A piece of Essex history received some well-deserved recognition Monday morning. A plaque now sits in front of the ‘Essex House’ at 78 Fox Street, the oldest standing home in the Essex Centre, belonging to Laurie Kowtiuk. “I joined the municipal heritage committee so that I could find out everything about designation so that I could get this house designated because I didn’t want anything to ever happen to it,” said Kowtiuk. Built in 1870, the home is steps away from the old train station in Essex. “It was used as a boarding house for a period of time because of it’s location close to the train station,” said Perry Basden, a member of Essex Heritage Committee. “People would travel and stay overnight or use it as a destination as well.” Essex councillor Kim Verbeek has a fond memory of the house from her childhood. “About 42 years ago, I got my hair done by a family that was doing hair out of the back kitchen,” Verbeek said. “When I was in here, the history of this place was not embraced at all. It was just lived in with a family.” The ‘Essex House’ was a popular stop to rest and have a cup of coffee for travellers. The home survived the infamous explosion of 1907 75 yards away at the Rail Station. Kowtiuk has owned the home since the late 80s with the home receiving formal designation under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2014. “Right before me they had cut this banister, the edge of the bannister, because they had a wall and they had a wall over there because they had different rental units,” Kowtiuk explained. Not only is the home historic but so are the contents. Kowtiuk is an avid antique collector who bought her first piece, a chair that sits in the living room, when she was 14. “And then in the mobile home, moved there with the husband, and antiques just didn’t look good in there so then I slowly looked around, found this one,” Kowtiuk said. The home has a mannequin greeter and stunning antiques everywhere. “We all appreciate it and think it’s great,” Joanne McMurren, who explains the endless hours of work and paint stripping her niece has invested throughout the years. “You just come in and look and go ‘oh that’s kinda nice’ not realizing probably hundreds of hours spent cleaning those (doors and window sills off). I’m totally amazed at what’s in here.” The house is still a work in progress but one day Kowtiuk would like to open the home at least once a month for the public to come see the antiques and feel the history of the home with the help of the current Essex Centre. “She wants to turn it into a museum one day if she’s able to get the financing available for it,” said Basden. Kowtiuk’s long-time friend Christine Bickford likes the idea. “Yeah, museum, but she’s got to have her own private life as well. You know what I mean? She could live in the museum. She is,” Bickford said followed by laughter in the room.
