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Abraham Byer Ramer, one of the sons of Peter Ramer and Elizabeth Byer, was a furniture maker and sash and door maker. He is credited with naming this area north of Markham Village “Mount Joy” after the community in Pennsylvania from where the Ramer family originated. He purchased this property in 1848 and built a two storey frame house. As the business grew, he built a large frame factory to the north of his residence, which burned in 1873 but was replaced two years later with an even larger building. He was first married to Mary Ann Williams, and his second wife was Elizabeth Nighswander. Part of A.B. Ramer’s home is believed to have contained a showroom for his products, accessed through double doors at the front. His son, Israel, worked in the family business. By 1875, the Ramers were manufacturing sash, doors, blinds and other building materials. The old furniture factory (demolished many years ago) was later used as Lount’s paint brush handle factory and for a short time the Mount Joy Public School when the new school was under construction in 1907. The A.B. Ramer House underwent renovations in 1999. When the interior plaster was removed, an original painted sign for the furniture factory was discovered and subsequently placed in the collection of the Markham Museum. |