It's hoped residents who are in the giving spirit this holiday season will help ongoing efforts to reconstruct the Canatara Cabin at Lambton Heritage Museum.
The museum is asking residents to consider donating to the campaign. So far, just over $30,000 of the $100,000 goal has been raised.
Curator and Supervisor Dana Thorne said fundraising efforts started at the beginning of the year after the cabin was moved to Grand Bend late last year.
"The cabin was actually built in Huron County in the 1830s and then it was moved to Sarnia on Lakeshore Road in the 1930s, and then moved to Canatara Park in the 1970s, and then here to the Heritage Museum in 2020," said Thorne. "When it gets rebuilt here at the museum, it'll be the oldest building on our property."
Canatara Cabin - Artist rendition of future restored cabin. November 2021. (Photo courtesy of Lambton Heritage Museum).
Originally, the cabin was used as a residential home until it was purchased by the Hanna/Spaulding family in the 1930s. After it was relocated to Sarnia, it served as a private summer cottage for a few decades. As stated in a media release, it was during this time that it hosted many notable guests including Nobel laureate Sir Frederick Banting.
The cabin later changed hands and was sold to a former Sarnia councilor, Lorne Hay, before it was donated to the City of Sarnia. In 2020, the original cabin transferred ownership to the Lambton Heritage Museum after an agreement was made with the city.
The relocation of the cabin was spearheaded by a group of local residents and descendants of families that lived in the cabin. Thorne said the goal is to raise the necessary funds by next year so the reconstruction project can move forward.
"We already have five other historic buildings here at the museum so when a museum visitor comes, they get to go through those buildings as part of their museum visit," Thorne said. "So [the cabin] will be available for the general public to go through, as well as for special programs, to have schools in, and field trips, and educational opportunities."
Donations toward the cabin campaign can be made through the Heritage Museum's website.
