‘It’s a beautiful landmark’: Canada’s most photographed home could soon be gone 

“Canada’s most photographed abandoned house” in Chatham-Kent is at risk of demolition after municipal inspectors deemed it unsafe.

Built in 1845, The Guyitt House is an old abandoned farmhouse near Palmyra on the Talbot Trail along the north shore of Lake Erie.

“It is a beautiful landmark and it's well known throughout Canada,” said local photographer Ken Bell.

“Nothing fantastically, historically relevant but it's aged well, like some people,” Bell explained. “May we all age so gracefully, and that's the beauty. It's changed to a different kind of beauty than its original intent.”

Bell said the historic Ontario cottage-style farmhouse brings tourists and photographers through all seasons to the region to safely admire and take photos from the road.

He continued, “I think there's a sense of maybe the nostalgia. Certainly, a longing for the beauty of the past and it reflects that.”

Bell launched an online petition to save the house this week that garnered hundreds of signatures within its first day.

“This isn't talking about all old places or old barns,” he said. “This is talking about this particular place at this particular time.”

The Guyitt House is an old abandoned farmhouse near Palmyra on the Talbot Trail along the north shore of Lake Erie in Chatham, Ont. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)“People here care about heritage and natural heritage and they care about their cultural heritage too.”

Chatham-Kent chief building official Paul Lacina said a municipal enforcement officer inspected the building earlier this month after a complaint was made. Lacina said the house was determined to be in contravention of the property standards bylaw, which resulted in the order to either repair or demolish within 14 days.

“I can tell you that the property owner has appealed this order,” Lacina told CTV News. “Which we expect will be heard sometime early 2023.”

Lacina noted, “the appeal then stops any enforcement from my team and we will not take any action until such time as the appeal is heard or if the owner decides between now and then to demolish the structure.”

A temporary reprieve according to Bell who hopes the end result will allow the house to stay.

“When it's ready to come down, it'll come down and people will keep taking photographs until that time,” he said.

Current owner Peter Anderson, whose grandparents purchased the property in the early 1900s, declined an interview with CTV News. 

The Guyitt House is an old abandoned farmhouse near Palmyra on the Talbot Trail along the north shore of Lake Erie in Chatham, Ont. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)