Fairfield House

Fairfield House was completed, according to tradition, in 1793 and offers a rare opportunity to visit a house built entirely by hand in the decade following the start of Loyalist settlement in Ontario in 1784. It was built by William Fairfield, a Loyalist who had settled here with his family nine years earlier. In form and type of construction this large handsome farmhouse reflects the New England background of the Fairfields.

Today, Fairfield House is eastern Ontario's best preserved 18th century dwelling, distinguished by the survival of many of its original interior features. Occupied by six generations of Fairfields until 1959, the house survives as an outstanding record of 18th century building techniques.

Fairfield House officially opened to the public in September 1984, the bicentennial of the Loyalists' settling of Amherstview, with a visit by Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. It operates today as a heritage house museum with the aim to preserve as much of the original fabric of the house as possible to reflect the work of the builders and the changes the family made during the first 100 years in the house. On guided tours, visitors move all through the house - from the limestone cellar to the raftered attic.

Hours of Operation

Open Canada Day through August
Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Admission charge $3 (cash only)

Location

4574 Loyalist Parkway (Hwy 33), Amherstview

Accessibility

Please note that as an historic site, the space does have some physical barriers.

vintage black and white photo of Fairfield House

History

Before the American Revolutionary War, William and Abigail Fairfield were farming in Pawlet, Virginia. In July of 1778, William went to what became Upper Canada to avoid further arrest for refusing to join the rebels. He began his service to the Crown as a pensioned volunteer in Edward Jessup's Corps of Rangers, serving the rest of the war years as a scout and cutting timber.
In July 1779, Abigail Fairfield with their seven children left the remains of their Vermont farm and joined three other loyalist wives with their children to travel north to the British line. Abigail remained at the large refugee establishment at Machiche, on the St. Lawrence, west of Trois Rivieres. Machiche offered shelter, provisions and a school. Abigail and her growing family remained there for at least three and a half years.
The Fairfields traveled with other Loyalist families to settle in what is now Amherstview. William, now 51, started again, clearing land, building a home and establishing a farm for his family which eventually included six sons and six daughters.
William Fairfield, their third son, built a similar house, the Fairfield-Gutzeit House in Bath. By the time his father died in 1812, the Fairfield family had become Loyalists of considerable prominence.
In 1959, after six generations of family occupancy, Fairfield House became the property of the Province of Ontario who entrusted it to the St. Lawrence Parks Commission who operated and maintained the building until 1998 when ownership passed to Loyalist Township.
In 2000, Fairfield House was named by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada to be one of the 250 best examples of Canadian architecture over the last 1,000 years. It was chosen mainly for its historical value as this colonial style home was among the first permanent structures built in Ontario by the migrating Loyalists.
The Fairfield Homestead Association provides a more detailed history of the family and details of the construction of the house.

About the Fairfield Homestead Heritage Association

The FHHA promotes the preservation of Fairfield House an provides guided tours and heritage programming at the house through an agreement with Loyalist Township, who became the owners in 1998. The FHHA works to ensure the preservation of the house and collection and provide opportunities for the the discovery and appreciation of the heritage of the Fairfield Homestead. A tour sampler can be found on the FHHA website.

Contact the FHHA

For more information you can email the staff or visit the FHHA website.