Our SevenMaples farmhouse dates back to circa 1860, putting the “Grande Dame” at around 163 years old in 2023. She has undergone changes over the years including losing the covered front porch and at least 2 chimneys on the east and west side of the front section.
The black and white sketch below shows a very similar style of house in Brighton from around the same time period. I think it could very well be our house, but Ray disagrees based on his research. I hold out the romantic notion that this could be SevenMaples. Regardless, it is of the same style and vintage. You can see people sitting out on the front porch, three chimneys, and a horse and buggy in the lower left foreground. An apple orchard sits out front, which speaks to the heritage of this area as the Southeastern Ontario apple belt.
Our home is divided into 3 sections with the main living quarters at the front, a summer kitchen in the middle, and a carriage house/garage at the back. The previous owners gave us pictures that show 2 chimneys in the same position as the sketch. We understand that these were removed when the roof was replaced within the last decade.
One project in the Spring of 2022 was to put some “lipstick” on the west side of the house, specifically the side porch and barn door on the back section. You can see the “Before, During and After” pictures in the gallery below. The barn door has a stylized “7 M” design, representing SevenMaples, with the 7 in gray on each door (inverted on the left side) and an M beneath the two 7s. See if you can you make it out!
Brick pointing is another important maintenance task on a house of this age. It requires specialized skills, and we were told by the gentlemen working on our house that no one is coming up behind them as apprentices. Once they retire it would seem that that’s it. This is a concern for heritage homes in general, but for now we’re glad to have people who know what they’re doing. Although we’re handy with a lot of things, this would definitely be a new skillset, should we have to learn how to do it.
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