One of their sons died in infancy and four of their sons became medical doctors. Their son Thomas worked the farm until 1942.

The house itself was one of the more grand homes in the area, with two drawing rooms, six bedrooms, a formal dining room and a birthing room off the kitchen. The downstairs boasted 12’ ceilings leading up the sweeping oak staircase to the upstairs with 11’ ceilings.

The lower level of the house was constructed of three rows of bricks and two rows on the upper level for a total of some 92,000 bricks, all of which had to be brought by horse and carriage from Barrie. Tom was given that task as he decided to quit high school to work the farm.

The house has had many lives since the Ross family left in 1942. It has been a rooming house, half-way house, personal residence and retail store.

The house remains much the same today except for the large verandah that now wraps around the front. There have also been additions made to the back porch and the carriage house at the back.

We bought the property in 2001 after visiting it many times when it was a gallery. We often thought we would like to have a home décor/gallery here so when the opportunity came up we knew we had to make our dream come true.