François Baby House
| In the spring of 1812, François Baby started to build a new house on his farm. The farm was directly across the river from the fort at Detroit. The Babys were a wealthy French Canadian family who had lived in the area for years. François was a younger brother of
James Baby, who lived in Sandwich. François had married and moved to the family farm in 1795, and he decided he needed a new house. It was the first solid brick building in the Detroit area. When General Hull invaded Canada, he took over the Baby farm. The American soldiers camped around the new house, while the officers used it for a headquarters. After Hull withdrew his forces to Detroit on Aug. 8, the British forces from Amherstburg took over the farm. General Brock arrived on August 13 and ordered that two gun batteries be built. On August 15 the British started firing on Detroit. |
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François Baby House |
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See more: Lydia Bacon's diary for Aug. 15. Baby probably finished the house after the surrender of Detroit. He lost his property again when the British retreated up the Thames River in September of 1813. François Baby was an officer in the local militia. He was captured at Delaware on Jan. 31, 1814 and spent the rest of the war as prisoner of the Americans. The house is now Windsor's Community Museum. |