Wilsonville Vintage & Antiques

I thought I’d use my first blog post to introduce Wilsonville Vintage & Antiques (WVA) and share a little about how it came to be.

Wilsonville Vintage & Antiques is located in Wilsonville, ON—a small hamlet at the north end of Norfolk County. The community was named after James Wilson, a Methodist minister who settled here with his family in 1844. Like many rural villages, the church, general store, and schoolhouse formed the heart of daily life. Wilsonville was no different. Remarkably, all three still stand today, although the store and schoolhouse now serve as private homes.

My love for old things began with my family, who passed down keepsakes, photographs, and stories. When I was very young, Sunday flea markets were thriving. I remember going with my grandparents to the markets in Langton and Burgessville. They gave my sister and me two dollars each to spend however we wished. Believe it or not, I still have the very first treasure I bought with that $2.

I live on land that has been in my family for six generations, and it’s here that WVA has found its home. I feel deeply connected to this place. Each spring, as we prepare the garden, we uncover porcelain and stoneware shards, glass, and even old utensils—pieces once handled by my ancestors. We’ve saved them all; there are hundreds of them.

Wilsonville Vintage & Antiques is the culmination of a lifelong passion for the stories old things tell. I have always been especially drawn to historic general stores. Whenever we visit a heritage village, they are the buildings that captivate me most. Their shelves—crowded with necessities and curiosities—feel like a window into daily life long ago. As a child, I visited the Wilsonville General Store with my grandfather when he stopped for mail or groceries, and I often went to the Hartford General Store with my great-grandparents. My great-great-grandmother even worked there as a clerk.

I’ve spent more than 40 years collecting general store antiques: Canadian tins, floor bins, dye cabinets, display cases, coffee grinders, and more. I’m lucky to have several pieces from the Wilsonville General Store and even a store counter from the Hartford General Store. I consider myself their caretaker until it is time to pass them on to someone else.

For years, I hoped to one day have a space where I could display my collection and share it with others. Wilsonville Vintage & Antiques is that space. My husband has worked tirelessly to help me bring this dream to life. WVA allows me to enjoy my personal collection while also offering thoughtfully curated antiques and vintage finds to customers, visitors, and the simply curious.

This website is an extension of the shop itself. This blog will become a regular feature, so if there’s a topic you’d like to read about, please let me know. I hope you’ll visit often to see what’s new both here and in the Shop section—we’ll be adding new items weekly.

WVA is my retirement project, so I’m approaching it at a comfortable, unhurried pace. Thank you for being here at the beginning of this journey.