Following the passing of the last Johnson child, Evelyn Johnson in 1937, the mansion was left in Evelyn’s will to the Six Nations people. Beginning in 1953, the Six Nations Band Council began raising funds for the restoration of Chiefswood. Through generous support and fundraising efforts, the Chiefswood mansion was opened to the public as a museum in 1963.
The original summer kitchen wing was demolished between 1958 and 1960 during the restoration of the house. Beginning in 2000, the summer kitchen wing was reconstructed using historic pictures, written sources and the archaeological evidence of the original summer kitchen’s foundations. Construction was completed in 2001, and it stands today as a mark of the continued growth and success of the Chiefswood National Historic Site.