How We Ended Up With The Place

The Wilson Homestead has been in my husband's family for approximately 125 years. Over that period of time pieces have been added onto it. The newest addition being 10 years old. Clarke's Great Great Grandfather (John Turnbull Wilson) built the main part of the house around 1878 or1879. The house was then passed down to his son, Willard around 1903. Willard made the most changes to the house. He added a piece for a store and then attached a barn onto that. He changed the gables of the house and he added on the "big" kitchen. The Homestead was a growing concern at that time with an active farm, a country store, gas pumps, boarders, post office, lumbering business and an outfitting business for Atlantic Salmon Fishing. Willard was also known as the local vet. Willard passed the house and the businesses onto his son Murray (Clarke's Grandfather). Shortly after Willard's death the store and the gas pumps were closed. Murray continued farming, lumbering and with the outfitting business. Karl (Clarke's father) joined his father Murray in the outfitting business and the house was passed onto him. Clarke's grandmother lived in the house until about 1984. Karl died in 1983 leaving the house and the Outfitting business to his wife Ethel. Clarke's brother took over management of the Outfitting business for Clarke's Mom. After Clarke's Grandmother moved out of the house, the house was only used in the summer as a dining room for the fisherman and was closed up in the winters. Two years ago the fishing business moved out of the house to a new dining room. The house was closed up and left unheated for two years. We sadly watched the quick decline of the house. We felt we could not watch this house deteriorate into the ground and watch all the history go with it. We approached Clarke's mother and she agreed to sell it to us. And so our work began.....