Les Amis Duff-Bâby

About the Duff-Baby House

As a result of Jay’s Treaty of 1794, British Loyalists were required to leave American soil. Many chose to settle in the newly formed town of Sandwich which had been negotiated and acquired from the local Indigenous peoples.

Built in 1798 for Scottish fur trader Alexander Duff, the Duff-Baby House tells the story of Canada’s early history in microcosm.  The House’s orientation towards the river recalls early fur trade, transportation routes and settlement patterns.  During the War of 1812, Shawnee Leader Tecumseh met with British allies in the Dining Room of this stately Georgian house; later General William Henry Harrison [who became President Harrison] made it the American headquarters in the latter part of the war.  In the early 1830’s, the house served as refuge for a man who had escaped slavery from Kentucky. For three quarters of the 20th century, it served as a private residence for Dr. Beasley who was Sandwich’s Town Physician and his family. In 1979, the house was sold to the Ontario Heritage Trust.