so as to beget a more manorial presence. As a result, he demolished or moved several of the former military buildings that had remained and been converted, such as a brick barracks and the ordnance building off of the property. The most significant change was Hough's decision to remodel the lumber mill into his private residence. Under the architectural supervision of Harold McEvors, he had the mill converted to mimic a Colonial Revival style, completely altering the industrial and architectural character of the building. His design for Lot 4, particularly his intention of creating a manor house, have endured up until the present day and will be maintained according to the "Heritage Character Statement" created by the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office once Parks Canada determined Fort Malden to be a National Historic Site. Consequently, the privatization of the fort was the focus of the turn of the twentieth century and was facilitated by the development of several manorial estates. 1935–present: The National Historic Site While the previous decades concerned the private ownership of the fort, the mid-twentieth century was focused upon reclaiming the land for public use. The first incident was in 1917 when an issue over unpaid back taxes resulted in the town of Amherstburg seizing a small area of privately owned land known as the Webber property and then turning over ownership of it to the Federal government. In the 1930s, the Cleveland Cliffs Iron and Coal Company were persuaded not to renew their mortgage on the north section of the northeast bastion, which resulted in the town purchasing the land and then turning it over to the Department of Mines and Resources National Parks Division. After the death of Franklin A. Hough in 1946, the Federal government purchased Lot 4. Additionally, in 1958, the Federal government repeated the same action with the McGregor House, purchasing it from his estate. This acquisition and aggregation of property was due to the fact that there was a growing number of townspeople who were determined to have Fort Malden designated a Heritage Site in order to protect the area. Starting as early as 1904, residents had sent a petition to the Minister of Militia and Defence asking the fort to be reserved as a park. This was done again in 1912, this time with a second petition sent to Sam Hughes, the Minister of Defence. In 1913, a small delegation