Minor House a major loss to heritage after fire destroys it
Gord Minor has good memories of the Wainfleet home he knew as a child.
“It was a great spot to grow up in,” he said of both the home and community.
His family home sat on Clarendon Street — the second in from Highway 3 along the Feeder Canal — from 1840 until 2006, when it was donated to the Marshville Heritage Society.
On the grounds of Marshville Heritage Village, the Minor House as it was known, joined a complex of buildings demonstrating life in the 1800s in Wainfleet. The village features a school, steam sawmill, a school, log cabin, blacksmith shop and more
Last Thursday night, the Minor House was destroyed by fire. Minor learned of the blaze Friday morning when his son called and told him about it.
“I was there when we came in 1942 and lived there until I was 22 years old,” said Minor as he stood nearby the burned-out remains of the home.
He said he and his four brothers, two of whom showed up to survey the damage as well, used to switch bedrooms in the middle of the night and confuse their mother.
“She couldn’t find us,” he said with a laugh.
After his parents both passed away, the 1840-built home sat empty for a number of years. He said none of the brothers wanted to move in, but they didn’t want to sell it, either.
“Mom and dad would have been so pleased to see it donated to Marshville.”
Minor said he spent the last couple of weeks helping Marshville volunteers prepare the home for the upcoming Marshville Heritage Festival.
“I was decorating inside, helping paint the walls and get it ready for next weekend. I feel sorry for the guys who put so much into it getting it up to this stage,” he said.
Margaret Robertson, who chaired the heritage society for 14 years, said she too felt very sorry for the volunteers who showed up Friday morning and who had been working on the home for the past couple of months trying to get it in shape for next weekend.
“Their faces were in disbelief. It’s not a happy day for Marshville for sure … but we’ll make the best of it and carry on,” she said.
This weekend would have marked the first opening of the home for the festival.
“We were planning on opening the lower three rooms downstairs so people could go in and out. We had weaving looms set up so they could work on them in there. The downstairs was fully restored, there was new wallpaper, new hardwood floors, new paint … all done over the last year.”
Although devastating to the heritage society to lose the home, Robertson said it was a small part of the whole festival.
“The festival will go on.”
As for the home, Robertson said she doubts it will be replaced.
“They’re not replaceable. If you built a new one it wouldn’t be the same, it wouldn’t be the Minor House.”