County of Brant Heritage Barns

The Kelley Stone Barn – Circa 1855 Located on West Dumfries Road in the Former Township of South Dumfries, this stone barn was constructed in approximately 1855 by Scottish stonemasons at a cost of $250.00. This unique structure features fieldstone gathered from the local fields, from the foundation all the way to the roof. The only barn of this type in the County of Brant, this building was owned by four generations of the settling family. Photo by Mark S. Pomponi

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McKenzie Lane Barn – Circa 1850 Located on McKenzie Lane in Oakland, this barn is in remarkable condition for its age. Made of clapboard siding with a fieldstone foundation, this three storey barn once housed livestock in the lower level with a tack and wagon storage on the second level and a hayloft above. Photo by Mark S. Pomponi

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The Bonney Barns

Pictured 1906 – Minnie Anne Gow, Edna, William Henry, Leslie, Minnie Ann, George (barely visible behind horse) Velma (smallest child), Naomi and Jennie. Location 4th Concession immediately west of the present day Burford Golf Course Willam and John Bonney came from Cornwall England to Canada in 1841. William had 2 sons, Wellington and William Henry (1858-1912). William Sr. purchased several pieces of property on the 4th Concession of Burford Township. He went on to serve as a Township Councillor for 10 years and Deputy Reeve for 4 years. Upon his death he left this particular farm to his son William Henry. At some point the original barns burned. This picture shows the new barns that were rebuilt using lumber from the farm wood lot and cut on a saw mill which was located at the rear of the farm. The corner stone (seen above the horses) indicated they were built in 1906. The barns survived until a few years ago when sadly, they were torn down. Photo and history courtesy of Rosaland Robinson

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The Eddy Barn

Kitchen School Road, South Dumfries - Circa 1880 - Seen here on the inside of the Eddy barn, hex signs can be seen on the peaks of the gable ends of some of the barns in the area. The practice grew out of Dutch folk art traditions about 1850. Stylized birds known as distelfinks, hearts, tulips and a tree of life are some of the common symbols. Two schools of thought exist on the meaning of hex signs. One school ascribes a talisman nature to the signs and the other sees them as purely decorative. There are sometimes superstitions associated with certain hex sign themes. Information on Hex Signs from Wikipedia. Photo by James Rickert.

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Brown Family Farm

Although now gone, this barn was located on Middle Townline Road at 9th Concession. Pictured here around 1900 is on the left; William C. Bennett, his wife Ruth (nee Ryder), 4th from the left is Bill Postill with Robert Brown 5th from left. The other two gentlemen are unknown. Although many old barns are missing them, wooden brackets under the eaves can be seen holding a wooden eavestrough. A windmill can be seen over the barn at the rear. Photo courtesy of Florence Brown

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Pottruff Road Barn Raising – Circa 1890

Seen here in six stages, this barn raising took place near Paris in the Pottruff Road area on the north half of Concession 3, Lot 14, Former Brantford Township. From the Paris Museum and Archives – Whiteman’s Creek Tweedsmuir – Photos donated by Clarence and Eva Peart

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Augustus Jones Farm

553 Governor’s Road East, South Dumfries, Circa 1830 – Now used as a barn, this was one of the earliest schools in the area. The school was founded by Augustus Jones, who was a well known land surveyor and his son Peter. The original school on the property was a log cabin that was replaced by this building. Evidence of its former use can be seen on the interior of this barn with half of it being plastered on the inside. Intending to build a mill on the property, Jones ordered stone blocks but the blocks were cut the wrong size. In a dispute with the company, Jones refused to pay the bill and died shortly thereafter.

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The company forced the sale of the farm to pay the debt, leaving the remaining members of the Jones family no choice but to abandon the farm. Jones was originally buried on the farm in a cemetery they called “Cold Springs” but because they no longer owned the farm when his son Peter passed away, they had Augustus’s remains disinterred and he was reburied in Greenwood Cemetery in Brantford beside Peter. As well known as he is in history, his gravesite remains unmarked to this day.

Lathe and plaster can be seen on the interior walls of the barn giving evidence of its former use

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Threshing in Mount Pleasant, Circa 1905

Little is known about this barn other than it once stood on the property where the famous octagonal house stands at the corner of Mt Pleasant Road and Ellis Avenue. Photo courtesy of Linda Guest

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Oak Park Farm

Powerline Road/Hardy Road – Now gone, this beautiful barn was once a showcase for the area and was part of the estate owned by David Christie who was a well known stock breeder and later went on to become Reeve of Brantford Township in 1850 and later M.P.P. Christie held many positions both political and in developing the early agricultural associations. He was Secretary of State in the Cabinet, Speaker of the Senate and he was one of the first members of the Board of Agriculture for Upper Canada. He worked in various capacities in the Provincial Agricultural Association and was part of the commission which was responsible for setting up the Ontario School Of Agriculture (later part of the University of Guelph). In his later years Christie struggled with financial problems mainly because

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of the expense of raising purebred cattle during a very deep depression that gripped the country in the 1870’s. Christie retired from politics in 1878 but continued to be involved in various rolls. In 1880 Christie was named president of the Dominion Council of Agriculture and American Shorthorns Breeders Association. Christie eventually went bankrupt and Oak Park Farm and all his possessions were sold at auction. Christie died in 1880 from a minor wound to his foot which turned gangrenous. The mansion and barns on Oak Park were eventually torn down to make way for a gravel pit. (Dictionary of Canadian Biography on Line) Photo copyright - The Brant Museum and Archives

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Mulligan Road, Onondaga Circa 1850 This rare example of a monitor style barn is thought to be the only surviving one in the County. The design of the barn was efficient and used gravity to do much of the heavy work. Horse and wagon would pull the hay to the hay loft in the top of the barn for storage. When it was needed the hay was dropped through chutes to the floor below and fed to the cows. The manure was then shovelled to the ground floor and loaded into wagons so it could be taken back to the fields to be used as fertilizer. Photo by Carol Moore

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Hamilton Place Stable

Photo Circa 1895 - 165 Grand River Street North Paris - Shown here is the family of Paul Wickson who was a well known Canadian artist. Although born in London, Ontario, Wickson spent much his early years in England learning the arts. He met his future wife, Elizabeth Hamilton or Lizzie as she was better known, of Paris, Ontario in 1884 while she was visiting England with her step mother. Wickson was invited to accompany the two women back to Canada and he and Lizzie were married shortly thereafter. Wickson and Lizzie returned to England but Wickson had fallen in love with Hamilton Place and Paris and they returned there to raise their family and allow Paul to paint in the belvedere above the home. Wickson died in 1922 while sitting in his garden at the age of 62. The home has changed little since the time of Wickson but the stable and greenhouse seen here in the photo have long been torn down. Photo courtesy of the Paris Museum and Historical Society

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The Sanford Incident – 1902 This barn located on German School Road, is thought to be the longest barn in the County. It is also the site of the most famous incidents from that era called, “The Sanford Incident.” In 1902 Joshua Sanford was lowered 87 feet down into a well on the property to disconnect a pipe. Just as he touched bottom the walls collapsed on him, trapping him. Everyone thought he was surely dead until they heard tapping which began a frantic race to save To obtain permission to use any of the following photos, please contact the named source

him. The story captured the interest of all of North America. Every newspaper printed daily updates of Sanford’s plight. It took 4 days to free him but he did not escape unscathed. His arm was left partially paralysed and he had internal injuries. He had a lifelong fear after of being left alone in the dark and he had aged considerably, looking years older than his actual age of 30. For a full account of the story see “At the Forks of the Grand” by Donald A. Smith Photo by Carol Moore

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