It's one of the first buildings to greet train passengers as they roll into the Acton GO station. Perhaps its other-worldly red brick facade piques their curiosity.
The Olde Hide House's storied history associated with Acton’s tanning industry has certainly caught the Town's attention as it takes the first steps toward bestowing a heritage designation on the structure.
Located at 49 Eastern Ave., the present-day luxury leather goods store is the only standing edifice of the town’s famed Beardmore Tannery. While Georgetown specialized in paper, Limehouse in lime and Norval in flour, Leathertown carries its leather tradition through the business to this day.
The first incarnation of a tannery in Acton was started in 1842 and later changed hands to namesake George L. Beardmore in 1865. He called Acton at the time “a better point for bark.” The tannery’s sprawling complex consisted of many buildings on 500 acres of land. Smoke stacks loomed over the tiny village, a reminder of its largest employer.
The Olde Hide House’s first incarnation was as a warehouse for leather goods for Acton’s most famous institution. Built in 1899, its foundation was laid next to the train tracks by what's now the Acton GO station for logistical reasons. Raw hides and finished leather were stored there for transport.
After a spur line branching off from the Grand Trunk Railway was constructed directly to the main tannery plant, the building was deemed unnecessary and therefore surplus. In 1933, during the Great Depression, it was sold off. This decision perhaps saved the former warehouse from demolition when the Beardmore was razed in 1998.
A knitting company called the future Hide House home until 1969. Leather once again occupied the building when Frank Heller and Co. bought the property that year.
In 1980, the Olde Hide House officially threw open its doors. It advertised itself with the now-famous slogan, “It’s worth the drive to Acton!”
Over its time, the Olde Hide House operated three locations - Toronto, Vaughan and a headquarters in Acton. Due to financial difficulties over the decades, the satellite stores had to be sold.
Town Heritage Planner Laura Loney’s research and evaluation report about the property notes that it’s a “19th-century Victorian industrial warehouse, the only one of its kind in Halton Hills.”
Its association with the Beardmore Tannery, maintenance of its original design and significance as a landmark are some of the many reasons why it has been tapped for designation.
Halton Hills Council threw its support behind the heritage designation at its Monday meeting. The decision will then be ratified at the May 27 council session, and following that, there will be a 30-day objection period before a bylaw can be passed to formally designate the property.
