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This one and a half story log house was lived in by the Andrew Ferguson family.Andrew George Ferguson, born 1864, was the son of John and Mary Ann Ferguson. He married Mary Ann Bayer, daughter of Rheinhart (Rhinard) Bayer on October 27, 1889, in Little Current.
At the time the house was acquired by the museum, it was George Bishop's plan to fill it with items related to the Ferguson family. This never happened, however, the high chair the Ferguson children sat in, is in a special place in the main museum and several items from the Maimie (Ferguson) Marshall family are safely housed in the Morrow Homestead.
The Andrew Ferguson house was moved to the Little Current- Howland Centennial Museum property from Lot 8, Concession 8, Howland Township in the spring of 1974.
The house had been abandoned for many years and the summer kitchen that was attached to the house on the Ferguson property was not salvageable.
When this house was first acquired, it had shingles over the square timbers. When reconstructed, all of the log and mortar was left showing and only the roof and gable ends were shingled. Curator George Bishop noted that about 50% of the original shingles on the building were salvaged and reused on the gable ends. The original shingles from the roof were a total loss. George said that when he built Red Lodge in 1936, shingles were $3.25 a square, and now in 1974, they were $50.00 a square.
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The front of the house is squared timber 20' x 12'.Originally there was a set of stairs leading to the second story. The attic space is one large room with a door on the west-side and a single, square window in the east gable. The door was not closed off when the building was rebuilt, and has always caused moisture problems.
Summer students and volunteers in 1995 replaced the stairs in the log portion with a ladder that leads to the loft and laid a new white pine floor, cut and planed by Ron Lewis, in 1995. They also filled in some of the holes with mortar and whitewashed the interior.
In 1998, Students replaced broken floorboards in the kitchen area, but the museum board deemed the building unsafe for visitors.
In 2001, a fundraising drive was started to restore the Ferguson house by John and Marjorie Weller. Since then, the majority of the museum's fundraising has gone to the Ferguson House Restoration project.
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The Andrew George Ferguson family1900
10862 Highway 6, Sheguiandah, Ontario, Canada
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Andrew George Ferguson, his wife Mary Ann (Bayer) and children, Mary Elizabeth and Lena Lucy.From the left the boys are, Bill, Reuben and John Benjamin, Floyd is sitting in front.
This family is connected to both the Ferguson Homestead and the Bayer Ferguson Home.
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The original condition of the Andrew Ferguson Homestead1973
Off Green Bay Road, Manitoulin Island
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The summer kitchen and upstairs bedroom were not salvageable when the house was taken down.7
The Andrew Ferguson Homestead under reconstruction1974
Highway 6, Sheguiandah, Ontario, Canada
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The doorway on the second floor originally led to a bedroom over a summer kitchen. This door should have been closed in at the time it was rebuilt.9
Two new buildings1975
Highway 6, Sheguiandah, Ontario, Canada
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The Sommerville Granary and the Andrew Ferguson Homestead were completed in 1975.11
The Andrew Ferguson Homestead1975
Highway 6, Sheguiandah, Ontario, Canada
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The Andrew Ferguson Homestead1995
Sheguiandah, Ontario, Canada
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The original log portion of the Andrew Ferguson Homestead1995
Sheguiandah, Ontario, Canada
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The log portion of the Andrew Ferguson Homestead in 1995. |
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