Canatara Cabin Restoration Project

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We need your support! Lambton Heritage Museum is thrilled that we added a new historic building to our site. The Canatara Cabin is the oldest building at the museum. It held a special place in the hearts of visitors to Canatara Park for decades. Now, the cabin will be enjoyed for future generations alongside five other historic buildings currently located at the museum site.

Here is a visualization of how the Canatara Cabin will appear at Lambton Heritage Museum once the restoration has been completed. Donate now to help make this a reality!

This 190 year-old building has a history of high profile moves, from its roots in Huron County, to a trip in the 1930s down Lake Huron to Lakeshore Road, to its relocation in 1971 to Canatara Park. Now that this cabin has taken one final journey, please support us in fundraising to reassemble the cabin for the enjoyment of all Lambton County residents.

The cabin was disassembled before being moved to the museum site. The roof and floors were moved as single pieces. All of the cabin logs were disassembled, numbered, and transported to the museum. Now that the pieces are safely at the museum, the cabin needs to be reassembled and restored.

Fundraising Goal - $100,000

The fundraising effort is being led by the grassroots "Save the Canatara Cabin" group. This group is spearheaded by passionate local residents and descendants of families that lived in this cabin. Help us rebuild this piece of history for future generations! This building already survived one pandemic one hundred years ago - let's prove that it can withstand another.

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Canatara Cabin Supporters

We welcome all levels of support and are offering the following incentives in return for your investment:

To discuss planned giving options, please contact Kathleen Annett at kathleen.annett@county-lambton.on.ca or by phone at 519-243-2600 ext. 3153

Putting It Back Together Again: The Log Cabin from Canatara Park

Join us as we explore the history of this incredible building and its multiple relocations. Curator/Supervisor Dana Thorne from Lambton Heritage Museum presents in partnership with Sandi Spaulding and Roger Hay from the "Save the Canatara Cabin" committee. Sandi and Roger both have familial connections to the cabin and share interesting stories about the cabin's history. Learn more about the ongoing restoration efforts and fundraising campaign to rebuild this cabin at Lambton Heritage Museum, where it can be enjoyed by future generations.

History of the Canatara Cabin

The cabin has a fascinating history, and a history of moving around! The log cabin was built in Goderich in the 1830s and used as a residence for almost one hundred years. In the 1930s, the Hanna/Spaulding family bought the cabin and moved it to 1572 Lakeshore Road in Sarnia. The cabin was disassembled and the logs were numbered. It floated down Lake Huron in pieces to its new location on Lakeshore Road.

Maud Hanna owned this land with her daughter and son-in-law, Margaret and Harry Spaulding. Mrs. Hanna was a well-known local philanthropist. Her contributions to Sarnia included donating a separate parcel of land that would become Canatara Park. 

Additions were made to the log cabin after 1930. The Spaulding family used it as a private summer cottage. Many notable visitors spent time there. This included Sir Frederick Banting, the Nobel laureate who co-discovered insulin. The property, including the log cabin, was sold to the family of Sarnia contractor, developer, and City Councillor Lorne Hay in about 1970. 

In the early 1970s, rising lake waters and storm erosion left the log cabin in a precarious position. The structure was at risk of tumbling into the lake. To save the log cabin, the Hay family donated it in memory of Lorne Hay to the City of Sarnia. It was relocated to Canatara Park with the financial support of the Seaway Kiwanis Club in May 1971. The cabin became the focal point for Christmas and Easter activities in Canatara Park. 

In early 2020, the City of Sarnia Council approved an agreement with the Seaway Kiwanis Club to construct a new replica cabin in Canatara Park. This presented the opportunity to transfer ownership of the cabin to the County of Lambton and relocate it to the Lambton Heritage Museum site. The museum already features heritage structures from across Lambton County, including:

• Tudhop House (1857, formerly of Bosanquet Township)
• Cameron Presbyterian Church (1867, formerly of Euphemia Township)
• Springvale Beef-Ring Slaughterhouse (1915, formerly of Bosanquet Township)
• Ravenswood Blacksmith Shop (late 1800s, formerly of Bosanquet Township)
• Rokeby School (1899, formerly of Brooke Township).

This is the first log cabin structure at Lambton Heritage Museum. It brings to life an era not currently represented at the Museum site.

Media Coverage

• Yahoo News, March 29, 2021 - Log by log: Canatara Cabin reconstruction effort underway

• CTV News, March 19, 2021 - Historic log cabin starting fourth life in Lambton County

• The Sarnia Observer, March 9, 2021 - Museum hosting Canatara cabin virtual talk

• Sarnia This Week, March 3, 2021 - Canatara Cabin subject of March 11 virtual heritage talk

• The Sun Times, March 3, 2021 - Canatara Cabin subject of March 11 virtual heritage talk

• Blackburn News, February 24, 2021 - Fundraising underway to rebuild, restore historic Canatara Cabin

• The Sarnia Journal, December 21, 2020 - Canatara log cabin finds welcome home in Grand Bend

• The Sarnia Observer, December 9, 2020 - Getting ready for moving day
  

• Blackburn News, November 29, 2020 - Historic Canatara Park cabin on the move again

• Sarnia This Week, November 18, 2020 - Canatara Park log cabin will be moved by end of year

• CBC News-Afternoon Drive with Chris dela Torre, November 16, 2020 - City of Sarnia moves a nearly 200-year-old cabin and here's how

• The Sarnia Journal, November 3, 2020 - City paying for Canatara cabin to be rebuilt elsewhere

• The Sarnia Journal, January 30, 2020 - City nixes historic log cabin, replica to be built

• Blackburn News, January 19, 2020 - Canatara Cabin on the move?

• The Sarnia Journal, January 17, 2020 - Sarnia about to decide fate of historic Canatara cabin

• The Sarnia Observer, December 17, 2019 - County showing interest in Canatara cabin

• The Sarnia Observer, November 28, 2019 - Canatara cabin talks not done yet

• The Sarnia Observer, November 1, 2019 - Canatara cabin rebuild eyed for the spring

• The Sarnia Journal, June 27, 2018 - Historic Canatara log cabin beyond repair, but will be replicated