This week, I learned the old log cabin once owned by my late Oma, Peg Walton and her husband Murray Walton was sold for just the third time since they reconstructed it in Millhaven, Ontario over 60 years ago.
It’s prompted me to share the remarkable story of how this landmark in the sleepy hamlet of Millhaven came to be.
The log cabin dates back to 1820 in Manilla, Ontario, a small village near Lindsay. It was built by Murray's great grandfather, who constructed it himself of large, handhewn timbers. The cabin was the home of Murray's grandfather, John Rudd and later Murray's mother was born there. It wasn't until 1963 when Peg and Murray acted on their plans to move the log cabin from its location to Millhaven, 240km away to house an antique shop.
Deconstructing and reconstructing the cabin would be no easy feat. But with the right people and equipment the building was painstakingly dismantled and transported to Millhaven on a flat bed truck.
The cabin was reconstructed on the North end of Peg and Murray's property, a stone's throw from their main house, lovingly referred to as "the Cottage." Its location was no accident as it sat adjacent to Bath Road/Loyalist Highway 33, tempting travellers to stop into the antique shop when it was ready to open.
With the log cabin built, the time came to name it. Millhaven is a historic district, and at the time, in the village, the Inn, the ferry and the creek had the name "Millhaven." A few miles up the creek there is an old mill site. Peg and Murray knew they wished to include the "mill"in the name of their operation.
It was true that Peg was born in Millinocket, Maine, the name an old Native American one meaning "Lake Of Many Islands."As they are situated at the gateway of the Thousand Islands, they decided to use the name of her birthplace for their shop, descriptive of the area, and including reference to the local mill. And so Millinocket House was born.
With location and name secured, the time came to curate antiques for the shop from Europe and other locales, something Peg and Murray both enjoyed immensely. Some of those 'expeditions' are captured in Peg's travelogues previously shared here and on Instagram. In a short period of time, Millinocket House opened its doors, prompting one friend to comment it was "exactly what you hope an antique shop will be."
Peg and Murray later added the "Studio" next door to it, which in 2024 functions as a guest bunkie.
Over the years it became necessary for Peg and Murray to sell the entire property as the upkeep and costs of maintaining the property's five buildings (Cottage, Garage/Apartment, Bunkie, Studio, Log Cabin) became too much. They came to an agreement with the next owners to live in the Log Cabin after it had retired as an antiques shop.
We visited them on many occasions after they moved into Millinocket House, before they assumed a somewhat nomadic life in Kingston; Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; and eventually Bath and Napanee where Murray and Peg respectively entered long-term care before they passed on.
Millinocket House was an exclamation mark to an exceptional life for Peg and Murray, and I'm fortunate to have shared in some of those adventures.
I wish I'd spent more time here. It's a common reflection for people my age - to trade trivial moments of youth with time spent with our elders and others long gone.
But I am fortunate, not only for the memories and photos/writings, but for new friends such as John Suk, the latest owner of the Millhaven property. Although he has just severed/sold Millinocket House, he mainatins the Cottage and the other buildings and we have been generously invited for a stay next month to see the property. I am overwhelmed at the prospect, as I have many memories from the cottage and all its aspects as well.
I look forward to sharing those reflections here and on Instagram at Peg's Projects over the coming weeks but until then, please enjoy the Millinocket House posts on Instagram.
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