The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

In the year 1843, Mr. James I, Davidson of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, purchased part of Lot 1, Con. 8, in Pickering Township and built a log house for his family. When the land was being cleared, the field stones were put aside to be used in building a larger house at a later date. In 1865, Mr. Davidson engaged William Pearson of Ashburn, a stonemason, to build his new house. The only stones used in the construction of the house that were not found on the property, were the lintels which were quarried somewhere about the 6th Concession. The house is 40 feet by 30 feet with a kitchen wing which is approximately 30 ft. by 30 ft. The walls are 24 inches thick and the stonework was done for 75¢ a rod. The lime used in the stonework was from limestone found on the land and fired there. The house has a centre hall and originally had a parlour and parlour bedroom on one side, and an office and a dining room on the other side with four bedrooms and a sitting room upstairs in the main house. The stairway is enclosed and the woodwork was made by hand by James Nimmo, who agreed to do this work between January 1st. and October 1st, 1866, for the sum of $263.00. The lumber used in the building was brought from Brock Township and seasoned for 10 years before being used. The brick bake-oven and the soap and ash bed which were in the cellar and the two fireplaces have, unfortunately, been removed in the past 10 years. The carriage house and woodshed were added 13 years later after the building of the main house and the stonemason was a nephew of Mr. Wm. Pearson, the original builder. The stonework in the addition is very well matched to that of the original house. Mr. Davidson was the agent for Mr. Cruickshank of Sittyton, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, for Shorthorn cattle in North America. Cattle buyers over the years until 1917, will remember cattle sales at Sittyton Grove in Pickering Township. The house remained in the Davidson family until 1947 and the details about this house were obtained from Mr. Davidson's grand-daughter, Mrs. Walter Kerr of Ashburn. Mr. & Mrs. J. G. Spragge, the present owner, have done a great deal of redecorating and improved the gardens. Pictured: SPRAGGE HOME