‘Elderslie’ will make way for highway
Descendants of historic farmhouse’s family gathering for sendoff
GUELPH — Built from granite fieldstone gathered off the surrounding land, the old Elderslie farmhouse still looks strong enough to withstand anything that time could throw at it. Anything but the bulldozer. The historic stone home on Wellington Road 86 is set for demolition in 2018 after being expropriated by the Ministry of Transportation, as construction crews clear a path for the Highway 7 expansion project.
The 153-year-old dwelling, known as “Elderslie” to its former owners, sits on land where the province wants to build an onramp for the new four-lane highway that will stretch between Kitchener and Guelph.
It’s one of three historic stone houses in Guelph-Eramosa Township up for sale by
the province, provided the buyer can move the buildings before the highway work starts. Prospective buyers have until December to submit their proposals to relocate the home.
But before the building comes down, Elderslie and its two-foot-thick walls will be the backdrop for a memorable family photo, as dozens of descendants of former residents gather for a final send-off on Oct. 16.
Kitchener’s Janis Price, who’s organizing the gathering, says she’s not holding out much hope the stone house can be saved.
“When I found out they were going to pull it down, my gut just wrenched,” said Price, whose grandmother, Constance Armishaw, lived there until 1921.
“If we had someone who was independently wealthy and had a place to put the house, as a family we probably would have figured that out. But we’re kind of resigned to the fact that the house is going.”
Built on land bought by Scottish immigrant George Hood, the 100-acre farm was little more than a clearing in the bush when the Hood family decided to make a new life outside the growing hamlet of Guelph.
The settlers would become prominent local citizens, with Hood’s son Thomas Hood — who built the farmhouse in 1863 with his wife, Ann J. Bruce — serving as reeve of the township council while overseeing important bridge, railway, cemetery and road projects.
Constance was the youngest of nine in the Armishaw family. Her father, Thomas Smith Armishaw, was George Hood’s greatgrandson. The impact of Elderslie on her life was huge, and she spent her remaining years sharing fond memories of the place, Price said.
“She talked about it as if it was the best place she’d ever lived in her life,” she said. “For her, it was pretty idyllic.”
For now, the big stone house on Elmira Road is vacant and boarded up, with its empty barns and grain silos standing vigil over the land where Price’s family once earned a living.
Outside of relocation, Price hopes the province will allow people to salvage pieces of the house — the wooden staircase or antique doors, for example. If that happens, they’ll have until the end of next year to remove what they want before the construction equipment rumbles in.
“We’d like to, as a family, attempt to salvage it,” said Price, who’s hoping to keep some small piece of the home.
There are also plans to build a commemorative cairn, using stones from the house, somewhere nearby, she added.
The province says it will help cover some of the cost of relocating the old farmhouse, but prospective buyers need to show they have the ability to pull off the complicated relocation project. There’s no minimum bid set for the house.