The name is HOOVER

The Old Hoover House which went through many uses is an amazing structure. It had a small creek that ran under the western foundation, which allowed the family to have water year round. An elaborate hand pump in the basement was used to move water into the attic. Thus the house had running water from the water pressure coming from the tank at the highest point of the house.

One of the children who grew up in the house returned in the summer of 1992 and gave us some interesting history of the home.

Did you know that the exterior walls were 12 inches thick - poured concrete - and exactly 40 feet one half inch in length. The basement had a fireplace which was used for boiling sap to make maple syrup and there were many rooms in the basement which were used to dry and preserve fruit from the many fruit trees that grew on the property.

The house had, at one time, used natural gas for heating, directly from the floor of Lake Erie. Natural Gas bubbles up through the lake floor in several places, and the Hoovers taped into it.

The foundation of the original home the Hoovers lived in was directly north of the old house. When we arrived it was covered in refuse that had been dumped there, and was over grown. Using money from a Canada Works Program we cleaned up the site and discovered the old foundation.

You can read about the history of the Hoover family here.

But from the pages of Camp Selkirk history comes this picture from within the house! Thanks J9!