The Paddy Walker House (also known as the Walker House) is the town of

Kincardine Kincardine may refer to: Places Scotland *Kincardine, Fife, a town on the River Forth, Scotland **Kincardine Bridge, a bridge which spans the Firth of Forth *Kincardineshire, a historic county **Kincardine, Aberdeenshire, now abandoned **Kincardi ...

's oldest building and the oldest standing hotel in

Bruce County Bruce County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising eight lower-tier municipalities and with a 2016 population of 66,491. It is named for James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, sixth Governor General of the P ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

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 ...

History

In 1850, Francis "Paddy" Walker travelled across the frozen Lake Huron from Goderich, Ontario to the 2 year old settlement of Penetangore (

, Ontario). Mr. Walker arrived in the settlement with his wife Jane and his seven sons. Realizing that when new settlers like himself arrived to Penetangore they would need somewhere to stay, Paddy Walker soon built a Hotel situated near the mouth of the Penetangore (later the Harbour). The Walker House served as a hotel under the management of Paddy Walker and his descendants until 1942 when the Walker house was sold to Marie and Al Gairns. The Walker house was still used as a hotel under the ownership of Mr. and Mrs. Gairns until they decided to turn it into a rooming house. After the death of Mr. Gairns, Marie Gairns used the Walker House as her own private home well into the 1990s.

Fire and revitalization

In January 1995, a fire broke out in the Walker House and Marie Gairns had to be rescued from the Walker House in her chair by local fireman. The building was severely damaged and wasn't touched for three years and left to suffer from the natural elements. A rumor was spread that the Municipality of Kincardine was going to demolish the Walker house. The locals felt that that action would have too many negative results. As a result, the Paddy Walker Heritage Society was created, and the society bought the Walker House from Mrs. Gairns in 1998. Many restorations were done to the Walker House and the construction was completed in 2008 in time for the 2008 Kincardine Old Boys Reunion.

The Walker House Today

The Walker House serves Kincardine and the surrounding region as a heritage centre, providing exhibits, programmes and hosting events that interpret local history. The Walker House Heritage society is a meeting room for the Kincardine Heritage Society, as well as a local museum. It is closed during the winter months but open during the summer months as Kincardine's main industry is tourism.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.walkerhousekincardine.com/ Hotels in Ontario Buildings and structures in Bruce County Local museums in Ontario Museums in Bruce County History of Bruce County