https://www.fepl.ca/localhistory/files/original/9eed90cecf080e395914b74f2bd20cc6.pdf 97e0575bdb1c150ae987cc9aa717c2ab PDF Text Text THE LEWIS HOUSE:::: ~his Inn at the foot of Catherine St., the S.E. Corner built in the earlyl800 1 s was operated by the Lewis family for most of it's early years. In front of it was their Ferry dock, and i;,r. irewis along with l'M his partner mr. Kenneth Mc. Kenzie operated the lower .F'erry from this spot• running into no end of trouble with the Customs officer Col. ft:erby. TherQwere two other hotels on the site, one on the dock and " an.other- to the south. Between Magwoods hotel and The Lewis Hose was a small building that houses the post office. This place was also a stage stop, so the mail was picked up at this location. A short history of the Post Office, in the Village of Fort Erie follows:: 1829- 1830- 1831. William S:m.i. th was Postmaster. The Honourable James Kerby. • Kerby transfered the Postmaster job over to Wm. Rainsford Sr. The post office operated from his store. bJ?5·-r s;ttc 01f~v~jJ;t;J/-p,.l.f;/ In the possession of the Fort Erie historical Society'J},;Ls'~ map of the village marked 1807 however it is no doubt letter about 18.50. On the map drawn. by Jo~,~ Douglas the location of both the old and the new post office is shown. They are both on the same parcel of land behind the old Douglas homestead. Wm. Rainsford's store was just south of the Douglas property, /.:A.91" SriJJ! /T/CAfp} ~,,e:'Sr s.--.L>2Z' 1860•s The site of the ~ostoffice was moved to the building adjacent to the Lew:Ls house and George Lewis was postmaster. It then moved to the store of Mr. 13aldwin on the west side of the river road just north of the corner Of Bertie st.The building still stands in 1979 1 910 The post office then moved to the heart of the Village on the east side of the river road in the middle of the block. Carry Griffin became post-mistress. The Post master was Emerson Plato who remained till 1934 over 20 yrs. He died 1945. Harvey troup asst. It moved across the road to the small building attached to the old Ferguson Store. aouth of the King Edward. l922 F.E •. Post OffiGe was in the Harris building opposite t~e anglo :American .lf:otel. .Qn Mar. 22 :;Lt. moy_ed to the Ktng ~dt~~d with Emerson Plato postmaster. �.... site of the Lewis Housn Ctherine St. & ~Iiagara Tei ver Rd. in the early 1900 a fami.ly by the name of Dunham lived in this old .St. near Franklin. inn. ~::hey were from Ni~.gara d. b. John C .. Dunham marr. Gibbon.b. 1850 d. Feb. 19, 1925. bur: St. Pauls Cemet3ry. Children: r.rhomas 1'1. of Aurora ILL. Frederick G. of Ridgewood N.J. In ber death notice the old homestead :i_s mentioned as being 75·-years old however old records including those of Kerby, ~point to a much older r].ate. 11 By far the oldest home in Fort Erie is the Dunham home which faces the river three or four blstcks from tht Ferry landing. It wa::: built about(75yrs~ ago and although the clapboard of moderity cover its exterior, the beams are the sturdy Land he-1vn pr'Jducts of the pioneer forester who built them of the timber cleared on the lot. 11 When the old home was remodelled to house the Ontario Bakery, thcss ~tt ~L.. , .. very beams were in e".ridence, and some streached the VT.LLcl,n of t11e ..1ouse, and many saw blades were dRrn.s~ed trying to cut them r.p for c'isposal. When the Fenians. raid_E::Jcil ithe house one of the young British officers escaped out the back door j_nto a brick root touse Yfhich formerly stood there. The signs of ~ullet holes couls still be seen in t~e front door. ... Hr. g, ;:nrs. Dunham had· one of the most che,rrt:ing old fashioned gardesLS e7er see. Each year they were rmccessful in the most colorful blooms ' of all kinds of flowers that gra.sed grandmother 1 s g;an1ens. ~- (__.,--'/.' _,./ � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. 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 An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Louis McDermott Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived FEPL-LH -Louis McDermott Language A language of the resource 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 An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource 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. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Lewis House Description An account of the resource Listed here is a document pertinent to the Lewis House. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Louis McDermott Collection 1800s Fort Erie hotels and taverns Louis Mcdermott Collection property record