P5389

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Details

ID Number

P5389

Item Name

Image

Maker

Forster, John C.H.

Title

Aerial Drawing of Baby Farm / Dessin aérien de la ferme Baby

Title (Fre)

Dessin aérien de la ferme Baby

Date

1973

Description

Black and white photograph of a pen and ink drawing by John Forster of the Francois Baby farm showing use by the Royal Artillery in August 1812; the drawing was made in 1973 and depicts American troops unloading supplies at the river's edge; there are troops on the dock in the bottom right corner of the drawing with kegs and boxes; there is a small dirt road running parallel to the river and a path running perpendicular toward the house; the Baby house is visible near the top centre of the drawing; it is two storeys high and is surrounded by a dirt wall with cannons set up facing the river; there is a smaller wooden structure to the right and ahead of the house, and a guard station outside the wall; there are fields and orchards visible behind and beside the house.

History

Francois Baby (1768 - 1852) was active in local life as a politician, militia officer, justice of the peace, business man and office holder. He married Frances Abbott on September 5, 1795 and had eight sons and four daughters. During the 1840s Baby operated a government-leased ferry to Detroit and ran an Inn. He died on August 27, 1852. Jacques Duperon Baby, François’ father, owned about 20 slaves (Black and Indigenous) and upon his death in 1789 some were inherited by Franç​ois and his brother Jacques (James).​ Francois Baby began construction in 1812 on land that he had been occupying for some years. Construction was interrupted when the American Army commandeered the property for use during the beginning of the War of 1812. The house was completed in the summer of 1812 and was similar to other Georgian mansions in Upper Canada at the time. The house underwent many renovations over the years. In 1835 a full-width Regency veranda was added. A fire on October 8, 1850 destroyed a large portion of the house and Baby did little besides repair the worst of the damage. When Baby died in 1852 the house was passed to Edmond Baby who renovated the building and began the reorientation of the house toward Pitt Street. The house passed through a number of borders and by 1890 it had been converted into a duplex. The building was abandoned in 1930. By 1940 ownership of the property had reverted to the City of Windsor because of non-payment of taxes and a committee was appointed to restore the building. In 1956/57 Hiram Walker & Sons donated $37,000 to the project and the Hiram Walker Historical Museum was opened in May of 1958. The museum was renamed "Windsor's Community Museum" in 1996. In February 2016, the museum completed a major expansion project and was renamed Museum Windsor. Museum Windsor consists of the Francois Baby House and Chimczuk Museum. The Francois Baby House has National Historic Site designation for the role of the house during the War of 1812 and the Battle of Windsor in 1838, which took place in the orchard (now parking garage adjacent to house) of the Baby property.

Place made

Canada - Ontario - Windsor

Collection Name

Museum Windsor

Topic

Detroit River / Rivière Détroit

Subjects

Art

Baby, Francois

Bunkers

Cannons / Canons

Drawings / Dessins

Flags / Drapeaux

Forster, Jack

Francois Baby House / Maison Francois Baby

Houses / Maisons

Military officers / Officiers militaires

Royal Artillery subject

U.S. Army / Armée américaine

War / Guerre

War of 1812 / Guerre de 1812