We have group members from across the country here, which is very exciting! 🌎 🗺️ Let's take a moment to learn about where each other is from. Please share below one fun fact about your province or territory and one fun fact about the town/city you live in. 🏙️
- I am in Ontario. “Ontario” comes from the Iroquois word for 'beautiful water'. This makes sense because Ontario is home to over 250, 000 lakes!
- Kemptville is often recognized for how many trails we have but we are also home to many heritage buildings. One is the Leahurst home. Fun fact? I worked in this home for several years as an early childhood educator before I switched to this career. This building is now used as a daycare centre. You can read about it here:
Leahurst House (1840-1845)
"The oldest building on the Kemptville College of Agricultural Technology campus and the only one designated as a heritage property, Leahurst began as a farmhouse belonging to the McCargar's, a Wesleyan Methodist family with roots in both the United States and Ireland. According to the records, Thomas McCargar bought the 100 acres in 1825 after it had passed through several hands. The land had been given first to Captain Peter Drummond of Jessup's Rangers as a grant.
Possibly the oldest stone house in the area, Leahurst is believed to have been built in 1840. The assessment rolls describe it as a "stone or brick house" with three fireplaces and a value of 155 pounds.
Since then, it has undergone a metamorphosis. In 1918, two years after the College was started, it was renovated for the first principal, William J. Bell and his family. Work crews constructed a cellar under the entire house and added a second story. The following year, a veranda was added to the front of the house and a bedroom and balcony to the back. In 1949, the back veranda was replaced by a smaller stone veranda. Architecturally, Leahurst is distinguished by three half round dormers and a two tier tin roof.
A one-time women's residence, Leahurst was made into a Home Management Centre for the second time in the late 60's. Scores of Food Management students remember Leahurst as an army recruit remembers basic training. They remember the traumas of formal meals, the dropped forks and the fauxpas, the pressures of carrying on bright table conversation with teachers present. Some remember the windy nights when the doors and windows creaked. They swear Leahurst has a set of ghosts. Most recently, Leahurst had been used for faculty functions and training students in Food Management.
The name Leahurst is derived from "Lea" meaning a grassy meadow, and "hurst" meaning a grove or thicket."
Attached is one photo of Georgian Bay which is one of my favourite bodies of water in Ontario and a photo of the Leahurst House where I worked.
I can’t wait to read your facts or stories and hear about where you live! Please share your facts below. 👇
Khiana Klatt
CSR ServicePlus Heating and Cooling
