Bronze plaque highlights Colchester’s Snider House history

by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative

During the latter part of the 1700s, the government of King George III granted United Empire Loyalist families land in Upper and Lower Canada for their loyalty to the crown.

  John Snider was one of those awarded land, granted Lot 73, just west of the Village of Colchester in 1798. Property for which the family still has the original deed. The farm originally extended to Gore Road.

  The Town of Essex recognized the house by installing a Bronze Plaque as part of its Heritage Plaque Program last Wednesday morning. 

  Essex’s Heritage Plaque program was implemented to raise awareness of the historical and cultural resources within the municipality. Through the program, significant cultural resources, such as buildings, structures, and cemeteries, may be identified by a bronze or aluminum interpretive plaque.

  The bronze plaque identifies those public or private resources that have been formally designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.

  Snider originally settled in Colchester in the 1790s, his family’s escape from Pennsylvania, after following the American War of Independence.

  “Like other United Empire Loyalists, Snider refused to fight alongside the revolutionaries during the American War of Independence, remaining loyal to the British Crown,” Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy relayed.

  Snider migrated north immediately following the conflict to avoid persecution.

  In 1813, he built a colonial home designed in a loyalist architectural-style, with inspiration from a log house. It is a rare example of this design still existing. It is located on the Lake Erie shoreline, which now stands as one of the oldest houses in all of Essex County.  

“The house showcases the types of materials and construction methods of the era and its connection to one of the area’s first settler families,” Bondy added.

  On the morning of September 10, 1813, a group of skilled carpenters were building a roof on the home that would soon house the John Snider family. The family story notes they could faintly see smoke rising and hear canons firing in what became known as the Battle of Lake Erie; a significant naval battle of the War of 1812.

  Snider, born 1747, passed away on May 17, 1828. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are buried at the nearby Tofflemire-Snider Cemetery.

  His family continues to maintain the homestead he built on the Lake Erie shoreline in Colchester over 200-years ago.

  Today, “the property has potential to yield information on the lifestyle of some of the earliest settlers in the area and showcases the parcels that were often granted to United Empire Loyalists by King George III,” Bondy continued. 

  Last year, the Town of Essex recognized the Snider house for its architecture and historical significance, providing it with formal designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. Getting that designation was something seventh generation Snider House homeowner, and direct descendant of John Snider, Kathy Dowling, has wanted to get for quite some time.

  “We always had passion for this house, and did everything we could to preserve it,” Dowling said. When she was little, she recalled there being no running water or electricity at the homestead.

  Her grandfather, Kenneith, used the home, until, in his senior years, moved to Florida with his wife as snowbirds. “This place was always bustling,” Dowling said of family usage.

  In speaking of John’s story of landing in Colchester, Dowling said at first, they were not going to fight in the Revolution.

  “They had promised the Queen at that time that they would never fight against the Crown.”

  At that time, Dowling said John was second-generation of Pennsylvania. He was a blacksmith. When the War began, his family declared loyalty to the Crown.

  Her family keeps connected to this history because her grandfather, and mother, shared the stories of their forbearers often.

  “It is such a beautiful place to be,” Dowling said of the house that still stands strong today.

Family lore noted that at one point, some odd and ghostly activities were taking place in the home.

  Dowling explained a picture of a young woman was found in the attic. When the frame was taken apart for cleaning, a second picture of another woman was discovered, and later displayed in its own frame. Those ghostly encounters ended at that point.

  Essex MP Chris Lewis was pleased to attend the event to acknowledge the local history of this building and the family who has preserved it by presenting a certification of recognition.

  For more information about the Town of Essex’s Heritage Plaque program, log onto www.essex.ca/en/build/heritage-plaque-program.aspx