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The Peter Reesor Homestead was built c. 1831 by the first Peter Reesor. The house is located on Lot 4, Concession 9, Markham and accessed through a lane south from 14th Avenue. This lane was part of a "given" road that crossed the Rouge River at Peter's Mill and came out to Reesor Road by the Cedar Grove Mennonite Church. (Rouge Valley Mennonite Church).
Peter Reesor (1755-1854) and his wife Ester Eby (1774-1826) arrived from Franklin County, Pennsylvania with his father Christian and family in 1804. Peter selected the land for its rich soil and water power available from the Little Rouge River. He built two mills along the river. Ester and their oldest son, Christian journeyed back to Pennsylvania in 1826 and on their trip died of typhoid fever in Lewiston, New York. That winter Peter journeyed to Lewiston and brought back their bodies for burial in the Cedar Grove cemetery. Peter built this house in 1831 for his family and second wife, Elizabeth Ramer Koch (1794-1875). A very traditional Pennsylvania German barn was also built in 1831. It was destroyed by a fire in August 1960. The farm was sold in 1940.
The Peter Reesor Homestead is a two storey, Georgian house, built of stone with a five bay façade. The front of the house has been covered in stucco for over 100 years. Originally the house would have had wood shingles on the roof.
The Peter Reesor Homestead if of contextual significance as it is a prime landmark of the community of Cedar Grove. The house sits on a now abandoned roadway which was once a major thoroughfare in the community until the dam was removed across the Rouge River.
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