A History of The Burnham Mansion
      In 1830 Zaccheus Burnham received the Crown Patent to 200 acres of land which, in 1853, was released to his son Rev. Mark Burnham. The Reverend built the present house and developed the land into a working farm.
      Zaccheus ceased to farm in 1884, retaining only a few show cattle. One of his prize bulls killed him in 1913 and his son Mark Stanley Burnham inherited the property. Mark Stanley re-established the 200 acres as a working farm which was supervised by a series of resident managers. After his mother's death, Mark S. married Mary Erskine, but they had no children. Mrs. Burnham continued to oversee the management of the farm after her husband's death in 1953 until her own death in 1966.
      She donated the large wood lot east of the house to the province in memory of her husband. It is known today as the Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park.

      Today, very little changed except for a new kitchen and a covered entrance, the fine old house serves the community as a restaurant and banquet hall.
      The rooms still feature the original plaster ceiling moldings, woodwork and marble along with numerous antiques and original oil paintings. Some of the wonderfully detailed light fixtures are equally noteworthy in their original state with the exception of having been wired for electricity.
      It is difficult to pin down the architect of the house, but the simple Italianate design, the decorative brick work and substantial interior woodwork point to Walter Strickland, a newphew of the pioneer authoresses Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie. The structure still retains its original library wing, its original chimneys and its original verandah.

      It has also been said that a ghost still haunts the many rooms of the mansion. At times causing havoc in the kitchens, 'Beth' is assumed to have been a household servant around the turn of the century.

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