NEW Bull Homestead Donor Wall

Thousands of contributors have helped further the mission of the Bruce Trail Conservancy. We are grateful to all of our dedicated and generous donors and seek to thank and recognize them in many ways – by providing timely tax receipts, hosting special donor events and placing bronze plaques of appreciation on the Bruce Trail.

Our section of the Bruce Trail has been privileged to be the specified recipient of donations from supporters who hold the Peninsula dear. When the gift is over $10,000, permanent recognition is made with a unique bronze inscription.

The Peninsula Bruce Trail Club has now gathered some of these custom plaques and is displaying them in a newly refurbished and easily accessible location. The Bull Homestead Donor Wall is on the Bruce Trail above Colpoy’s Bay on BTC property acquired in 2008.

William Bull is considered to be the first settler in the northern part of Amabel Township. After emigrating from England, he lived first in Ottawa, and later taught school in Perth County and Owen Sound. As his obituary explains, “his active mind however would not let him rest” and when Amabel Township lots were offered for sale by the Department of Indian Affairs in Owen Sound in September 1856, he made a purchase after exploring the area the year before.

While walking the Bull Homestead land, we can only imagine what it would have been like to arrive in the Peninsula wilderness with a family, intending to establish a home where there were no roads, houses, stores, schools, or other settlers for many kilometers.

The present foundation remaining on the property is that of the original barn which collapsed in the 1950s, and the wooden parts of the structure were burned in place. A portion of this stone foundation has now been restored and serves as the backdrop to our donor plaques.

You are invited to pause beside the Donor Wall and reflect on the path and the people that have brought us here.

(including excerpts from the 2016 Winter Rattler article by Deb Sturdevant)