The Griffin House – History in the Valley

Often, when thinking about historical significance in the Dundas Valley our thoughts turn to the interesting history of the Hermitage. Although this is probably the most well known, there is another important site just a short walk away.

Parking by the Hermitage Gatehouse on Sulpher Springs Road in Ancaster last Saturday morning, I stopped to check out the Hermitage Cascade, a beautiful 13 foot high waterfall located directly behind the gatehouse. I had not visited this waterfall since the winter and so enjoyed how it looked surrounded by summer vegetation.

I then headed west on Sulpher Springs, continuing on Mineral Springs Road for the short walk to The Griffin House, a site that I had seen photos of but never visited before.

The Griffin House, built circa 1828, sits atop a hill on Mineral Springs Road overlooking the Valley. Originally, the farm was part of a 200 acre lot granted to David Cummings in 1798. In 1834 it was purchased, along with the surrounding 50 acres in by Enerals Griffin who purchased it from George Hogeboom, a local contractor.

Enerals Griffin along with his wife, Priscilla had crossed the border probably in the Port Stanley area in 1829, to escape slavery in the United States, possibly making use of the Underground Railroad. For the next 150 years, their descendents lived and farmed here.

In 1988, the property was sold to the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority by the estate of the last owner, a descendant of Griffin.

The small one and a half storey house is significant both from an architectural and historical point of view. One of the few remaining clapboard homes from the first half of the 19th century in the Ancaster area, it represents a modest working man's farmhouse. Its intact condition with few alterations makes it a significant architectural structure. In addition, the house and site are one of the earliest surviving homesteads in the province.

Archaeologists have unearthed over 3,000 artifacts on this small site including stoneware, porcelain, clay pipes, and masonry. Between 1992 and 1994 the house was restored to its early 19 century time period and in 1995 it was officially opened to the public.

This site now managed as a joint project between the Hamilton Conservation Authority and Fieldcote Memorial Park and Museum, was designated a National Historical Site by the Minister of the Environment, the Honourable John Baird, in 2008.

Standing alone in the shade of this humble yet important structure I tried to imagine what life might have looked like back then. A beautiful piece of history, The Griffin House is certainly worth a visit.

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