The Haliburton V&S Department Store's Clay and Amy Glecoff announced the store's new name will be Glecoff's Family Store on June 19 in Haliburton. The new name is part of a re-branding effort which took close to seven months that will include a new website and signage. /DARREN LUM Staff

New map app shows cultural points of interest

By Chad Ingram

Published Dec. 5 2017

A new map application shows the geographic location of and provides information on public art and cultural points of interest throughout the Municipality of Dysart et al.

Jim Blake a member of the municipality’s cultural resources committee and Dysart planning staff gave councillors an overview of the mapping application during a Nov. 20 council meeting.

Completed as part of the municipality’s cultural plan the project drew on a previously completed inventory of cultural assets with the map app created by students at the Lindsay Fleming College campus’s GIS program.

As Blake explained students from the program look for projects to complete each year.
The app divides Dysart cultural assets into four categories; buildings and spaces historic objects plaques and public art.

Clicking on any of the four tabs leads users to a map containing coloured circles each of the circles representing a location. Clicking on a circle gives the user information about the cultural asset at that location.

Buildings and spaces include locations such as Abbey Gardens the Rails End Gallery and the Haliburton Highlands Museum. Historic objects include the plane and locomotive outside the high school the Sherman tank near the Legion and the pulley wheel monument in Head Lake Park.

“This is a pulley wheel for the drive belt used to power sawmill machinery found during excavation for Head Lake Park site” the application reads. “It was placed beside the bridge in Head Lake Park in memory of the late Mr. Clayton W. and Mrs. Phyllis Hodgson who donated land.”

There are numerous historic plaques throughout Haliburton Village such as those at Lucas House and the Emmerson dam and the public art section shows sculptures and paintings throughout the community.

The application is currently housed on the Dysart et al website under the “services” tab and then under “municipal cultural mapping.”

Eventually the plan is for it and similar applications to be housed on a mapping and GIS system.