Built in 1814, the Charles Ermatinger Residence is the oldest stone structure west of Toronto. Our previous firm researched and designed the original restoration over 15 years. David Ellis designed the ‘Summer Kitchen’ addition which serves as an interpretive centre and offices for this historic site.

Originally, this firm executed the restoration of the Ermatinger Residence into a historically accurate condition as it was first built. Mr. Ellis’s later work involved the design for the summer kitchen which was also to provide a historically accurate building type for the period. We wished the addition to be a living history in and of the time of 1814. As very little information remained of the original, our research yielded the typology, but not the exact plans of the structure. Mr. Ellis selected each piece of wood and stone by hand for its inclusion in the construction, matching those which would have been available in at the time of construction.