In April, I wrote in Oldest house in Knowlton, Quebec slated for demolition that the 199-year-old Paul Holland Knowlton log house, owned by a local golf club, was going to be demolished unless the the Brome County Historical Society could raise enough money to move the house.
Now, there’s good news.
The house is being relocated thanks to the dedication of the Paul Holland Knowlton House Committee that has successfully raised funds and pledges of about $60,000, which is enough to kick-start the project to install the house on a new foundation. The golf club also paid to move the house. As the restoration will be handled in phases, the Paul Holland Knowlton House committee will need to continue its fundraising activities until the house is fully restored.
Removing the aluminum siding from the Paul Holland Knowlton House revealed the original logs. October 9, 2014. Photographer: Kathy Lexow. Courtesy of the Paul Holland Knowlton House Committee.
Last Wednesday, the society posted an update and photos on its website: “The forms went in today for the concrete foundation. The next step will be to back-fill around the foundation. … Meanwhile, back at the Knowlton Golf Club, the PHK house is being stripped of its modern exterior aluminum siding.”
Judith Duncanson of the Paul Holland Knowlton House Committee said, “Some repair will have to be done where windows were cut into the logs long, long after the house was built. But it is in amazing condition. All that siding on it protected it over the years.”
An overlap technique at the corners was used to originally build the Paul Holland Knowlton log house. October 9, 2014. Photographer: Kathy Lexow. Courtesy of the Paul Holland Knowlton House Committee.
The restoration contractor believes the pine logs used to build the house date back to 1815 or earlier. Many years later, in the late 1800s, a row of hemlock logs was added to the bottom of the house.
The home was built in 1815 by Paul Holland Knowlton, the founder of the village in the Eastern Townships. Mr. Knowlton was born in Newfane, Vermont in 1787. At age 28, he settled just outside the future town of Knowlton and later relocated to present-day Knowlton, where he founded a sawmill, store and grist mill. He became a prominent politician, militia leader, and newspaper publisher. He also founded the area’s first high school in 1854.
Ms. Duncanson said that the community has been “fabulous” in its support. An elderly resident recently made a donation because her grandparents were among the original settlers in the area, and she feels part of the property.
Inside the Paul Holland Knowlton House. October 7, 2014. Photographer: Kathy Lexow. Courtesy of the Paul Holland Knowlton House Committee.
The Paul Holland Knowlton Committee still needs to raise more money to install new windows and doors. To learn about how to make a donation by mail or online, click here.
Knowlton is known for its Loyalist history and is one of the prettiest towns in Quebec. It is located about 100 kilometres from Montreal.
Information about the house and its restoration is available on the society website page, About the restoration project, and on the Save the Paul Holland Knowlton House website.
