We’ve been fortunate to discover quite a bit of this home’s history thanks to previous owners, the internet, and a bit of digging through library archives.

The land in the Niagara Region was the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Ojibway/Chippewa, and Haudenosaunee peoples. In 1801, this property was part of a 200-acre parcel granted from The Crown to the Collver family. Around 1876 it changed hands to the Rodgers family and then the Goodalls. In 1891 Robert Goodall sold 100 acres to Robert Combe & Jane Goodall Combe, this is where it gets exciting because a descendent of the Combe family Donald Combe wrote a family history including information on this farmhouse!

Robert & Jane farmed here until 1923 when William Alexander Combe, one of their sons, took over the farm with his wife R.Evelyn and two children. Their farm consisted of 300 peach trees, 10 acres of grapes, hay, and grain crops. They also had beef cattle and later, dairy. They continued mixed farming until 1945 when William sold the farm.

After the Combe’s, there were two more families that farmed the land and lived in this farmhouse – the Cartmer’s (1945-1971) and the Warkentin’s (1971-1981). The majority of the land was then sold to develop Rockway Golf Course and Winery and Rockway Conservation Area. The land that remained with the house was just under two acres that included a small barn and, of course, Rockway Farmhouse.

In the 80’s Rockway Farmhouse was home to the Friesen family and since then it has been the loving home of three other families. Every family seems to have appreciated Rockway Farmhouse. We’ve even had two previous families drop by to say hello and share memories of their times here!

We love the history and character of this 115-year-old farmhouse and want to preserve as much as possible for future generations. We still have a lot more history to learn and hope to fill in some gaps over time.

 We feel honoured to be a part of this special home’s story.