An offer to purchase and relocate the historic home remains on the table, nearly two years after the property owner first made overtures to the City of Hamilton. The property is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton. The Adam Book House, at 167 Book Rd. E., is one of Ancaster's oldest surviving brick homes.

John O’Brien, business administrator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, said an offer made to the City of Hamilton in June 2008 to purchase the home still stands. The diocese has offered to sell the home to the City of Hamilton with the stipulation the building is moved to a more suitable location. O’Brien said the property at 167 Book Rd. E. has been studied for a potential Catholic church expansion.

“All of our properties that we acquire are to assist for the development of future church sites,” said O’Brien.

Bill Farkas, Hamilton’s manager of real estate, was unavailable for comment earlier this week.

In 2008, the city’s heritage committee endorsed a plan for a cultural heritage assessment of the Book House. The move was intended to pave the way for historical designation of the home under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Nearly two years later, the cultural heritage assessment has not been released. The diocese has opposed historical designation of the property.

Heritage committee chair Art French said the designation process has stalled. The Book House remains on the heritage committee’s buildings of concern list.

“The good news is it’s still there,” said French.

Although neither the city nor a private buyer has stepped forward to purchase and relocate the home, French said the building is secure and the roof remains in stable condition.

French admitted he’s “not that optimistic” about the potential to relocate the Book House in the near future.

Sarah Jenkins, a Concordia, Kansas, resident, discovered her connection to the Book House while conducting family research. Jenkins is a seventh generation descendant of John Conrad Book.

Jenkins was fascinated to discover her links to southern Ontario. She discovered most of her ancestors fled the U. S. to Canada. Some identified themselves as Tories who wished to remain aligned with the British following the American Revolution. Others were Quakers and some joined British forces during the War of 1812.

“After I stumbled across the story of the Book House, I've just kept an eye on it. It seems to make the story more concrete somehow,” Jenkins wrote in an email.

According to a heritage committee report, the Book family emigrated from Germany to New Jersey in 1786. They settled in Ancaster in 1789.

By 1831, the Book property consisted of the Book family cemetery, the earliest Book House constructed in 1817 for John Book and the Adam Book House. The original Book House was razed by fire in 2005, before steps were taken to preserve it.