The history of this farmhouse on Irish Mountain in Meaford begins long before the stones were put in place. For centuries, artists and photographers have spent hours on this property, appreciating the view and rendering its magnificence. One of these artists, renowned painter Anne Marsh Evans, has captured the scene of the old plum trees overlooking the bay, which now graces the cover of St. Vincent: A Beautiful Land.

The view of the bay from atop Irish Mountain is spectacular all year ‘round.

This book explains the history of the land and retells the story of the settlement of this very property. When the glaciers melted some 14,000 years ago, what is now Georgian Bay was submerged under an enormous body of water, called Lake Algonquin by historians. The shoreline has since receded to modern levels, but at that time it extended far up into the hills. The waters would have lapped the eastern boundary of this property.

The farm on the eastern shoulder of what is now called Irish Mountain, and where this 1864 house is located, was originally 200 acres and extended from its eastern boundary at the top of the "Duxbury Hill" on the 25th sideroad westwards to the 9th line (now called Valour Road). The land was ceded from the Crown in 1838 and purchased by Henry Birdsall for 100 pounds.

Within a few years, the land was purchased by Adam Long, whose family held it for approximately 40 years. This family built the first house on the property. In 1843, a log cabin was built at the western edge of the 200 acres to house the Methodist circuit rider, John Neelands, who organized one of the first church congregations in St. Vincent Township. The services were held in the Long family home on this property, inspiring spirituality for the area.

The charming stone home was built in 1864 and was originally 200 acres. Mary and her family used to make maple syrup from the maple tree forest on the property.

Around 1850, four Bumstead brothers came over from England and settled in this area. One of them, William E. Bumstead and his wife, Isabelle Taylor, brought their son, Charles Bumstead. He and his wife, Sarah York, also from England, built this stone house in 1864. They had three sons and one daughter. One of their sons, Seymour, helped his father draw the varicoloured stones from the fields for the house when he was 14.

The house was built in the traditional Ontario farmhouse style, with a large room on the main floor, which was used as the front parlour for receiving visitors, and four bedrooms upstairs. An addition was added a few years after the main house, which included a summer kitchen and woodshed. The woodshed, typical of that day, had a pump which the farmers used to wash up before entering the house. The old well remains functional to this day.

Mary Wilcox grew up in this house. Her father bought the property in 1942 after the family was displaced from the military range. Mary was the only child and could often be found in the barn doing chores or far out in the back fields bringing in the hay and watching the fleet of fishing boats spread out from the harbour in the early morning hours.

Mary was married to Floyd on this property in 1957. Their first picture as a married couple was taken in the front yard.

Susan Harpur purchased this cupboard from Parrots ‘n Parsnips in Thornbury.

Since then, the farm has had various owners. The current owners, Tom and Susan Harpur, have lovingly restored the stone home.

The property has changed over the years and now consists of 49 of the original 200 acres. Yet the scene has been preserved and the view is still worthy of a book cover.

Mary and Floyd were surprised by their daughter on their 50th wedding anniversary last year, with a visit to the old farmhouse. They once again posed in the front yard for a picture, with a backdrop of the town they still call home.

Although the integrity of the old home is very much intact, some of the uses of the rooms and the décor have been altered to accommodate the new owners. Mary's memory has not faded. What is now a cosy, distinguished living room with a wood fireplace, was once the summer kitchen and non-inhabitable for the better part of the year, she remembers. The year-round kitchen was located where the spacious, main-floor bathroom is now.

Some other differences strike Mary as she wanders the old floors of her past home on Duxbury Road. The parlour is now a bedroom, while the current kitchen, with its rustic, exposed ceiling beams, was once a bedroom.

The Harpurs spend cold days by the fire in their cosy living room. The woodpile is stored in a shed just behind the fireplace.

Her own bedroom, up the original stairs, has been converted into an inspirational study for Tom Harpur, Canada's best known spiritual author, to work on his books. Tom, author of the best-selling The Pagan Christ, and his wife Susan, bought the home in 2004. The interviews with Tom for the major television documentary on the book were filmed on the property, as were other CBC and Vision TV interviews.

In the room where Tom now writes, Mary once sat in the windowsill and read. Many books, old and new, have found a home in this corner of the house. A collection of Tom's work now fills a bookcase by the window.

"When I lived here you didn't appreciate the view," says Mary, noting that the dentist from Toronto that bought the farm from her parents did so solely because of the view. Now the breathtaking expanse from that very window is Tom's literary muse. He gets lost in the moon's reflection off the bay. "The moon rises out of Georgian Bay. It's really powerful. The whole bay seems silvered," he says.

It's not just the rooms that have changed. Mary seems to have grown out of her family's old home. "It doesn't look as big as it used to," she says. But Susan and Tom, who towers at six-foot-four, find the old stone house very accommodating. "The ceilings are nice and high here," says Susan.

This lovely, refurbished bathroom is located upstairs, where Tom's office and two bedrooms are also found.

Uses of the home have changed along with tradition. When Mary lived here, her family would spend most of their time in the dining room, where meals were cherished and the family enjoyed a break from the chores. Susan and Tom spend the majority of their hours keeping warm by the fire in the living room. A room that was once, ironically, the coldest in the home, has become their favourite.

Susan and Tom were enchanted by the historic farmhouse. They moved from Toronto to live the country life in a small, quaint town. "Meaford… it's peaceful," says Susan.

Since their purchase of the home and property, they have noticed that the stones glow at sunset. "We were amazed when we saw how pretty it all was," says Tom, who often wakes early in the morning to enjoy the unbeatable sunrise, which highlights the Georgian Bay shoreline in the morning mist.

Tom's website shows a picture of him and their dog, Buddy, in the quiet surroundings of their favourite room in the old farmhouse. But the whole setting is what inspires his spiritual writings. "The march of the seasons plays out step by step right in front of you," he says. "I clock the seasons by the position of the sun at daybreak."

He writes most of his material in his head as he walks around his property. He is rarely left without a breathtaking moment at this vantage point.

Sunrise on Irish Mountain. The Harpurs say every sunrise here is a new experience. Photo by Samantha martin

"Most urbanized people don't get a chance to live very close to the seasons and the heavenly bodies," Tom states, touching on the reality that the beauty of the earth can make one feel small and encourage spiritual thought. "You kind of feel there's more to it than man and us and our little struggles."

The farm remains one of the most photographed and painted spots in all of Ontario. It makes sense. Inspiration isn't hard to find here. Just ask those who have looked out toward the waters of Georgian Bay and witnessed a new day begin.

The Harpurs have decided to find a smaller home.
Listing agent Sherry Rioux of Clairwood Real Estate says the property, with its beautiful century home, barns and fields, is a perfect four-season retreat with character that can help families establish a legacy.