Visit the Warren General Store ONLINE

The Whitby Historical Society runs the Warren General Store, providing a unique shopping experience for visitors with proceeds going toward our operating fund.

The Warren brothers, William and John Borlase, immigrated to Whitby from Cork, Ireland, and married Jabez and Clarissa Lynde’s two eldest daughters, Clarissa and Louisa. They began operating the original Warren General Store in 1823 at Hamar’s Corners, Whitby Township. At that time, it was the only store between York (Toronto) and Port Hope. A year later, John Warren opened a Post Office in the store and became Whitby’s first Postmaster. 

Today, the Warren General Store is home to a variety of special events, presentations, groups such as the Lynde House Ukulele Players and the Benevolent Order of Rebekahs, school programs, and the occasional Victorian Tea. An antique dining table sits in the heart of room where guests, including those in wheelchairs, can stay & enjoy the company of others. The store also houses several Victorian-era showcases featuring exhibits from the Whitby Historical Society collection of artifacts.

Gardens tell important stories about the people who tended them and offer a significant glimpse into the past by reflecting the society in which they were created. Clarissa Lynde’s Heritage Kitchen Garden is no exception. With extensive research to ensure authenticity of a typical kitchen garden of the early 1800s, Clarissa Lynde’s Heritage Kitchen Garden boasts seven plots lovingly tended by Eric Tuinman of In De Tuin Garden Services and a team of volunteers. The gardens were created in 2017 with grants from Delta Bingo and the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

They presently feature medicinal plants (eg. chamomile, calendula, yarrow), herbs (eg. savory, thyme, chives, mint and sage), vegetables including the Three Sisters (corn, squash and beans) and cucumber, cabbage, beets and onions, and plants for decorative purposes and to make dyes for fabric. The site includes espalier pears and apples trees along the fences. Vegetables are harvested in the fall and pickled by our volunteers.

Clarissa Lynde’s Heritage Kitchen Garden ensures a legacy with which to teach people about the plants and their uses, history and meaning through interpretation as well as supporting workshops and talks. It beautifies the Museum site, engages the community and enhances awareness. The Garden is located in the park just behind Lynde House.