Petch House, It Was A Lifetime Opportunity

Theoretically Petch House will never be the same. As of a last week August 4th, 2011 in the late afternoon, the house was totally taken apart and all logs and other parts of the house were moved to the storage on the local farm where it will be restored. In the future, it will have a new and restored look.

However, it will take a great skill to restore the house, as it took a great skill to built this house in 1840s, and in the future this will be definitely a historical event.


I must say it was a lifetime opportunity to photograph the Petch house before it was labelled and dismantled. I was inside in the early spring. I many times visited from outside. I saw and photographed the gradual deterioration, especially of the logs on the corners. I saw embraced by nature and guarded by wildlife.


Lastly I was able to photograph inside again when town went go ahead with the dis-assembly. I was inside once again by permission equipped with my camera, safety boots and hard-hat. Once the roof was removed, the logs inside got to see the natural light and beautiful wood log textures were revealed.

Then on August 3rd, 2011 I found a spot across the Leslie Street to witness and photograph the dismantling process of the walls, down to the floor. I had my little Matthew with me that day, so going closer to the site with a heavy equipment was a big no for us.


To see the Petch house photographed at different stages of disassembly by Peter Van Nostrand, his team and with the help of town on August 3rd, 2011 and much more you can visit The Friends of Petch House the Restoration web page.


Hope everyone enjoyed my little photographic journey of the Petch house last few months, but before you move on note something I just realized – the background. There was nothing else, but trees, lots of green trees.

So until next time … it may be quiet for a while.