I love Niagara....in the off season. After a long, hot summer, nothing refreshes the senses more then a quick getaway to our backyard wine country. A feast for the eyes and the palate. We visited a cluster of wineries all within a few minutes of each other, and while they were all pleasant, they were all mostly modern as well, with the exception of the beauty pictured above that just plain stole my heart. What a magnificent building!
I don't think it's a surprise that I have a thing for old houses. I find them all, no matter their current state, beautiful, endearing, timeless treasures. I'm a preservationist at heart, and I would restore every one if I could. Luckily, this one has already been done for me.
The original home, built during 1802-03 was destroyed by the American troops in 1814; all that remained was the original fireplace and chimney. The summer kitchen was rebuilt in 1815, while the front of the house was completed in 1827. It served as a family home until the turn of the century when all sections of the house were rented to 3 or 4 families at a time who were new to the area.
In 1969, an auspicious year, if I do say so, it was torn down. Gasp! The 70's and 80's were perhaps the most unkind decades to heritage preservation. The house was sold and moved to another location in the province with the intent to rebuild and all components of the house were thankfully marked and catalogued. It still sat waiting to be rebuilt in 1992 when the owner died. It was sold and relocated, in pieces to another part of the province where once again it sat for almost another ten years, until it was sold and relocated once again to yet another area of the province. I think this house just might win an award for the best travelled house.
Two years later, it was sold to the owners of the winery where it was finally rebuilt, piece by piece. It took five years to put Humpty Dumpty together again, but here it sits, back on its original location overlooking the vineyards that grow where the mighty Niagara River flowed almost 23,000 years ago. Fortunately, that won't be restored to its former location any time soon.
You can visit the Ravine Vineyard website here.
~Be well friends
Happy today to join:
12 comments:
Oh I am so glad the winery bought it and put Humptey Dumptey back together again. I love this place. Great shots. B
I adore that huge old house!
I am pleased it finally was reconstructed and preserved. Beautiful.
What a majestic old home. Thanks for sharing. Hope you had a glass foe me!
Happy Holidays
Beautiful photos and what an interesting history this house has! I love to visit old homes too. I try to visit at least a couple of plantations each year.
thanks for sharing the history of this old home and love your shot of the vineyards!!
It's been over a year since my last tasting. I'm overdue. What a lovely setting there is here!
what an amazing old house! Loved reading the history of the old home and the vineyard shot is awesome! Have a beautiful day!
What a beautiful place!
What a fun story! Always love an "old house" story! Lucky you to live so close to a beautiful part of the world... it was fun to visit Niagara Falls and a couple of wineries in the Niagara on the Lake area... and interesting to even a "non wine drinker"! It must be getting close to ice wine making time there. I found that process rather fascinating.
~Chris
That's amazing that someone took the time to put it back together again! Lovely!
I'm visiting you today from Thursday's Favorite Things. :)
I vole that it has been restored. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things hop xo
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