, though, and are highlighted in the exhibit “A Marvel Farm: Annandale’s Farm”, currently on display at Annandale National Historic Site.

The display, which runs until Aug. 30, commemorates the 145th anniversary of the 600-acre farm that surrounded what is now Annandale National Historic Site.

The three-storey brick barn was innovative for the time.

“It was a marvel of technology, especially with the ventilator E.D. put in,” said Kate Bakos, Cultural Heritage Manager/Curator. One of the unique things about the ventilator was that a profile of ED’s face was cut into the ventilator's vane.

It’s also possible Tillson was the first person in Canada to try ensilage in silos. And while Woodstock is famed as the dairy capital, Tillson was the first to bring Holsteins to Oxford County. Bakos said the farm was a passion project for Tillson, for which he first laid out the idea in a letter written in 1870.

Tillson wrote papers about the farm and invited other farmers to come and see what he accomplished. There are records showing that, on one occasion, about 2,000 farmers came by train to Tillsonburg for a tour of the farm.

“It was a marvel,” Bakos said. “He didn’t spare any expense with his farm.”

The farm contained an apple orchard, grazing fields, corn, cherry orchards, trout ponds, and was home to sheep, pigs, and cows. It had a complete waterworks with wooden pipes moving water around the farm.

The display is unique in that it is part artifacts and part interactive activities designed for youth and adults.

The interactive portion of the exhibit allows youth to colour farm animals and place them in a drawing of the barn. It also has a component to match cows' names to photos of the cows.

“With the farm, we have a lot of good paper content, but don’t have a lot of artifacts,” Bakos explained for part of the reason. “It’s also a way to make our exhibits more interactive,” she explained. “We expect large crowds of families at Turtlefest, Canada Day and through the summer.”

The cows were a particular passion of Tillson’s, as seen in the names he gave them, which reflected his wife’s name, but there were also unique names such as Anne Laurie of Norwich, Madonna Butter Girl, Scotland Lucy, and Canary Starlight Lassie B.

“WE know ED loved his cows,” Bakos said. “There’s more pictures of his cows than his house.”

Tillson’s love of the cows is also seen in the high ratio of help, which was one working person per three cows. The creamery, which was part of the farm, made its own quality butter, which was sold as far away as Toronto.

Soon after Tillson’s death in 1902, the land was parceled out, and the family sold it relatively quickly.

“It seems his family didn’t share his passion for farming,” Bakos said.

Part of the 600 acres now includes the block that has Annandale School and, at one time, also included Maple Lane Senior Public School and Tillson Ave Public School. Another part of the farm is now Annandale subdivision.