The Abandoned Farm House in Carleton Place — Disappearing Farms

 

Photos by Finz19-Ontario Abandoned Places

Please note I did not take these pictures, as contrary to beliefs I do try to stay out of trouble:)

This is an old farmhouse on HWY 7 – Photos by Finz19

In Lanark County we have many farms that have been forced into abandonment like the one in the above picture. What kind of toll does it take on the former owners of these lost properties?  It would be false to say that farmers don’t become attached to their land and the memories of family connections.  Farmers take nothing and turn it into something, year after year and it becomes their life force.

The farm pictured above used to be the McCrae farm on Hwy #7 near Carleton Place. Murray and Audrey MacRae once proudly owned this home and their children’s names were: Linda, Cathy, Ann, Heather, Don, Jimmy, and Howie.  Now the buildings are in shambles and the walls are covered in graffiti.

 

Carolann Lowry McRae told me that the family initially sold it to an individual who bequeathed it to his son, who in turn sold it to a developer. As Sandra Hurdis Finigan from MPP Scott Reid’s office pointed out- “I did some research on the McRae farm on Hwy 7 for work. According to both distant family and Beckwith Township the farm was bought by a person who has let it get to this state”.

Miles away another kind of scenario played out in 2014. Frank Meyers on Meyers Creek Road near Trenton finally lost his farm to the government after a long battle. Is this what should happen when your family farms the same plot of land for 2½ centuries? “This is heritage property,” said the 81-year-old, pointing at his freshly plowed fields in Quinte West, Ont. This is the property that was given to my forefathers when they fought for the British army against the Americans. This land was designated for us.”

Today, the Meyers land has finally been expropriated and designated for something else: a new headquarters for Joint Task Force 2, the Canadian military’s top-secret special operations squad.  I am grateful for the military, who protect our freedoms, but what about Mr. Meyer’s freedom to live out his life on his own land and pass it onto future generations, as is his right?


Word is that the government acquires property like this for the “greater good”, whether willingly or by expropriation with not a care or thought into the history. More often than enough they do nothing with it after they acquire it. Frank & Marjorie Meyers are another prime example of what is happening to some of our farmland.  Frank will never cash the cheque they gave him as he wants his farm back.


In my opinion, the right thing to do would have been to let Frank Meyers sign a lease that allowed him lifetime rights to harvest. When they pass away–maybe then the government can take it and use it. Still wrong in my mind, but I don’t control the world. We can deem rights for a heritage building, so why not land? To think this is a unique situation, is to live with your head in the sand.

I feel for the families that have lived and worked their land for generations only to have them either taken away or deteriorate. Surely something better can be done. Have we no respect at all these days? We are now losing farms and farmland at an alarming rate, and I worry for the future as there are fewer resources now to sustain this industry. Each time I look at old photos of our former Lanark farmers from years gone by I know for a fact- one day we will regret the loss of our farms.

 

Photos by Finz19-Ontario Abandoned Places

 

Photos by Finz19-Ontario Abandoned Places

 

 

Photos by Finz19-Ontario Abandoned Places

 

So what happened to the old McRae farm?

Ted Hurdis —actually the province paid for the land to allow them to expand hwy. #7 from two lanes to four. I believe they then turned ownership back to the original owner who in turn sold it to a local contractor. There are a number of reasons it hasn’t been utilized since then.