Research & Road Trips: Exploring Walt Disney’s Canadian Roots

Discovering Where Walt’s Ancestors Once Lived in Southern Ontario

Jun 17, 2025

A couple years ago, I wrote a blog post for WDW Magazine about Walt Disney’s Canadian roots. What was supposed to be just a quick write-up turned into hours of original research. From diving into genealogy records to pouring over old maps, this was my first real experience researching Disney history and I quickly realized just how much I loved it!

What ended up being published for WDW Magazine represents only a fraction of the work I put into this project, and so, I am beyond thrilled to share my work in it’s entirety here on Main Street Library!

In today’s post, I’m sharing the research I did, the resources I used, and the road trip I embarked on—I hope you enjoy!

I first learned about Walt Disney’s Canadian roots through an Instagram post made by the Walt Disney Family Museum about Walt’s father, Elias Disney. It mentioned Elias was born in Bluevale, Ontario, Canada—I had no idea Walt Disney had Canadian heritage!

I started to wonder if it was just his father who was from Canada or if Walt had generations of family that had lived here. I wanted to learn more, so I decided to do some research on Walt and his Canadian lineage.

wdfmuseum

A post shared by @wdfmuseum

Research

To kick off my research, I came across a blog post published by the Huron County Museum, where I learned that not only was Walt’s father born in Ontario, but he lived a good part of his life in Canada. Elias left the country at the age of 20 to accompany his own father to a farm in Kansas, and that's where the Canadian roots ended.

According to the museum, Walt actually travelled up to Canada in 1947 to learn more about his family’s connection to the area. They say he stopped in at the Bluevale Post Office to enquire where the Disney homestead was located, then drove to the farm that his father had spoken so fondly of throughout his life.

Walt drove on to Holmesville to visit the cemetery where his Disney great-uncles, great-aunts, and his Richardson great-grandparents are buried. He also visited Central School in Goderich and took some time to draw cartoons for the students there. He stayed the night in Goderich before traveling back home.

I wanted to find these locations where Walt had visited and I wanted to see them for myself. In order to do this, I used not only a variety of resources (see my reference list below), but I also used the assistance of the Huron County Museum.

I reached out to the museum to speak with their archivist. To find these exact locations, I was going to need their help to find specific records. With using records from the archives, combined with the county’s GIS services and other archival maps, we were able to find the locations I was looking for. (A big shout out to Michael, the archivist from Huron County Museum. I would not have been able to find these locations without his knowledge and amazing research skills).

Bluevale, Ontario

Bluevale Post Office: where Walt stopped in to enquire where the Disney Homestead was located during his trip back in 1947. I was not able to figure out where this was once located, but I decided that I would have a look around town when I arrived to see if any remnants of the old post office might still be there.
Disney Homestead: was located on lots 27 and 28 (41338A and 41338B Jamestown Road, Wingham, Ontario).

Holmesville, Ontario

Disney Road: located at Maitland Line and Disney Road.
Arundel’s Saw and Grist Mill: Walt’s great-grandfather, Arundel Disney, apparently built one of the earliest saw and grist mills in the area. Was located on lots 38 and 39 on Maitland Concession (80736A and 80736B Sharpes Creek Line).

via *Historic Map Works Residential Genealogy*

Goderich, Ontario

Maitland Cemetery: where some of Walt’s relatives are buried, such as Walt’s great-uncle (Arundel’s brother), Robert Disney, and his wife, Jane. Plot is located in section G of the cemetery at plot #151.
Central Public School: where Elias Disney once went to school. Walt visited the school during his own trip. School building is now a part of the Huron County Museum.
Disney Family Rented Home: Kepple Disney and Mary Richardson (Walt’s grandparents) were once tenants in a home on lot 275 in St. David’s Ward in Goderich (135 Highway 8 — Victoria St. S and Elgin Ave E).

via *The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project*

Road-Trip

Having done all this research to figure out where both Walt’s family once resided and the locations he personally visited during his own trip, I now had everything I needed to try and replicate Walt’s route to the best of my ability.

The plan was to start my journey in Bluevale, Ontario, in order to look for the post office and the Disney Homestead. Next, my plan was to drive towards Holmesville to try and find Arundel’s lots and Disney Road. From here, I would make my way to Maitland Cemetery, with my final stop being in Goderich.

Important Note: If you are considering to replicate this road trip yourself, just a friendly reminder that there are people who do live in some of these places, and so it’s very important to never trespass on private property and to always be respectful of the places you visit.

Now, let’s get into how this road trip actually unfolded!

Bluevale, Ontario

Upon arriving in Bluevale, I was unable to find the post office. Despite this, I still stopped in town to take in some of the river views.

I was however able to find the plot where the Disney homestead was once located in Morris Township (just down the road from Bluevale).

The Disney homestead is where Elias Disney lived for a time, along with Walt’s grandparents, Kepple Disney and Mary Richardson.

During Walt’s own visit to this spot, he left having thought he had photographed the right homestead, but it was only after he retuned home when he realized it was the wrong one!

During my visit, it didn’t appear that the original homestead was still there, however, this was still the very land where it would have once been located.

Holmesville, Ontario

Continuing down the road, I started to make my way to Holmesville to find my next point of interest. Located 4 miles from the shore of Lake Huron, between the towns of Goderich and Clinton, you will find Disney Road, which is clearly a nod to the Disney family that once lived in the area.

Holmesville is also where Walt’s great-grandparents lived. This is where his great-grandfather, Arundel, built one of the earliest saw and grist mills in the area. Arundel owned lots 38 and 39, while his brother, Robert Disney, purchased lots 36 and 37.

Goderich, Ontario

My final places to visit were all located in Goderich. Maitland Cemetery is the final resting place for some of Walt’s relatives. Again, thanks to the help of Huron County Museum’s archivist, I was able to use cemetery records to find where Walt’s great-uncle and aunt, Robert and Jane Disney, are buried.

Following the cemetery visit, I also found where Walt’s grandparents were once tenants of a home on lot 275 in St. David’s Ward in Goderich.

My final stop was to the former Central Public School, which is where Walt’s father went to school for a period of time. Today, the school building is now a part of the Huron County Museum.

Reflections

When visiting these locations, you get a sense of where Walt’s father grew up, went to school, and lived during those early days of his life. What I found most interesting when visiting these locations though is that there are no indicators of any sort to identify a Disney connection within the area. I found this odd, especially when you see locations, such as Walt Disney’s Birthplace in Chicago and places throughout Marceline, Missouri, all celebrated. Even though Walt wasn’t from Canada himself, I feel like this is sort of a missed opportunity for Canadians to brag about his family connection to the country.

As a Disney fan, I find Walt’s Canadian roots very interesting and feel that there could be a little more effort put in on our part to highlight the area his family hailed from. After all, we are in some ways a part of Walt’s history and I think this is a credit to Canada.

Recommended Resources

After my research, I later found the book Walt’s Pilgrimage: A Journey in the Life of Walter Elias Disney by Dr. Christopher W. Tremblay, which covers Walt’s Canadian heritage and locations to visit. Though it highlights the same locations I touched on in this post, this book lists over 275 other places in North America that are all connected to Walt Disney and how you can see them for yourself. If a Disney-inspired road trip is something you’d like to try for yourself, this book will come in handy to plan your future adventures!

As always, I want to hear what you all think! Let me know your thoughts on today’s post or any questions you may have down in the comments! In case you want to check it out, I’ve included all the sources I used to help with my research down below, along with some further reading materials.

Thank you for reading!