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Located on Lot 2, Concession 2, Essa Township, on the outskirts of Alliston (now amalgamated into the Town of New Tecumseth), sits the homestead where one of Canada's most famous sons, Sir Frederick Banting, the co-discoverer of insulin, was born.

With this exhibit, we aim to show a more personal side of the Banting family, including this famous doctor. We plan to take the viewer on a tour of the Banting Homestead, as seen through a child's eyes. This exhibit will feature a collection of local stories of children busy playing and working on a typical farm in South Simcoe County, the Banting Homestead.

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Aerial view of the Banting Homestead.
1970
5116 Sir Frederick Banting Road, New Tecumseth, Ontario

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William Thompson and Margaret (Grant) Banting purchased Lot 2, Concession 2, Essa Township on March 14, 1891. They called their new home "Ballyfin" after the town in County Laois, Ireland, from which the Banting ancestors had emigrated to Canada.

Note that this photograph is a recent view of the farm.

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William Thompson and Margaret Grant Banting
1920
Alliston, Ontario

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Frederick W.W. Hipwell, a cousin and close personal friend of Sir Frederick Banting, recalls Sir Frederick's parents:

"Margaret Grant, the mother of Fred Banting, was the first white girl born in the pioneer settlement of Alliston. She was all that a fine, beautiful and understanding woman could be. It was characteristic of her that when I lost my mother she put her arm around me and, looking at her own Fred, said, 'I've got two Freds now.' And I shall never forget.

"His father was no less a pioneer. Born in Bond Head, he later, with his parents, moved to the homestead farm at Thompsonville. Perfectly mated, Margaret and William Banting, with an utter love and respect for each other, lived an ideal life."

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Family of William Thompson and Margaret Grant Banting.
1896
Alliston, Ontario

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The new home was large enough for the whole family. The children were Angus Nelson (b. 1881), William Thompson (not to be confused with his father, also William Thompson, b. 1882), Alexander Kenneth (b. 1884), and Esther Alena (Essie) (b. 1887). The youngest, Frederick Grant, was born later in the same year that the Homestead was purchased (b. 1891).

Another son, Alfred Grant, had died as an infant several years earlier.

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The Banting Homestead, as it appeared in 1910.
1910
5116 Sir Frederick Banting Road, New Tecumseth, Ontario

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The original farmhouse had been built by John Meredith around 1858. Edward Banting, the son of Thompson (Sir Frederick's older brother, who took over the farm) and a family historian, reports that it was a thirteen-room frame house with seven bedrooms and an over-sized kitchen and dining room. Originally it had been covered with white clapboard siding, but was later remodeled in brick, as seen here.

According to a sketch by Sir Frederick Banting, he was born in one of the bedrooms, located off the original kitchen. This section of the house was later remodeled and converted into one room.

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Scrapbook Page
1910
5116 Sir Frederick Banting Road, New Tecumseth, Ontario

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Helen (Banting) Jackson, the daughter of Thompson and Lena Banting, recalls her Uncle Fred:

"He and my father, [called] William Thompson like his father, were both fond of the farm, and took a greater interest in it than the others, but he was more studious than my father, and probed deeper into any question that bothered him. Any time he couldn't be outside, he would be found with his head in a book. It was not often a school book though. He was never considered a good student, and had to work extra hard to get through school.

"My grandparents used to read aloud to each other at night, and as his room was above theirs, and only heated through a hole in the floor under the bed, he used to lie there and listen with rapt attention, to any book they happened to be reading."

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Scale model of the original house as it looked in 1920.
1920
Alliston, Ontario

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In 1903, an addition was added to the back of the house, and the building was clad in brick.

At that time, William Thompson also had water and sewage installed - which meant hot and cold water straight from the taps, and an indoor bathroom, unheard-of luxuries for a country home at the time!

Scale model of the home, designed to show the property circa 1920. This shows the original house as it looked after the remodeling in 1903.

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Scale model of the original house, as it looked in 1920.
1920
Alliston, Ontario