Cathy Koop/Cathy Koop
5588 Wellington County Rd. 39, Guelph/Eramosa, Ont.
Asking price: $3,699,900
Taxes: $5,279.21 (2024)
Land size: 70 acres
Agents: Kaitlyn Goodfellow and Bradley Wylde, Re/Max Real Estate Centre
The backstory
For 150 years or so, John and Harriett Card’s female descendants have been the devoted stewards of the log home the couple acquired in the bucolic landscape north of Guelph, Ont.
But the home’s history dates back even farther than that.
Local records suggest the original owner, Englishman John Neeve, built a log cabin in 1827 using the cedar trees cleared to make way for Marden Road, which still traverses the area today.
The 100-acre farm traded hands a few times before the Cards came along in 1856.
By that time, the original one-storey cabin had become two. The cathedral ceiling in the front hall was unusual for the period.
Family lore has it that an early owner had the 17-foot high ceiling built in order to impress his fiancée and entice her to move to the colony from England.
Home of the Week, 5588 Wellington Rd. 39, Guelph/Eramosa, Ont.Cathy Koop/Cathy Koop
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Another of those early residents was an avid reader of Charles Dickens. His 1853 Bleak House inspired her to christen the cabin with the same name, which it still carries, according to current owners Sheila and Norm Fisher.
An edition of the novel from that era is still in the house.
Another of the many heirlooms passed down through the generations is a portrait of Harriett which still hangs above the front door, says Ms. Fisher.
The Cards raised 10 children on the farm before passing it down to their youngest daughter, Mabel.
Mabel’s daughter, Jean, and her husband, John, moved into Bleak House in 1929 after the Wall Street crash that ushered in the Great Depression.
Their daughter, Ms. Fisher, recalls growing up in half of the house because it was too difficult to maintain heat in the entire building.
Ms. Fisher also recalls that many of the ceilings and other elements were in decay.
“My father wanted to tear it down at that point, but my mother wouldn’t hear of it.”
In 1959, her father over-stoked a wood stove before he went to bed on a stormy winter night.
The family escaped a destructive fire, but they had to move out for several months.
“That was another time that you could have demolished the house,” says Ms. Fisher, adding that her mother cherished the heritage home too much.
When Sheila married Norm Fisher a few years later, the couple started their own family on a parcel of land carved out from the farm.
One night Ms. Fisher received a call from her mother, who heard noises on the roof. The culprit turned out to be a raccoon clawing at the shingles.
The damage prompted Mr. Fisher to hire a roofer to patch up the damaged portion. That’s when the family discovered that the rafters were thin saplings dating to the previous century.
In 1986, the Fishers committed to shepherding the building through its next phase. Preserving one of the oldest surviving dwellings in Wellington County was paramount for the couple.
The house today
Replacing a few shingles turned into rebuilding the roof on the historic log home, and before long the Fishers were immersed in a project that led to strengthening the foundation, reconnecting the two halves and undertaking a major renovation.
The logs, squared and dovetailed at the corners, stretch the full 40-foot length and 30-foot depth of the building. Workers stripped the interior and rebuilt the house from the inside out.
When they were finished, Mr. Fisher says, the family had a new house within the structure. The wood exterior was repaired and treated with a preservative by a local specialist.
“It’s an old log house with a modern interior.”
In 1987, the couple moved with their four children to the house with five bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,752 square feet of living space.
The couple turned the original dining room into a primary suite with a whirlpool bathtub and created an eat-in kitchen with wooden cabinets and an island.
Four bedrooms upstairs accommodated their three daughters and one son.
Modern conveniences include central air heating and cooling, central vacuuming and upgraded wiring and plumbing.
Outside, a 3,200-square-foot workshop includes a large insulated and heated section.
Today the Fishers have a city residence in nearby Guelph but they spend lots of time at the farm gardening, reading and taking in nature.
The property is also close to the towns of Fergus and Elora, and a GO Transit station is about 10 minutes away.
Approximately 50 acres of the property are under a share crop open agreement with a local farming operation.
A fence built of local fieldstone runs along Wellington Road 39, and Hopewell Creek runs through the property. Towering spruce and other mature trees shelter the house from view.
The farm borders the Kissing Bridge Trail, which has replaced an old railway line that cut across area farms and raised the ire of John Card in his day. Today the path is popular with hikers, cyclists and bird watchers.
“We love to see people using that trail,” says Ms. Fisher.
Ms. Fisher is amazed at the longevity of the house built by early settlers.
“They built log houses not for 200 years but just so they could save up enough to build a stone structure.”
She hopes new owners will conserve the home for future generations.
“I’d love to see a family take it over,” she says.
The best feature
Ms. Fisher recalls a time during her childhood when one of the hefty logs on the south elevation developed a crack. The wall was taken down and replaced with a new wall clad in siding.
The Fishers transformed that part of the house by replacing that wall with stone and extending the house with a large solarium that quickly became the family’s favourite spot for meals, lounging and entertaining.
Expansive windows on three sides offer views of the verdant surroundings.