History
The Organ
Factory Bed and Breakfast was built in 1896 and was the first brick
home built in St. Joseph. The first owners, Oliver Bissonnette
and his wife owned the Organ Pipe Factory on the property and shipped
organ
pipes to Toronto. The second owners from 1916 to 1975 were
Napoleon and Valerie Cantin who raised twelve children, each of them
born in what is now the Antique Room. Napoleon converted the
factory into a machine shop eventually producing a variety of different
products. During this time, Napoleon's father Narcisse Cantin was
promoting his canal project and Napoleon oversaw his fathers'
interests in St. Joseph. In the religious history of the area,
Brother Andre of the of the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal was a
friend to Narcisse Cantin and visited the area and this house on
several occasions. The third owners used the home as a summer
cottage and ran a gift shop during the summers. In 1994 the
fourth owners restored some of the Victorian charm to the house and
opened the Lilacs and Lace Tower Bed and Breakfast. In 2003 we
became the fifth owners of this historic property, now known as the
Organ Factory Bed and Breakfast.
St. Joseph:
The unique history of St. Joseph has been written about in a great
many
books and articles and although
it would be
impossible to relate the
whole story here, it is interesting to note the reason why this hamlet
was actually meant to be a city. It was Narcisse Cantin, in the
early 1900's, who had a dream to build a canal connecting Lake Huron,
at St. Joseph, to Lake Erie near Port Stanley. He attracted lots
of investors and businesses to the area and the city began to develop
with hotels, a brick yard, a winery, a lumber yard and factories;
including the organ pipe factory which still stands on the
property. Unfortunately the canal was not built and many
buildings were torn down to repay creditors. This was the job of
Napoleon A. Cantin the second owner of this home. He became known
as the "Keeper of St. Joseph". The only buildings that remain
today are three homes, the organ pipe factory, and a commercial
building now used as a cottage.
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