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BERTIE HALL
bv11-:r
( �
-:3 3
home
This laree
on
the ground
floor has
at
two laree � arl o rs back to back. The ceilings
t�e
in both rooms are at least 12�t. high and on the north
wall of each is an imported Italian :fireplace i,bet
front
across in saline boats for the original owne�
To the Pbitps st. side as you enter the front ...door
is a budge-winding staircase that would be a credit to
anv southern mantion. The ceiling in this hallway from
th� floor to tta�-over tbe stair is 22ft. in height.
Behind the hall on .the. Phipps St. side is a s'1lall r6_om
used in later years by Mr. Pattison for a bedroom ; � u
no doubt in yea rs pone bv a serving pantry. To the
ce'1 e
of this mn tbe same side is a very narrow kitchen
the aorth aide is an
Behind the £rant P a rlo�s on
aveape sized room for the dinning area and to the back
of the house anot�er room about half the size of this
a · narrow
.As you co1"'1e out' of t'r,e A. tchen there $6
floor.
second.
the
to
'-�'illding back --tair-Nay leading
3egil"nine at the front are .two larre >:iedrooms bac t:s
aY1d reached fro,,- the land ine, surround ng -·the s t airc a s e
Eahh �f '.theee rooms has its imported Italian Marble
fireplace; but tbev are not as elaborate as those on
t1:"1e €round floor
Two t'1e hack of tbe house are sever
roo�s perhaps used for servants or for the children
frir the origir.al Nilliam Fors;yth had nine children fro
one wife and ten from another. The floors throughout
the house a�e the orieinal wide pine 'boars. It is
surprising but moat of the rooms upstairs sem r ·to have
had o:nly two ,layers of 7!ellpaper.
A ve� narrow sta±it?way lead.::3 to· the At tic. ; and
to one· from '·tr:e ;Year 1969 this is the most stricking
part of the hous.e. Not having been lived in the wood
stands . as it dj d the day it was first put into pl�ce.
The beams are a l l . hand huen timbers o.f black wallnu t
and the size ancf ieng 'l-: t is something to 1'.lehold. _he
tre6s growtnp in t-e area must have been of' emence 3j_ze
•11 show s:! r:rs of -:'o-ck "''i �h t�e .:1DZE-end �11 tl"e cross
bee1T's �re pu-+; toi:retlier with pe g s that are "t l@6�i!3
·r fteen foot in le�pht. There ere �t ench cros3 piec e�
�our of these pegs a�out six inc�es apart end
bout
a ft.
one above �i..e other. The at�.ic is only abou t
six to eifht in. the ce11tre tl-ie only plpce you cen :atc:n
It strd;l,tches from tt.e veradnh at t""le front just 'J�,ck
o f the two larpe parlors.
� look at tte outs"dtde'
or t
the �uilding one can see-t�e ��c� p�rt of �te house is
•
•
.
·
·
much
ne
lo-:-,,rer.
1'he wa,_l
:f8ced wt t� �rick
e't t•·e end
end
it
is
of the
a��ic
is o:f
�rigin1il i:·· colour
�stone and brick and never having been pain ted over
is inside
i +, shoiNS on1v t�1e mellowness of time.
.flagstone
solid
is
basement
t�-.e
:trom
rizes
-1bich
11
wa
2m .
-:hickness
ir
ft.
a
over
from there ti') t1�e rafters
en
the
ir
-ain
fsced on oi +,'Ir.er side ·-i :t rEOd �ric - s.:r:d
s cor,1 floors �1...;.s is coirred ·cri �h lath end plaster.
-rhe floe:!" ,_,o�rd:; ..:r ... 1.-e ·a�·.ie are ere �"':e ori pi� �l e{l.C
ea:s� t ... :s_ c · .... i-ie size ol" thaG� on t:te ot:!:ler
are at
an
fi
·
�
floors neinp n� least t�nee hcnds �ide.
��e ce1!�r �f t�e home la most notorious !or it
has been sai3 :'rc-r �-irre ·mor'nl tho.t there was a trcp
a�or ,_e.r:-dj1'1j 'r+� 8 �UnY"el a.ri::: :fron: tlJe h01108 nroper
to +.1�e river. The Forsvth 's 1;vere noted smueelers on th
River ; and th i ;3 vVo.3 1rhat was to have given them the
edpe ov r KERBY ar� his men. It is hard to vision
dipf'i g such an e·rrnence ceJJ er by hand and then havvlin
the f} e.gstone to build the wal£3 which are twelve
13].
ft. in heiebt ; and at least seven of' this is under
ground level. '":'.e ce: lar is cut into two
arge square
or.e o..o --1·ic1: ·�ou�� equal ope: of' 19G9. ·�o t"1e
roor<Js ;
Phipps st. side there is two smaller rooms. Three of
the rooms have exsposed beams tana flagstone walls
and dirt floors. 'Ibe sr11all cellar to the 80U th west
corner had a brick floor over the dirt t b en�h.'i's was
� The beams ·r:ere coveil�ed and r;lastered , as
weret'hev wal l s . No doubt htis WcS used for food stoor
age. Tfi tbe',nortb.L'west corner of the larger cellar
there is a hud re door at least ten foot in he i.ght that
leads to an outdoor entrance.
rl;ere is only one o ,,!-.er
d rJOr ar:c1 �,..,�"". i-:; t, o -ti.-e srrall ce�lar t��t "·�s the
plasterinP. T'·e stair·Nay leadi.np dovvn to tte cpl1Er
is onlv aoout four ft. 'vvide and -you desee.ifud 3St±a.i:�ht
d own t. e ra rrow steps with the flagstone :valls ·
surrounding vou on either side. Thi3 is indeed th e
sturdiest built house in fort Erie if not in �he
area
for miles around.
·
Uy personal
in 1969.
views of Bertie Hall
Louis ]�c,
Dermott
as
seen
�
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BERTIE HALL:::
1833.
& Phipps St.
Niagara Blvd.
Th i s large red brick home on the river road,
F ort Erie was bui lt by Will ia m Forsyth Sr.
he left Niagara Fal l s
the porticao.
for
Town
of
It was
b uilt in
the
pillars s up porting
with large round
William got permission to quarry stone
1833
In Jan.
in the
in 1833 shortly after
for Bertie T ownship .
American Classical fashion,
page 1.
the home on the margin of the land between Fort Erie ( The old
fo rt )
and the Ferry landing(
south of the F ort ,
Bert ie St.)
along the Lake Shore.
permiss i on to put up the house.
and also from the land
In Feb.
of 1833 he
It is said that the brick
got
was
b rough t from Hamilton ,' however the enormaus cellar which is twelve
feet at least in depth, is constructed of the stone aquired a lon g
Th e dwelling boasts a lar ge cj�rcular
the Lakeshore at Fort Erie.
stairway
e nt ranc e
at the
which reaches almos t
four
rooms were heated by
e la b ora te
forty
fireplaces;
feet.
It's
two on either floor.
Those in the double parlors on the groun d floor , are of imported
I tali an
marbel brought (l. ve r in a sailing ship.
high c eilings
fourteen ft.
,
in he:i·ght;
eutward.:·.C:;.p1)earance of the home,
The rooms have very
but i 1.1s pi t e of the large
they are no t numerous.
To the ri ght of the entrance way, is th e front parlor, and on
the left side of this is a small room that could have been a serÂ
ving pantry.
a
Directtly behind is the se c ond parlor, and to it's rear
ra t h er small dining
very narrow ki�chen
•
rOO.ffil.� To
An original sketch of the home in the 1870's
shows an extension running
to the roadway
space.
;
that
Except for
a
the side of this,facing Phipps is a
from the
put in many years
ground flooor plan as I remember it.
average size
,
with high celings;
upstairs sitting room, or
a
south west
b e en a s ummer kitchen or storage
could have
b a thr oom ,
back of the house,
Upstairs
later; this is the
are four be d r oo ms of
that was perhaps an
and a room
room for servants.
The Forsyths were note d smugglers; so along with the necessary
the large cellar
house hold
goods,
articles.
The walls which are some
are of cut flagstone,
room which had
a
brick
was
c a pa b le
of storing many
f our teen to fi f t een ft ..
and· the floor of dirt;
except
for
ot h e r
in height
one small
floor and plastered walls, and celing. It no
doubt was used for storing food or beverages. During the Fenian Raids
it has been said that a portion of the cellar was used to house
prisoners.
c 011 t. : :
by Louis Mc.
Dermott.
:
�page 2.
that the c e lla r contained
It has always been popular belief,
tunnel connecting it with the river;
a
however there has
Kerby ta:' ked of a c ave along
any written proof.
however he did not describe it
a tunnel,
as
never
been
the river's edge,
or c onnect it with Berti e
Hall.
An article
from the
mentions a SMUGGLER'S CAVE belonging to a ·Col.
his birthdate
goes
on
Tor:t(i;s.
as
1758,
as
cause
This birthd.ate does not fit,
William Forsyth Jr.,
and many Of the
our
and no doubt the
fact that it
It also
of the British and American
William or that
of his son
facts in the article
nicknamed
was
It· gives
William Forsyth.
However the discription of the Cave,
confusing.
20th.,1954
his place of birt h as Pennsylvania.
to say that he championed the
;�
dated Oct.
Niagara Fall's Review,
the
is
very
are
very believing
Smugglers Home,
accounts
for the stories that have came down,of a tunnel in Berti e Hall.
It states that from
to
1828
1865 it
was used
by the underground
house Negro slaves escaping from the United States.
This confirms my
belief that Bertie Hall itself was never used for this
1865 it
feJ..l into disrepair
,
and
of this tunnel and found
for signs
port N.Y.
alive
F.
made a similar
and
was
it remains
so
In
many had before
as
Forsyth of LockÂ
tour of Bertie Hall,while Frank Pattison was
Mrf
Killbridge
,
the
owner aft er
again unsuccessful.in proving any truth to this old tale
to-day: just that.
The pillars at the
during the Pattison
front
of the house were in desperate
occupation, and
as the cost
n e ed
of repair
of replacing them as they
he had them formed in cement over a slab
,
and they now have a squared appearance that does nothing for the�
originally were,
lining,
I searched
nothing. Mr. Ed
and mentioned fin din g nothing.
Pattis on
purpose.
demolished.
was
On my tour of the old home in 1967,
me,
to
was
prohibitive;
outward appearance.
After the death of William Forsyth Sr., although the home was left
to his wife Jane,
At
his death
In
1876,
in The
it's running,was taken over by his son Issac Brock
William Brock Forsyth.
it passrd on to his son;
John Crabb was proprietor of Bertie Hall Hotel,
Official Atlas of Lincoln and Welland Counties:
The old home came into the hands of Stephen M.
village
of Victoria.
He in turn sold
Pattison bought the
til l the time
of his death in 1965.
Estate, and in
1968
was
as
by H.R.
from R.G.
Barrett
Pag� ..
Barrett,
1882.
and lived in it
Bertie Hall was left to the
sold to John T.
recorded
Jarvis who laid out the
Robert G.
to
home
In 1901 Frank
•
Pattison
of Buffalo N.Y.
and thro gh the efforts
r:.t the Niagara Parks
Killbridge
�
summer of 1981,
al e the
Bertie Hall came up for s
Society i.t was purchas,
of the Bertie Historical
Mahoney collection of doll house.
Gommision: to house the
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APRIL 27th
BERTIE
HALL:::
d e a th of Frank
After the
Bertie
Hall,
report
on the home,
Fort
as
also feels
Sarah,
far.!Tl of Henry
the N.
,
this.
Mrs.
corn er of
Forsyth
to the pJrchase
Forsyth
the
1840*s.
early
up with any written
Fal l s and
left�Niagara
Niagara River,
on
Ln
original
Issac Broc k Fo�syth and his wife
come
Phip�s st.
as the
Sr.
in
proof
purchased
to
the
i
11::3 3� .Bertie Hall sta fs
u
An guish property.
the
Bertie
Hal l was o f
for
the
bJilding of
t hi s
brick c on structio n;
home;
his
m J st
been an earl i er b u i l d i ng
Records of Col.
is fJrther reports from the papers
believe
Kerby,
it r e ad s WM
�
he
on tne
river road
house,
arte rwards named B e rtie
,
w ere
The fact that
no,
brick
in
and
note that the f Jll
twei ve ft.
devided
in height,
in all,it amounted
to a
qJe sti o n is similar to that
Fo rt at
the entrance
f irst
Forsyth removed to a farm
a
large
brick
1
of these
to
considerable
used
the re q u e st was for s to ne,
consists
basement
.
and
I have studied this home perso n n ally
for
into several rooms,which adds
·!.
In the
&
Hall::: etc .
is mentioned,
and se v e
98;
con str u cti on of
began
way conflicts;
actually
make
C r u ik sh a n k page
by E.A.
you will note that
paragrapb
and
by
requested permiss ion stone
Contrary to this
-
prior
was aware of the publLshed re p ort s in which
Summers
bJt felt that as
have
to
Forsyt h
- S-agarle.yi. the
W.
�P
that it was plt
Wm
Wm.
phase
file a
to
of Indian affairs as a hist orical building.
although was not able
subsLantiate
on
Summers was asked
e l i m ina t e s William
search she
of
Pattison owner
and pu�s the date of it*s constrJction as
bJilder,
She
R.
the second
of the home by the Dept.
In her
Mrs.
Erie;
1973.
in
of the River.
�he
of Flagst o n e
Jndergrc)'Jnd. The
of
the amount
quantity.
basement
fla�stone,
The stone
cons t r u c t i on
of
w a lls,
the
in
is
�RESUME OF
OF BERTIE HALL
TITLE
..
..
.·,/
·i�06:.to . H en ry
1.. Crown Gran.t
.
lialf)
of 101:·,no� 8,
lst
Anguish,
'
.
:
for the south 60 ' a � res
.,
;,
concession of B er t i e
Twp.
i
',
·.·I
....
Missing link in title between Anguish and the next owners
.Z.
(?)<
John and Anna Reis, who sol d the entire 60 ac r e s in 1827
3.
·
.
In 1832 Henry Sagar sold. the. 60 acres to William Forsyth for
625
4.
Pounds.
William Forsyth died � or 1841 and
his son Isaac B r ock F or sy th
5.
willed his property to
.
.
�eeee-Breek-iaiK-Fersy-t:�-iefe On the·death of Isaac Brock
(no wil,i found)
i Forsyt h
th e property passed to his wife Sa.rah and to
� •
his son William Brock Forsyth.
6.
· ·
.1
Exact details unclear.
In 1872 Forsyth sold the
10
to Stephen Maule Jarvis,
a lawyer� from Toronto, who subdivided-··
acres which included: Bertie Hall
the area,
7. Jarvis and his wife sold 2 and
54/100
acres,
the southeast comer.
of the 10 aci:es, t o John Crabb, in 1874, for
$J,OOO. Crabb
evidently 'ran Bertie Hall as an inn until about· _1892, when
some legal process
(default on mortgage, presumably) he lost
property to Robert G.
8. From the Barrett
Barrett.
connection
the property passed to Frank T.
'
but we were unable to trace the precise transaction.
taken place .around 1905.
9.
Frank T�
Pattison
/fa-?
Now becomes Plan
::rc tfN
lived in the house until his
{
death
/(/,,(_g /(,
/
p I-LT
//__/ &
910 October 26, 1872
Pattison
It must have
(r C?o'f .!:--H'(.,l)J
house is now for sale by the Executors of his estate,
176 r.
the
.
28,
registered November
in 1965.
The
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Louis McDermott Collection
Subject
The topic of the resource
Local history, Fort Erie and surrounding area.
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of historical documents, photos, news clippings, letters, and writings, assembled by local historian, Louis McDermott, and donated to the Fort Erie Public Library.
Creator
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Louis McDermott
Source
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FEPL-LH -Louis McDermott
Language
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English
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Included in this collection are writings, historical documents, news clippings, images, maps, and more. They were written and compiled by Louis McDermott into a series of binders. The digital collection has been scanned from these physical copies.
Contributor
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Fort Erie Public Library and Louis McDermott
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Bertie Hall, #1
Description
An account of the resource
Listed here are documents pertinent to Bertie Hall.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Louis McDermott Collection
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Undated
Fort Erie
Louis Mcdermott Collection
undated