Keirstead's

Keirstead's - Ganong Road 

History and Style:

This home was built circa 1878 and has been authentically restored by its current owners in the late 1990s. It was built for the Ganong family by the same carpenter that built the nearby Dann Homestead. The carpenter travelled along the area and stayed with a neighbouring family while working on the house.  Directly across the road from the house there used to be a carriage house, and across from the lodge there was a large cattle barn and slaughterhouse. 

A kitchen attachment was added to the side of the house during the extensive interior and exterior restoration and renovations. The trim on the new attachment was hand cut to match the trim on the original house. A stone stairway was added to the front door. The steep cedar-shingle 12-12 pitched roof was replaced with steel. The house was built on a double rock foundation with rubble in between. This can be seen on the exterior of the original house and in the basement. Three wooden spires, which originally were at each end of the house and on the front, had already been removed. The interior of the house has also been restored and renovated while maintaining many of the original features such as the softwood floors and bannister.  Much of the interior trim has been restored or replicated. The primitive electrical system from the 1960s was removed and replaced and indoor plumbing was installed. Prior to the 1990 renovations, there was a gravity run water system. Water ran from the spring on the back hill, through wooden pipes, to the summer kitchen.

The business on this lot, Elmhurst Outdoors, derives its name from the old farming community, Elmhurst, that existed at this location. Some of the original farmland, which stretched from Peters Brook to halfway up the hill, has been reclaimed by the forest. Rock piles made by field clearing and old fences found in the woods verify this. Prior to the appearance of Dutch Elm Disease, this area had many elm trees, hence the name Elmhurst. The current owners use the land as a maple sugar bush and for outdoor recreation including skiing, snowshoeing, and skating. 

Below are photos from the renovation in the 1990s.