Recently, we received a phone call to requesting us to go out to a site of an older home located in southwestern Ontario. When we walked up, we saw a typical brick house. Now, in the past, we’ve been able to reclaim beautiful timber frames from old houses like this one. Thinking that would be the case here, we starting pulling back brick to see the structure. As soon as we pulled back some of the brick, we were absolutely stunned at what we uncovered.
Sitting behind that brick was a beautiful, hand hewn log home. Then, as the group continued to progress in the brick removal, they uncovered a beautifully preserved log home.
The Dimensions and Details
This log home consists of a variety of wood species, with about 60% black ash, and the rest a balance of hemlock and tamarack. The floor joists and the complete set of rafters were also recovered. The dimensions of this log home are 21’4″ x 27’6″ and originally had a loft-style second floor.
The History
The owner of this home provided the entire history of the home, dating back from the time it was built in 1865. John and his son came to the area from Ireland in 1864. Their goal was to clear some bush and create a home. The following spring, John returned for his wife and 10 children to bring them to Elma.
John’s other son, Richard, became the owner on the passing of John. Richard raised a family of his own on this property. Richard’s son, Lawson, bought the farm from him in 1925. Lawson also raised his family on this farm and were quite well known for their holstein herds and clydesdale horses in the 1920s and 1930s.
The house was originally two structures: the original log house and a framed house. Later, The two structures were joined together to make one larger home. Around 1910, the home was covered with red brick, a veranda was installed, and hydro was installed 15 years later.
The home was sold once in 1945 to the Dewars, again in 1952 to the Duncans. The house was then rented for nearly 20 years.
In 1963, a milk house was built and the equipment and herd were moved to the Duncan’s main farm across the road. Next, a stable cleaner was installed, along with loose pens, a silo and driving shed. The Duncan’s son is now operating the farm on behalf of his father.
For more details on acquiring this log home, or a reclaimed timber frame, visit our reclaimed timber frame page to check out availability.