In June, of 1911, Albert Sylvester and his business partner, Harry Peter, both of Stratford, took a trip up the Lake Huron shoreline looking at property.  Land was bought both in Bayfield and at Port Albert with Harry Peter choosing Bayfield and Albert Sylvester choosing Port Albert.

The Port Albert land had been owned by Alfred Smale and consisted of two full lots east of Colborne Street and one part lot west of Arthur Street.  This parcel of land had been used as a Park and a Dance Pavilion had been erected at the east end of the property around a beech tree.  By 1911, this Pavilion had fallen into a state of disrepair and was removed.

About the same time, three brothers, Clove, Harry and Ed Meyers also bought land.  This land was at the Harbour Mouth and is now owned by Glen Gardiner.

Even in these early days, there was a healthy spirit of competition and adventure.  The three Meyer’s brothers and Albert Sylvester had a race to see who could put the roof on their respective cottages first.  The Meyers brothers always claimed that they won the race, but it was always a very close contest.

In 1914, Albert Sylvester hired a man to take his wife and six children to Port Albert.  In those days the back roads were better than the Highways, and at best it was a four and one-half hour journey.  We can only partially appreciate the courage of Sarah Sylvester bringing her young family to spend the summer under what could be described as Pioneer conditions.  There were only wood stoves, water was carried and there was no refrigeration unless ice was available at the Fish House.  Wood had to be cut and bread had to be baked in the kitchen stove.  As time went by, bread was sent in from Dungannon and could be purchased at Harry Hayden’s store.  A meat truck came once weekly, and Sarah Sylvester used to go out to buy a plate of meat, which could be consumed before spoilage set in.

As the years went by, a further child came along, and the older Sylvester children were able to lend a hand with the daily chores.  It was a marvelous place for a total of seven youngsters to grow up.  Right next door, Robert Hoy and his family of eight children provided ready companionship for the Sylvester tribe.

 Albert Sylvester used to leave his wife and family at the cottage during the summer months.  He would work during the week in Stratford and travel to Goderich by train on Saturday.  He would bring the Sunday candy and bicycle from Goderich to Port Albert where his young family eagerly awaited his arrival and the usual sweets.  In later years, Albert Sylvester acquired his own car and traveled to the Port weekly.

In those days, the people of Port Albert and the congregation of Christ Church were one and the same.  Bob Hoy was the superintendent of the Sunday school and the Guild of Christ Church had regular Summer Teas and a Garden Party.  The Garden Parties were more like concerts where ice cream would be served.  The Teas were social get-togethers for the ladies at which sewing and home baking were sold to raise money.  One of the Teas was held at Sylvester property in the late 1920’s.

Edward and Howard, the two youngest Sylvester boys, were both baptized in Christ Church, Port Albert.  All seven of the Sylvester children, each in their own time attended the Sunday School at Christ Church.  Rose recalls how they eagerly saved their weekly scripture tickets during the summer so that they would qualify for a large ticket at the end.

In the early 1940’s, Albert Sylvester retired, and from then until his death in 1952, Albert and Sarah Sylvester spent each summer at Port Albert in the company of their daughter Rose.
By 1948, erosion had taken away many feet of the Sylvester property, and it became necessary to undertake a mass moving operation to relocate the cottage to its present position.  A temporary pre-fabricated canvas cabin was used to provide sleeping accommodation and a tin cookhouse was erected to hold a coal oil stove where meals could be prepared.

There were a total of twelve men who undertook the task of moving the cottage to its present position.  The actual moving was done over a period of three days.  Prior to the move, there was a great deal of preparation.  The stone fireplace in the living room was removed by Albert Sylvester who, at the age of seventy-four, did this part of the project by himself.  Over the previous two years, Albert Sylvester had dug four feet of the basement and he and Rose had cut down one beech tree and generally cleared the site.  Limbs from the beech tree were retained to serve as temporary support until a permanent foundation could be erected under the cottage.

Albert Sylvester prepared all the windows, doors, and the stairway for the basement and had them stored in Stratford.  After his death in 1952, his wife Sarah was able to secure the services of a contractor to complete the excavation of the basement and to place the cottage on the permanent foundation.  She was able to furnish the contractor with the plans that Albert Sylvester had prepared in detail, so that the project could be undertaken exactly as planned.

By 1950, Ed Sylvester and his wife Jean were expecting their second son Douglas, and both felt that it would be desirable to have separate sleeping accommodations in order that the Grandparents would not be disturbed too early in the morning by the grandchildren.  At this stage, the garage down by Hoys’ was in danger of slipping into the river.  Land was cleared near the traveled road close by the original cottage, and Walter Tigert offered his services to assist in moving the garage to its new location.  Over the next year, Ed Sylvester and two friends transformed the garage into a small cottage which Albert Sylvester like to refer to as “ The Little City House”.  A year later, a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom were added to the new cottage.

In 1954, Sarah Sylvester died and Rose owned the property until 1962 when it was sold to her brother Ed.  During the next four years, Ed Sylvester did considerable alterations to the original cottage, completely winterizing it so that it became a year round weekend residence.  By 1967, erosion was again posing a major threat, and during the strike at the salt mines a gabion wall was constructed along the river.  This wall proved to be a very effective way to curb the erosion.  Since the death of Ed Sylvester in 1975, his wife Jean and their three sons have continued to maintain the Sylvester property at Port Albert.  Two additional rows of gabion baskets have been added along the river as they became necessary when the original structure settled.
Needless to say, every member to the Sylvester family, both past and present, regards Port Albert as his or her second home, and looks back with happy memories to the lasting associations with their Port Albert friends.

This document was found when we were going through the books and papers left behind after the closing.  Unfortunately it is not known who in the Sylvester family wrote this and there was no date.