A classic Gothic revival stone cottage dating back to 1876, set on 10 acres of rolling farmland near Georgian Bay, is now on the market for $1,895,000. The property, located at 370474 B Concession in Meaford, Ontario, was lovingly restored over three decades by its owners, Katharine Lochnan, senior curator emerita at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and her late husband, George Yost, an architectural designer and landscape architect.
The Back Story
In 1985, Ms. Lochnan and Mr. Yost were searching for a weekend retreat when they discovered the stone cottage. Though not for sale at the time, Ms. Lochnan was immediately captivated by its steep gable and pointed arch window. The exterior, built from granite boulders left by the last ice age and fossilized limestone from the Niagara escarpment, displayed a medley of pink, ochre, black, white, and grey stone. She declared, "If that house was ever for sale, that's the house I want."
The following winter, the couple asked a local real estate agent to find stone houses for sale. After viewing two that were too rough to restore, the agent turned onto a road they instantly recognized. The Fraser farm, originally 250 acres founded by Thomas and Isabella Fraser in 1847, had been purchased by a developer, but the homestead was parcelled off with 10 acres. The couple skied down the unplowed drive, and upon finding preserved woodwork, an indoor bathroom, and a working furnace, they decided to buy it. Mortgage rates were 16.75 percent, but Ms. Lochnan scraped together a down payment. "It was the most extraordinary synchronicity," she recalls.
The House Today
The couple immediately began restoring the cottage, which Ms. Lochnan describes as Victorian with Georgian details. Over 30 years, the farm became a joint project. The property included a falling-down drive shed and a vast antique barn that inspired awe. Eventually, they tore down the summer kitchen and woodshed, and Mr. Yost designed a board-and-batten addition featuring a great room overlooking the swimming pool, a new kitchen, dining room, library, and a reclaimed 1876 front door from another county.
The combined house now has three bedrooms and three bathrooms over 2,500 square feet. It includes three gas fireplaces, two furnaces, central air conditioning, and a basement specially sealed to preserve Ms. Lochnan's print and drawing collection. "It's like two houses back to back," she says, with the old stone wall revealed in the new kitchen. Ms. Lochnan credits Mr. Yost, who died in 2016, for the design, calling him "extraordinarily gifted."
The old barn became too ramshackle to save, but the stone foundation remains as a garden folly. Seven of the 10 acres are farmed by a local farmer, making the property eligible for a tax credit. Grey County offers hiking, golf, boating, horseback riding, and skiing, with canoe and kayak access to Georgian Bay from former farm shoreline. The couple became involved in the Owen Sound arts scene and helped restore a red-brick church in Leith for a summer concert series.
The Best Feature
Ms. Lochnan describes the farm's setting as evocative of artist Tom Thomson, born in Leith. The property features an inground swimming pool sheltered by towering trees, including a maple over 200 years old. Her English cottage perennial garden includes shrubs and roses from the Frasers' time. "There's something magical about the landscape up here," she says. "It's like being in a living art gallery."
