The Carter House Port Colborne and Anne of Ingleside

There’s something about grand old houses that rouses the storyteller and the curious cat in me. So, when I serendipitously came across The Carter House in Port Colborne Ontario I was smitten.

A little bit of Googling produced the results. The house was built in 1867 for the Carter family and remained in the family for 118 years. This gorgeous brick Georgian style home was once the home of Dewitt Carter, Port Colborne’s first mayor in 1918. Can you imagine the stories this house could tell?

What caught my eye was the beautiful ornate wrought iron fencing that surrounds the house. These, it is said, were erected at the same time the house was built, by local craftsman Jonathan Neff. And it is purported to be the only one of its kind remaining in all of Ontario.

That the City of Port Colborne has given this building heritage status and has preserved the historical significance of this structure is to be applauded. Port Colborne, once a somewhat economically depressed place, is seeing many rapid changes in development and gentrification.

A large condo tower currently under construction on the edge of the canal, signals looming changes that will permanently transform this once quiet town that resides on the Lake Erie shore in the Niagara Region. You may remember a previous post of mine on the canal area https://lifewithalegria.com/2022/03/24/the-story-of-the-great-lakes-freighters/

I was particularly entralled when I came upon The Carter House in my nostalgic explorations of Port Colborne this spring. And though I’ve visited Port Colborne countless time, I did not dig deep enough to find this magnificent historical house.

So, if you are reading the title of this post you must be wondering what the connection is with Anne of Ingleside.

Well, The Carter House is also known as Ingleside. I haven’t yet uncovered why it was named Ingleside. Was the City of Port Colborne once called Ingleside? I’m not sure.

The Carter House once housed the Ingleside Bed and Breakfast, so perhaps the owners decided to name it as such. Or perhaps they were great Anne of Green Gables fans as I am.

If you have read Lucy Maud Montgomery’s works then you know that Anne of Ingleside was one of the books in the Anne Series. In fact it was the last one to be published in 1939. This book and this house creates romantic notions in my head of old houses and a more leisurely time. I recognize this was not the case for many people, but it was a simpler time so let me romanticize a bit.

It isn’t too old a house…and it isn’t too young…too young houses are crude. It’s just mellow. I love every room in it. Everyone has some fault, but also some virtue, something that distinguishes it from all the others…gives it personality.

Anne of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery

When I happened to come across The Carter House or Ingleside, it happened to be for sale. It no longer is. No, I am not the purchaser, but I do wonder who is and what will become of the place.

I do hope the new owners will maintain the authenticity of this grand old house and the beautiful gardens that I took a sneaky peek of. 

You can see Ingleside or The Carter House in this video and my sneaky peek of the gorgeous garden space along with a few other nostalgic things I discovered on my explorations that day in Port Colborne.

Diana: “I love the name Ingleside. It’s such a nice, homey name.“

Anne: “That’s what Gilbert said. We had quite a time deciding on a name. We tried out several but they didn’t seem to belong. But when we thought of Ingleside we knew it was the right one.“

Anne Shirley (Blythe) would certainly name this house Ingleside. Which name would you choose for this beautiful old house?  And why?