Backus Family Homestead - Port Rowan, Ontario - Homesteads on Waymarking.com

According to the provincial heritage plaque that is found nearby: John Backhouse emigrated from Yorkshire to the United States in 1791 but shortly thereafter, moved to Upper Canada. He served as a Major of the 1st Norfolk Militia in the War of 1812 and became a chairman of the Quarter Sessions, then the chief instrument of local government. He is believed to have erected the mill that is near the homestead in 1798. All of the property remained in the possession of his descendants until its purchase 1955 by the Big Creek Region Conservation Authority having been in continuous operation for a longer period than any mill in Ontario.

Tours of the homestead are led by a local history buff who is dressed in period clothing. The home is decorated in period furnishings and include the dining room, living room and kitchen on the main floor. Several bedrooms and a bathroom occupy the second floor. A large porch graces three sides of the main level.

The homestead is part of Backus Pioneer Village and Historic Site which consists of 15 buildings as they were lived in during the late 1700s and 1900s. Beyond the homestead, highlights include an octagonal school house, a local history museum and the 1798 Backhouse Grist Mill National Historic Site. The old red mill is one of the few mills in Norfolk County not destroyed during the War of 1812 and today stands as an example of early milling technology. Here you can learn how stone ground flour was produced more than 200 years ago.

Link to the Homestead: [Web Link] Structure Type: Stone History if no Link: Not listed Additional Parking or Point of Interest: Not Listed

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