Councilor wants money given for Crystal Cottage returned

Whether The Brant Historical Society should return money to the City of Brantford related to the relocation of a historic home was up for debate at Tuesday’s council meeting.

count. Richard Carpenter thinks the Brant Historical Society, which runs the Brant Museum and Archives, should return $50,000 given by the city for the move of a home known as Crystal Cottage.

The home, built around 1876, stood on Chatham Street for more than 140 years. But in 2020, the developer of a large apartment agreed to sell the historic home for $10 to the Brant Museum and Archives and pay an estimated $300,000 to move it several blocks to a vacant property at Charlotte and Wellington streets, owned by the museum.

Council agreed to provide $100,000 to pour a foundation and prepare the new site and the 19th-century cottage was put in place in late 2021.

Earlier this month, the house was put up for sale. At the time, Tim Philp, president of the Brant Historical Society, said the intent was to save the building but the museum doesn’t have a need for it.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Carpenter argued that the $46,300 in annual funding provided by the city to the Brant Historical Society be reduced to $29,680 for the next three years in order to recoup $50,000 “we’ve already paid from taxpayer money” related to the cottage .

“The community was sort of stounded that Crystal Cottage was in as poor of shape as it was,” said Carpenter. “This reduces the money we’re giving them and whatever they get from the sale, they get.”

count. Dan McCreary argued strongly against cutting operating funds for the museum. Decisions about city funding for the museum and other arts and culture operations are made by the Brant Community Foundation.

“The museum was given the building by the owner as a gift,” said McCreary. “Third parties made big investments to save this vital piece of Brantford’s heritage. The building is free and clear owned by the museum to do with it what they wish.”

McCreary said responsibility for adjudicating grant requests was given to the Brant Community Foundation to keep councilors from “meddling in the grant process” and “prevent exactly what’s happening here tonight.”

McCreary said the money provided by the city related to Crystal Cottage has nothing to do with the operational funding provided to the museum.

“This money keeps the doors open, keeps employees paid and the light bills paid. Don’t mess with this tonight. You’ll put those folks out of business. That building will be shuttered.”

The Brant Historical Society confirmed on Wednesday that no deal has yet been signed for the sale of the cottage.

The majority of councilors agreed on Tuesday it was premature to make a decision on the matter until city staff had a chance to talk with the Brant Historical Society.

“I have a concern about making this decision tonight without a complete record of what’s transpired,” said Mayor Kevin Davis. “It may be appropriate to do something like this but right now it’s somewhat speculative.”

Crystal Cottage is also known as the Beer Bottle Cottage because of the bottles embedded in the red and yellow brickwork. The bottles, with just the bottoms exposed, run in a single horizontal row about three feet below the eaves all around the house.

Beneath the gable a collection of shells spell out the words Crystal Cottage.

Nathan Etherington, program and community coordinator for the Brant Museum, said he isn’t aware of any such houses built elsewhere in the province. He said most glass bottle buildings were constructed after the 1970s and are entirely built of glass.