1920s Farmhouse

This is an altered one-and-a-half storey, wood-framed farmhouse, originally built in 1892. The family of William Rows resided in it at Lot 23, Concession 10, St. Vincent Township, Grey County.

In 1942, the Government of Canada expropriated over 17,000 acres of farmland to build the Meaford Tank Range and Training Area. Though not directly subject to the expropriation, its proximity to the Range led to the house being vacated. In 1976, the County of Grey-Owen Sound Museum purchased it from the Ministry of Natural Resources for one dollar, and it was trucked down Highway 26 to its new location at the museum in Owen Sound.

After ten years of extensive work by staff and volunteers, restoration was complete, and the building was given a front verandah. The rear of the house has a board-and-batten summer kitchen and woodshed. The farmhouse opened to the public in the summer of 1985. After being moved to Moreston Heritage Village in June 2006, it required further extensive restoration work, and reopened in the summer of 2008. Visitors are welcomed by costumed volunteers who interpret the building as a 1920s farmhouse.

Farmhouse's Outhouse

Around 1992, museum staff built this wood-framed, board and batten structure to replicate a farm outhouse. It is not intended for use, but to add visual authenticity to the period building.

Fun fact: One-and-a-half storey farmhouses can be found all over Grey County. Residents were taxed according to the number of storeys their houses had, but half-storeys weren’t counted! Fewer full storeys = less tax paid.