LOCAL HISTORY

Throughout the house, most of the windows are double hung with 12 panes over 12 panes Most all of the glass is original dancing with many imperfections. In the hallway on the second storey, an opening in the ceiling leads to the belvedere, or widow's walk, on the roof which captures a panoramic view of the Grand River and its surrounding area. Attached to the house on the south side are outbuildings consisting of a granary, storeroom, carriage house and a two-storey barn It is believed that this is the only example of this type of design in Ontario, but it is quite common in the Maritimes and the New England States. Wolverton wisely chose this design because of the steep slope close to the back of these buildings. An unusual cobblestone smoke house sits in the side yard, where salted beef and pork were smoked over a smoldering fire When finished, it was taken to the cold room for storage Another cobblestone structure on the property is the fence along the sidewalk of the outbuildings. An outstanding job was recently completed in restoring it back to its original condition.

When Asa Wolverton died of consumption in December 1861, Juliet continued living in the house until she sold it to Martha M. Smith in 1867. Juliet remarried John McElroy and moved away It is believed that the Sifton family rented the house during this time from Mrs Smith John Wright Sifton, his wife Kate and their children Sophia,Arthur and Clifford moved to Brant County after Clifford's birth because John had accepted work as a railway contractor in Brant County. On one of the windowpanes in the dining room, Sophia, the eldest child, scratched her name on the glass using a diamond ring. The Siftons lived in Paris until 1875, then they settled in Manitoba where father and two sons became involved in politics John Sifton was elected a member of the Manitoba Legislature in 1875 and, in 1878 and 1879, he served as speaker of the House. He once more served in 1881. Arthur Sifton became a lawyer and worked in partnership with John who was also a lawyer. Arthur later moved to Alberta where he served as its second premier from 1910 to 1917. Clifford entered politics in 1888, becoming Attorney General and Provincial Land Commissioner for Manitoba In 1896, he was elected as a member of parliament under Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier where he served Minister of the Interior. Beginning in 1897, under Sifton, free land and assisted passages were advertised which brought a flood of emigrants from the United States, Britain and Europe into all parts of Canada but especially into the West. Between 1897 and 1914, over 3,000,000 emigrants came to Canada Sifton was knighted by King George V on January 1, 1915 The Town of Sifton, Manitoba was named for Sir Clifford Sifton. It is interesting that the Sifton Products Company began there and later the name was changed to Mary Maxim and the company moved to Paris in 1954 In 1873, John Baker and his wife Eliza purchased the house He terraced the steep bank where he developed a fruit orchard and sold it to customers passing by his dock along the Grand River. In 1911, the house was sold to William Waite Patterson and his wife Margaret, who was the daughter of John Baker. Patterson served as the mayor of Paris from 1905 to 1907, 1915, 1919 to 1920 and 1923 to 1924 Upon his death, his daughter, Elaine, continued to live in the house and, from the carriage house, she operated an antique shop called the Barn Door Antiques and Curios. She passed away in 1961, ending 88 years of the Baker family and their descendants living here. Four other owners cared for the Wolverton House until Arthur Potts took possession and divided the house into two apartments He approached the Ontario Heritage Trust and the Ministry of Culture and Recreation to designate the house provincially because of its historical and stylistic value. On Nov. 4, 1979, the official plaque was unveiled on the property and Lois Darroch, Asa's grand niece, represented the Wolverton family.

Arthur Potts sold the house in 1982 to Rosemary Convey Sr., and she and her family lived there until August 2007 when the house was purchased by Judy Acri and her husband, Rick Courtemanche At this point the house was in rather poor shape and the two have spent considerable effort restoring the house to its former glory, both inside and outside.