MORRISBURG/IROQUOIS – With major structural issues, the historic Forward House in Iroquois will be demolished to make way for a new building.
South Dundas council voted Tuesday night (Feb. 6) to level both the Forward House and the Iroquois Campground Building and put up a new campground building at the Forward House site on the corner of Elizabeth Drive and Carmen Road.
It’s estimated the new building will cost $350,000. It would have showers and bathrooms, a campground office, a dish washing station, meeting area and covered patio with picnic tables.
Under the plan, the campground building would be left up while the new building was constructed to allow campers to have access to facilities in the immediate area.
Some councillors agreed the new building should have some sort of historical recognition of the old Forward House.
The township shut the doors to the Forward House in June 2017 after it learned the stone building faced major structural issues and would have cost over $334,000 in long term repairs.
The building had a host of problems that needed to be addressed, which included replacing the entire roof, all the windows and window frames, all the plumbing, the walls and floor coverings and the entire first and second floor joists and sub floor.