Misener’s daughter, donated
the house to Westfield, the
nascent living history
museum, just then being
opened seven kilometres away.
Westfield’s founders restored
the house as best they could
and it proudly represented
the rural heritage of
southern Ontario for a

generation.
   In the 1980s the
recession and high interest
rates put the Region of
Hamilton Wentworth – the new
owner – in a financial bind.
They temporarily closed
Westfield at precisely the
time that the house needed a
second wave maintenance. Five

years of relative neglect saw
the house begin to fail and
fall to ruin a second time.
Volunteers who had worked at
Westfield were quite
distressed and lobbied for
the reopening of the Village.
They succeeded in time to
intervene on the Misener
House’s behalf and a second

restoration stabilized the
house for another quarter
century.
   Now, as the house
approaches its 180th
anniversary, a third wave of
renovation has replaced the
foundation, squared the frame
and re-clad the exterior with
custom-cut siding that