A symbolic piece of Indigenous history in a Simcoe County community could be seen sailing across the lake on Thursday. The oldest known surviving historic Métis home in Ontario, the Labatte House, stood at Thunder Beach in Tiny Township, Ont. for nearly 200 years and has permanently moved locations. Built in 1834 by Louis-George Labatte, the Labatte House has been privately owned until it was sold outside of the family in the early 1900s. Different families have owned the property over the years. The house is being moved so it can be preserved and made accessible to the Métis community and rest of the public. The historic building has been transported to 159 Balm Beach Road via barge. “To see this home being lifted off this huge barge and brought onto the land and now moved up to the Balm Beach Road area is a miracle,” Nancy Hall, 5th Generation Labatte, tells CTV News. The journey spanned more than 12 kilometres and took around four to six hours to transport. “The importance of this house to the Métis here in Ontario is a testament to the resilience of the Métis existence,” says Kathleen Anderson with Métis Nation of Ontario. “Over the years, Canada has tried to deny our existence. We see this house as a physical, tangible piece of evidence and history of the fact that we have existed since the early 1800s, and we quite frankly continue to exist and thrive here not only in the Georgian Bay area but throughout Ontario.” The Georgian Bay Métis community will celebrate the historical building’s new beginnings on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at its new location.
