Christian Hoover (1784-1859), who was from Lancaster, Penn., married Maria Troyer (1789-1884) and had seven children, all born in Edgeley, Ont. (a now non-existent hamlet once located at Jane St. and Hwy.7). They are both buried in the still-extant cemetery there. Christian was the son of John and Elizabeth Hoover. His mother died when he was young, and he was brought to Canada to be raised by his aunt and uncle.

The Hoovers were reputed to have been exceptional farmers, and were exceptional in other ways too ­ U.S. president Herbert Hoover is a family descendent. The family originally settled in Pennsylvania in 1764 when Swiss-born Ludwig Huber or Hoover (there are various spellings of the name) left for Bavaria, eventually settling in the United States.

In an official architectural report, the house's structural attributes are described as a mix of "neoclassical with Gothic Revival and eclectic Picturesque." It is noted as a "fine remnant of the Pennsylvania German community in York County." The house is also the only board and batten (a construction style made popular around 1850) structure known in North York. Among its several distinguishing features are the small, square windows in the house's south block that are "peculiar to Germanic settlements."

According to Wesley, the Hoovers were helpful to anyone who needed assistance. "The Hoover Homestead was a haven for anyone in distress. No human or animal was ever turned away without 'physical care and spiritual comfort' Quaker-style," she writes.

The present house was not the first to be built on the site ­ two smaller houses preceded it, but were not lived in for long and were torn down. The Hoovers lived at the homestead until the 1930s. At least 14 of the Hoover clan were born in the house, and seven died there.

The legacy of the early Hoovers lives on. You can still see and enjoy the grape hyacinths and mulberry trees that were part of the original farm ­ brought from Pennsylvania by Conestoga wagon.