Historic house in St. Andrews burnt to ground

What was a historic home dating back to 1861 in St. Andrews, is now an empty lot with nothing left but a pile of debris from the burnt down building.

“It was sad to see because what I’ve researched, it was one of five homes from that era that was still standing,” said Joy Sul, Mayor, RM of St. Andrews.

The Firth House, also known as the Hay House, was designated a provincial heritage site in 1987 and has been a significant part of the St. Andrews community for decades.

The two-storey home on River Road caught fire early Thursday morning and was completely destroyed.

“It’s a very rare thing to have a house of that age in relatively good condition lost, I mean there are very few of them left from the 1860’s of any kind, much less one that was built as stoutly as this one was,” said Gordon Goldsborough, Head Researcher at the Manitoba Historical Society.

“It’s a gem of our RM, and surrounded by Captain Kennedy house, the Rectory, all the history. So, it’s tragic that it ended up going up in flames,” said Sul.

Sul says many visitors come to see the Firth House and surrounding area throughout the year, so losing it could have an impact on their tourism industry.

“It’s a huge hit to our tourist industry because I know weekends there are tourist galore looking at, like this area I always relate it to it’s like the home section of Wellington Crescent Winnipeg, and there is so much history involved,” Sul.

The property is privately owned, which means the RM won’t have any involvement regarding what happens next.

Due to the history on this land, head researcher at the Manitoba Historical Society, says he’s hopeful something will be done to commemorate the house.

“There is already a stone that has a plaque on it that says this is a street where a lot of fur traders lived, but I think there could be more said about this specific place so that when people come 20 years from now or whenever, they’ll be reminded of the hay house,” said Goldsborough.