donated the building as well as one acre of property to Parks Canada in 1970. Being such an early example of Regency architecture and having played an import- ant part in the settling of Eastern Ontario, the Historic Sites andMonuments Board of Canada designated the Inveraden House as a national historic site in 1968. When Parks Canada acquired the house in 1970, an extensive restoration project was car- ried out to take it back to its appearance in the 1820’s. The overall project came with a deafening cost; $400,000. Following the restoration, it served as a historicmuseumoperated by the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Historical Society for 30 years. Yet in 1999, Inverarden’s front doors were locked for one last time. Although the building is heated to a min- imal level and an adequate security system is in place, the property has been the subject of neglect. According to a management plan, published by Parks Canada in 2006, “the overall state of heritage presentation at the site is poor and in need of fundamental enhancement.” Current Wood House museum cur- ator and past curator of Inverarden, Ian Bowering, declined to comment or be interviewed. The vast restoration that took place in 1970 appears to have largely been useless, as the management plan issued by Parks Canada highlights several issues that would need to be tackled in order to re-open the historical building. Among them are “the public washrooms and associated plumb- ing system that are in very poor condition, the water supply system, whichmay require upgrading (...), the sewage disposal system, the radiating heating system, found to be inefficient and expensive to operate, as well as the public parking area, which does not offer a safe entrance to the County Road 2”. In addition, the department explained that it isn’t in a financial position to open the site to the public. Therefore, without a suitable tenant, the site will remain closed. Yet Parks Canada is still hopeful that a tenant might be able to save the building, albeit with some considerable guidelines. The tenant would therefore have to protect the cultural resources of the site and com- municate its historic values to visitors and off-site audiences as well as provide visitors with opportunities for a memorable and meaningful visiting experience. “It is a national historic site and as a national property the City has no jurisdic- tion over the property,” explained Ginette Guy, past chair and member of Heritage- Patrimoine Cornwall, an organisationman- dated by the City of Cornwall to document and record heritage buildings throughout the Cornwall Area. A tale of two museums Although younger than Inverarden, the Wood House museum still boasts quite an
impressive history. According to Heritage- Patrimoine Cornwall, a certain William Wood purchased 200 acres next to the St. Lawrence River and proceeded to clear it. He then built a log house for his family. During the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada, a blockhouse was to be built in 1838. However, the government was unable to purchase land in order to build the struc- ture, therefore themany stones procured for the blockhouse were auctioned off. William Wood then proceeded to acquire a portion of thematerial and building of what is now known as theWoodHouse, in 1840. It man- aged to continuously be owned by theWood family until 1953. The closing of Inverarden seemingly coincided with the Wood House mu- seum’s move to its current location in Lamoureux Park. The event, which took several years of planning by city officials, Heritage-Patrimoine Cornwall as well as the SD&GHistorical Society, took place in the middle of winter, on January 8, 2000. In addition, the move saved the structure from demolishing. Is Cornwall too small to accommodate twomuseums? Given that theWoodHouse museum was first opened to the public in 1956 by the SD&GHistorical Society under the name of “the United CountiesMuseum”, it would thereforemean that both structures operated at the same time for nearly 30 years, with no seeming incidents. In an odd twist of faith, the criteria’s highlighted by a report titled The Wood House Historical Background, published by
Heritage-Patrimoine Cornwall, prior to the structure’s moving, are nearly identical to the ones mentioned by Parks Canada, in regards to Inverarden. In addition, the following statement was utilized as a prime argu- ment for the saving of the then threatened museum. “The delightful house of fine pro-
its location or it would be demolished.” The City, through a series of negotiations, convinced Domtar to sell the structure jointly to the SD&G Historical Society as well as the City of Cornwall, provided it was moved to Lamoureux Park. Since the City owns the building, it is
portions and skilled craftsmanship was designated in 1984 due to its historical and architectural sig- nificance.” It therefore appears that the City of Cornwall was ca- pable of safeguarding
responsible for its maintenance and its financial require- ments, explained Guy. “The Wood House Museum is a Heritage-
“the overall state of heritage presentation at the site is poor and in need of fundamental enhancement.”
Designated prop- erty under the Ontario Heritage Act and under amunicipal by-law. ” The move cemented the Wood House’s preservation, but also sealed Inverarden’s fate. It now rots away, awaiting potential funding, in the hopes of one day opening its front doors once more and revealing its secrets.
its historical assets, whereas the Federal Government seems to have categorized Inverarden as nothingmore than a number. The Wood House was indeed saved from destruction shortly before its move. The report explains that “due to Domtar’s expanding needs, it was decided that the WoodHouse would have to bemoved from
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Wednesday, December 2, 2015
The Journal Cornwall
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