Matheson House is a historic house in

Perth, Ontario Perth is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Tay River, southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County. History The town was established as a military settlement in 1816, shortly after the War of 1812. The settlement ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It was constructed in 1840 for Roderick Matheson, a local merchant and later a member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. A two-storey, five-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

house of

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

-inspired design, Matheson House is surrounded by a stone garden wall. After Roderick Matheson's death in 1873, the house was inherited by Arthur James Matheson, a lawyer and member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

. After a series of subsequent owners, the house was acquired by the municipality and became the Perth Museum. The house was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1966.

References

Historic house museums in Ontario Houses in Ontario Buildings and structures in Lanark County National Historic Sites in Ontario Museums in Lanark County Palladian Revival architecture in Canada Tourist attractions in Lanark County Sandstone buildings in Canada Sandstone houses Designated heritage properties in Ontario {{canada-hist-stub