The Brown Homestead

The Brown Homestead Reimagining historic sites as dynamic engines of progress & development. Catharines.

Re-imagining historic sites as engines of progress and development, beginning with The Brown Homestead, the site of the oldest home in the City of St.

🤝 Inspiring Hands-on Learning & Sharing Indigenous KnowledgeAt its heart, Grow@ the Homestead is about connecting people...
05/29/2026

🤝 Inspiring Hands-on Learning & Sharing Indigenous Knowledge

At its heart, Grow@ the Homestead is about connecting people to the land⛰️, to each other🙌, and to sustainable ways of living🌳.

Through partnerships with Indigenous community members, Grow@ shares traditional knowledge and growing practices, including the Three Sisters Garden—a Haudenosaunee method of companion planting using corn, beans, and squash.

Thanks to the support of and donations like yours, we can offer an extensive series of programming to the community for free:
🧑‍🌾4 garden-skills workshops
👩‍🏫4 rural Niagara-focused lectures
🎪3 community events

With over 165 attendees last year, these community events remove financial barriers and make knowledge accessible! Your support allows us to feed families today, and teach skills that will feed them tomorrow.

Your donation supports a future rooted in sustainability, education, and community resilience.

We're ready to grow, are you?
Donate Today.
https://thebrownhomestead.ca/spring-appeal

A special preview of Woodland Cultural Centre Indigenous Art 2026 is coming to The Brown Homestead!On display June 6 - 1...
05/28/2026

A special preview of Woodland Cultural Centre Indigenous Art 2026 is coming to The Brown Homestead!

On display June 6 - 19 only.

Be the first to get a look the afternoon of Sat, June 6 at the opening reception and talk with exhibit curator Alex Jacobs-Blum and featured artist Kate Dalton.

Register to save your spot:https://thebrownhomestead.ca/

The Homestead Journal presents: Places That Speak 📸Explore what the medium of photography can offer to the field of heri...
05/27/2026

The Homestead Journal presents: Places That Speak 📸

Explore what the medium of photography can offer to the field of heritage conservation and how a creative approach to documenting places can benefit ourselves, heritage sites, and our community.

https://thebrownhomestead.ca/journal/places-that-speak

05/27/2026

🤝 Inspiring Hands-on Learning & Sharing Indigenous Knowledge

We're ready to grow, are you?
Donate Today
https://thebrownhomestead.ca/spring-appeal

Thank you to Marie Louise & Jackie Labonte for sitting down with us and sharing their knowledge, wisdom and passion.

🍅 From Our Garden to a Table in Need🍽️ In 2025 our volunteers dedicated over 150 hours to our Victory Garden, producing ...
05/23/2026

🍅 From Our Garden to a Table in Need🍽️

In 2025 our volunteers dedicated over 150 hours to our Victory Garden, producing and donating over 112 kg (248lbs) of fresh food to local food banks in St. Catharines!

🥗Our harvests of organic, heirloom vegetables contributed to more than 250 healthy meals for local families facing food insecurity.

🌾Your donation helps us grow, harvest, and share more, turning gardens into a direct source of support for families across our region.

We named our community-focused garden the Victory Garden to call back to the at-home gardening efforts made during WWI and WWII.
Families on the homefront grew vegetable gardens to boost food security, support rationing, and improve community morale.
The Homestead’s Victory Garden is more than a source of food, it’s an active example of what’s possible when sustainable growing practices and community collaboration come together.

You can learn more about Victory Gardens by listening to S2 E2 of The Open Door Podcast with domestic historian Meg Grimsmo. https://thebrownhomestead.ca/open-door/s2e2-digging-into-the-victory-garden

We're Ready to grow
Donate Today
https://thebrownhomestead.ca/spring-appeal

Sneak Peek: Places That Speak Check out a few behind-the-scenes shots as we mount and install our very first photo exhib...
05/20/2026

Sneak Peek: Places That Speak

Check out a few behind-the-scenes shots as we mount and install our very first photo exhibit at the Homestead!

Discover Places That Speak May 21 to May 30 only!

This special group photography exhibit is the culmination of the workshop held here this Spring with the wonderful Ingrid Forster Photography.

Thank you Ingrid for the window mat tutorial, and thank you to Smokestack Print Studio for generously providing us with these gorgeous prints!

We're excited to share this exhibit with you! Head to our website for our visiting hours.

Planted and grown with love 🫶We planted our Homestead-grown heirloom seedlings in the Victory Garden today! Our Garden K...
05/19/2026

Planted and grown with love 🫶

We planted our Homestead-grown heirloom seedlings in the Victory Garden today! Our Garden Keepers will care for our gardens all season and donate the harvests to Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold.

Be sure to drop by our Seedling Giveaway this Saturday, May 23 to get your own heirloom veggie and herb seedlings! Available while supplies last.

Thank you to United Way Golden Horseshoe for making our Grow@ programming possible!

🌱 Plant Possibility with Grow@ the HomesteadAt The Brown Homestead, our Grow@ the Homestead program connects people to t...
05/15/2026

🌱 Plant Possibility with Grow@ the Homestead

At The Brown Homestead, our Grow@ the Homestead program connects people to the land⛰️, their food🥬 and each other🤝.

We began Grow@ the Homestead to connect to the agricultural roots of our rural historic site, and address a tangible need in our community: food insecurity.
Through our Grow@ the Homestead Seedling Giveaway Initiative, in 2025 The Brown Homestead grew and distributed 426 heirloom seedlings to community members across Niagara.

Helping families:
🌾Grow their own fresh, nourishing produce
🍅Preserve genetic diversity in our food system
🌳Increase biodiversity and environmentally sustainable growing

But this program goes beyond distribution. It’s about empowerment through access.
Your gift helps us strengthen this impact, putting more seedlings into more hands, and empowering people to grow their own food while caring for the environment.

We're ready to grow, are you?
Donate Today
https://thebrownhomestead.ca/spring-appeal

Join us for Doors Open St. Catharines on Saturday, June 13!The Brown Homestead invites the community to explore the site...
05/14/2026

Join us for Doors Open St. Catharines on Saturday, June 13!

The Brown Homestead invites the community to explore the site in a whole new way. Wander through the historic house, experience live craft demonstrations, discover community exhibitions, and enjoy hands-on activities for visitors of all ages.

From stained glass and heritage carpentry to photography exhibits and kids’ crafts, the day offers a chance to experience local history as a creative part of today's community.

https://thebrownhomestead.ca/doors-open

Address

1317 Pelham Road
Saint Catharines, ON
L2R6P7

Telephone

+19053281646

Website

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