Morgan house, Morgan's Road, Huntsville, Ontario, rear view.

Description

Creator

Barb Paterson, Photographer

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

Morgan house, Morgan's Road, Huntsville, Ontario.

Notes

Concession 2, Lot 23, Chaffey Township.
Francis (Frank) Morgan employed James Haysom, a stonemason from Dwight, Ontario, to build this stone house in 1902. Members of the Morgan family lived here for the next fifty-nine years. The house is built with local stone in the Ontario vernacular style. The building is T-shaped, with an open porch across the front. The paned windows are arched with brick detailing. A gambrel-roofed barn with a small bell tower and a snake rail fence are now part of the property.
Francis Morgan came to Canada from England in 1872 with his wife, Mary Woods and infant son, James. After two years in London, Ontario, they settled in Chaffey Township east of Huntsville on the East Road. Six more children were born in Canada. Francis opened his home for Anglican Church services before St. Paul's Anglican Church, Grassmere was built in 1881. He was elected to municipal council, and held the position of reeve for ten years, which earned him the title in later years of "War Horse". He served as secretary-treasurer of Chaffey School Section 5 for twenty-five years.
Mary died in 1925 and Francis in 1927. They are buried in the Anglican churchyard at Grassmere. Their son Frank continued to live in the house until 1961 when it was sold to Hidden Valley Developments. From 1961 to 1993 the house was used as living accomodations for Hidden Valley Resort staff. During this time the kitchen was modernized, the panelling covered with drywall and aluminum windows installed.
In 1993 Pam Carnachan and James Honderich purchased the house with seventy-seven acres, and began to restore the property. All the outbuildings are new. The post and beam barn was constructed with materials claimed from an old barn from the Burk's Falls area. The original interior vertical panelling, pine floors, window and door casings have been restored with some reproductions of detail. The glass in the transoms over the bedroom doors has been replaced and one of the five upstairs bedrooms has been converted to a modern bathroom.

Date of Original