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Herbert Leitch & August Wurtz House - Digital Archive
The Digital Archive and complementary Interactive Heritage Register Map are initiatives to provide historical information regarding properties included on the Township’s Heritage Register. The Digital Archive only includes properties which have consented to include their heritage property on this archive.
The lands we know today as the Township of Puslinch have been home to
Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. We acknowledge that we are on the
traditional territory of the Hatiwendaronk, as well as the treaty lands and traditional
territory of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee.
With increasing encroachment by non-Indigenous settlers in the Township of Puslinch, the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee could not continue their traditional lifestyle and settled in their villages along the Credit River and in the Grand River Valley. These Indigenous nations uphold their Treaty Rights within our jurisdiction.
Today, the Township of Puslinch remains home to Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island. We are grateful to have the opportunity to share and respect Mother Earth and are committed to building constructive and cooperative relationships with Indigenous nations.
Herbert Leitch & August Wurtz House
Biographical Info
The Herbert Leitch & August Wurtz House was built in 1885 of limestone and granite. Originally built as a stone cottage by Herbert Leitch, it was renovated by August Wurtz in 1890 to create this unusual triple-gabled stone Gothic style residence. The structure had a keyhole entrance, but an added porch now covers the keyhole.
In the late nineteenth-century, Prussian-born mason Herbert Leitch lived in Morriston, and brought unique masonry skills to the area. Leitch is responsible for the limestone pieces set around the house’s windows in an arch pattern, giving it unique character. In April 1890, August Wurtz purchased the house for $350.00, and renovated it to the state it is today.
The property is historically associated with German immigration and the settlement of Puslinch. The structure’s silhouette is the logo for the Puslinch Heritage Committee plaquing program for historical properties, which began in 2000.
Categories: Decade Built – 1880s, Decade Plaqued – 2000s, Gothic Style, Historical Association – German/Germany, Historical Association – Prussian/Prussia, Materials – Stone, One-and-a-half storeys