The Rural Voice, 2001-11, Page 18These two Ontario farmhouses both display the hallmarks of a uniquely Ontario style. Note the gable roof and Gothic
church -like windows on these 1/1/2 story homes. Both probably replaced earlier log homes. The brick house (left)
stands near Stratford and shows the creative use of red and yellow brick. The other house stands near Palmyra and is
built of fieldstones collected locally and individually squared by a local craftsman.
FARM HERITAGE ON DISPLAY
Ontario farm houses tell the story of the development of
the province. They're worthy of a roadside tour.
Story and photos by Larry Drew
Ontario's farm houses are a
proud display of our ancestry
and rural history. To out -of -
province visitors, many even seem
unique. And to top it off, the rich
viewing is free along any country
road.
United Empire Loyalists built
many of the earliest farmhouses in
Ontario. You might even say that this
conservative crew became the
trendsetters for Ontario homes — by
not being American. While pioneers
on both sides of the border were
forced to be practical and functional,
the homes in the U.S. began to reflect
more lavish tastes than did those of
Ontario's loyalist population. Take
16 THE RURAL VOICE
for example the early kitchen, usually
built as an attached wing to the main
building, keeping the heat and other
effects of long hours of cooking
separate from the main living
quarters. Yet, in Ontario the kitchen
was often built attached to the back
of the home, whereas Americans
often built the kitchen out from the
side of the home. Perhaps it was
British conservatism that led to the
"hiding" of this place of heat, smoke
and toil from full frontal view.
Regardless of the reason, it is said
that the placement of the kitchen
could give away a settler's American
or British roots.
Ontario continued to favour the
British trends over those seen south
of the border for most of the 19th
century. Early Ontario farmhouses
generally lack adornment, such as the
Greek -style columns so often seen on
stately American homes. Instead,
Ontario preferred the plainer and
symmetrical (Georgian) designs of
the British. In fact, frugality left its
mark on early Ontario farmhouses.
From the early to mid -1800s, one -
and -half -storey homes were not as
highly taxed in Ontario as two-storey
ones. You don't have to look far for a
one -and -half -storey home, with a
uniquely Ontarian gable and window
projecting from the "second floor" to
provide increased loft space and