The François Bâby House is a historic residence located in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, Canada which was owned by the prominent local politician François Baby. The house is a two-storey, Georgian style, red brick house once known as ''La Ferme'' locally, and was a

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

ribbon farm Ribbon farms (also known as strip farms, river lots, long-lot farms, or just long lots) are long, narrow land divisions for farming, usually lined up along a waterway. In some instances, they line a road. Background Ribbon or strip farms were p ...

which was a long narrow tract fronting endwise on the

Detroit River The Detroit River is an List of international river borders, international river in North America. The river, which forms part of the border between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ont ...

. The home itself has historical ties to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

where it was used as a headquarters by both the American and British forces. Today, the François Baby House has been designated as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

and serves as the current home of

Windsor's Community Museum Windsor Community Museum is a historical museum located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada which displays artifacts from Windsor. It is located at François Baby House, built in 1812 by François Baby (politician), François Baby, a prominent French-Canad ...

, a historical

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

which displays the city's rich and colourful past.

Timeline

*1751 - November 24. Land including site of the house granted by Pierre Celoron, Sieur de Bienville, commandant at French Detroit, to Pierre Réaume. *1800 - December 19. Suzanne Réaume Baby sold the farm to her son François for ten shillings plus one grain of pepper. *1812 - Spring and summer. Construction of the house. Original front faced the

*1812 - July 12. War of 1812 opened with invasion of Upper Canada across the Detroit River. Baby house commandeered, unfinished, by American Brigadier General

William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American military officer and politician. A veteran of the American Revolutionary War, he later served as governor of the Michigan Territory (1805–1813), where he negotiated land cessi ...

*1812 - July 13. Defensive works established around the three inland sides. American camp was located in Baby's orchard. *1812 - August 7. Hull's position had worsened, and he withdrew his troops to the safety of

Fort Lernoult Fort Shelby was a military fort in Detroit, Michigan that played a significant role in the War of 1812 (1812-1815). It was built by the British Army in 1779 as Fort Lernoult, and was ceded to the United States by the terms of the Jay Treaty in 17 ...

, directly across the river from the house. *1812 - August 15. Arrival of main British force on upper Detroit River, led by Major General

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. He is best remembered for his victory at the Siege of Detroit and his death at the Battle of Quee ...

. Bombardment of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

began. Americans returned fire. *1812 - August 16. Bombardment continued, and Detroit surrendered to invading British, Canadians, and Indians. *1838 - December 4. Battle of Windsor, fought in the Baby orchard, ended the

Patriot War The Patriot War was a conflict along the Canada–United States border in which bands of raiders attacked the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British colony of Upper Canada more than a dozen times between December 1837 and Decemb ...

, which had resulted from political disturbances in Upper Canada. Invading "Patriots" were largely American. *1850 - October 8. Fire heavily damaged Baby House. *1890 - The House had been converted to a double dwelling. Original north porch replaced by a full-width

lean-to A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing structures open on one or more sides (colloquially referred to as lean-tos in spite of being unattac ...

. Pitt Street side became the front. Bay windows connecting porch, gables added to new front. * 1931 - House abandoned during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. *1948 - Partial renovation. Additions removed, Pitt Street wall replaced. *1958 - Final renovation. François Baby House opened May 7 as the Hiram Walker Historical Museum. *1968 - Addition of underground storage and outdoor display facility

References

* "Mansion to Museum: The François Baby House And Its Times" Written by R. Alan Douglas, Essex County Historical Society, 1989. * Windsor's Community Museum

External links

Windsor's Community Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francois Baby House Buildings and structures in Windsor, Ontario Burned buildings and structures in Canada Georgian architecture in Canada Houses in Ontario National Historic Sites in Ontario Designated heritage properties in Ontario