Willistead Manor

Edward Chandler Walker was the second son of Hiram Walker, the distiller who founded Walkerville. The estate takes its name from Edward's elder brother Willis, a Detroit lawyer who died young. Hiram Walker himself never lived in the house, and Edward and his wife Mary had no children. Edward died in 1915, so the couple had the house for less than a decade.

The architect was Albert Kahn of Detroit. The house is built of grey limestone quarried outside Amherstburg and worked by Scottish stonemasons, in a Tudor Revival style drawing on Elizabethan and Jacobean elements. It rises two and a half storeys on an L-shaped plan, and the coach house and gate house follow a similar design.

Inside, most rooms have marble fireplaces and quarter-cut panelling. The Great Hall features carvings by Joachim Jungwirth. The south wing holds the dining room, which has a hidden walk-in safe, plus the drawing room and conservatory; the north wing holds the billiard room, morning room and library. A fountain on the grounds dates from 1897, commissioned to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, and the property is enclosed by an iron-and-limestone fence.

Edward's widow Mary deeded the house and grounds to the town of Walkerville in 1921. When Walkerville amalgamated with Windsor in 1935, the city took over ownership. Over the years the building served as Walkerville Town Hall, as a public library branch and, from 1943 until 1975, as the home of the Art Gallery of Windsor, now Art Windsor-Essex.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s the City considered demolition because of the cost of upkeep, but preservationists saved it. Windsor City Council had already designated the manor and park as a heritage property in 1976. A memorial garden to Paul Martin Sr. was dedicated on the grounds in 1996.

The manor operates as a banquet and event venue for weddings and private events, and the City runs public tours, traditionally in July and December. The Coach House holds a permanent exhibition on Hiram Walker, the Walker businesses, the formation of Walkerville and the history of the manor, expanded into an additional space in 2026. The Friends of Willistead help decorate the house for the holiday tours. The surrounding grounds are part of Willistead Park. Check the City of Windsor for current tour dates, tickets and event closures.

Walkerville has its own historic streets and the former Hiram Walker distillery complex. Willistead Manor fits well into a Voyzo private tour of Windsor, where a private vehicle and driver can collect guests door to door and take them between Walkerville and the riverfront.