DELVE INTO THE RICH HISTORY OF DAVY HOUSE
Peter Baikie, a shipwright employed at the Town Docks, purchased the property from Hon. James Crooks in 1842. Peter Baikie built a two-storey side-gabled house reflecting the fondness for elaborate verandahs in the early 1840's including a bellcast roof and fretwork trim of a whimsical and inviting nature. The front includes the first french doors in Upper Canada marking a change in fashion as the Victorian era was soon to emerge. The house plan, however, follows the Niagara precedent of a single room to either side of the hall and a kitchen behind with a steep sloping or "lean-to kitchen". The two end chimneys are known to have served stoves on the main floor while heating the upper rooms in an ascending manner.
As trade shifted to St. Catharines with the introduction of the 2nd Welland Canal (still in use today) lessening the importance of the shipping business in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Baikie left the area in 1850 renting the house to George Blain and selling to family, Ann and Ian Baikie for £300 in 1858. They too rented the house until 1874 when they sold it to Henry Ferguson for $800, but had to reclaim the property the following year. Subsequent owners in the 19th century were Alexander Allen, William Sagar (who paid $600 for the property in 1879) and Pleasant Bradford. In 1914 the house was owned by John Faulhaber Schmidt and family.
