57-59 King Street – Charles Clemes Duplex – c. 1876 – This semi-detached brick house is in the Second Empire style. Its colossal three-story scale is more impressive because of the semi-detached arrangement, symmetrically divided. Both halves of the composition contain a complex array of detail. The distinguishing elements are the steeply pitched mansard roof in cedar-shingles, and the gabled dormers with eaves returns and molded pilasters framed around segmentally-arched windows. A third facade dormer, centrally placed, boasts slender lights and is topped with a bracketed pediment. The facade has two-story bay windows trimmed with band courses and decorative panels in brick; dentilled cornice and paired brackets; slender windows with original glazing intact, some flat arched, some with segmental arches, some round headed; twin entrances with prominent arched transoms and paneled double doors.8 King Street – Robert Mitchell House – c. 1850 – This one-and-a-half story Gothic cottage has three bays to the ground floor, and is constructed of brick laid in Flemish bond with a coarse rubble foundation. The steep pitch of the gable roof, and the three steeply pointed gables containing pointed windows are distinguishing Gothic characteristics. The French doors on the ground floor and the front door with sidelights and ogre transom are typical of the Regency style. On the gable ends of the house are returned eaves. The porch in front of the main entrance, with its carved detail is a later addition. Robert Mitchell (1799-1865) was a carpenter. Originally from Ireland, he arrived in Port Hope in the early 1830s. As an active member of the early Methodist congregation, he along with builder Phillip Fox constructed the first frame Methodist Church located on Brown Street in 1833 (on a lot across the street from the present church.) His brother, William Mitchell (1799-1871), who was also a carpenter, resided in a dwelling a few doors to the south of Robert’s house. Robert’s children established businesses in Port Hope and were prominent merchants.20 King Street – John Read House – c. 1870 – This two-story house is clad in brick laid in an unusual pattern exhibiting paired headers between the normal stretcher pattern. This is similar to a type known as garden wall bond. The house has a low-pitched hipped roof with projecting eaves. Under the eaves lie pairs of tooled “S” brackets on a molded frieze. The window openings are flat and are headed by a brick radiating voussoir. The front facade top-story windows have brick sills, which have replaced the wooden lugsills that sit below all of the home’s other windows. The front facade has a one story bay window with a hipped roof and eaves jutting out. A molded corona decorates the plain cornice. Beneath this are medalioned block brackets set on a molded frieze panel which has been intricately decorated with carved swirling medallions. The main entrance is framed by a flat-topped portico which is highly decorated in the same fashion as the bay and is supported further by carved brackets and beveled posts. A molded panel encloses the bottom portion of the portico. The main entrance is a paneled door flanked by sidelights and headed by a flush, light transom panel. A one-story side addition has pilasters, which run to the eave line of the balcony above. A molded and paneled balustrade capped by round urns encloses the balcony. Underneath the eaves one can see decorative stepped brickwork.53 King Street – St. Mark’s Rectory – c. 1878 – It is a good example of the late Victorian villa with Italianate details in red brick complete with its essential exterior details of two story bay window, paired brackets to eaves, and gables, elaborate front verandah, Victorian sashing and entrance door case. In 1956, St. Mark’s Church sold the Ambrose House (50 King Street) in order to purchase this house located directly beside the Church for use as a rectory.55 King Street – Charles Wickett House – c. 1909 – This house was built for Charles Hearn Wickett, a prominent dry goods merchant. About1920 the first floor was extended to the south and the back verandah added. It is side gabled, three storys, triple brick, stretcher bond on a cement foundation. It has an irregular cedar shake roof, gables half timbered on stucco, hooded windows and dormers. The fenestration is the most impressive feature with a total of 47 multi-faceted windows in a variety of groupings. Except for the neoclassical front entrance and back verandah this house is an interesting Canadian vernacular version of the Arts and Crafts style of architecture. The house has a symmetrical plan with a large hall, three reception rooms, a large kitchen and butler’s pantry on the main floor, four bedrooms plus a sewing room and bathroom on the second, and another three bedrooms and bathroom on the third. In 1912, the living room was enlarged by extending the main floor at the front to the south. In the space created behind the extension a two-sided verandah was added.61 King Street – R. Charles Smith House – c. 1858 – The house is basically a hip roof Regency Villa with a central hall plan. The main west facade is relieved by a central projection with a pedimental gable, and pilasters, articulating the south wall and each corner, enhance the mass and solidity of the structure. Decorative projecting header bricks under the wide eaves resemble dentils. The two tall brick chimneys on each side of the house are ornamented with brick dentils and with recessed panels. A verandah spans the south side of the house and has eight-sided posts resting on paneled square bases, and carved details below the roof line. There is a bay window in the frontispiece consisting of one six over six, and two two-over-two double hung sash. Robert Charles Smith (1817-1886) built this impressive brick house for himself and his wife Sara. The house is across the street from his father’s house (John David Smith), the Bluestone (21 Dorset Street East). In 1851, R. Charles Smith contributed to the building boom that occurred during the early 1850s by building a commercial block at 48-60 Walton Street. He established himself as a lumber dealer.117 King Street – Elias Peter Smith House (The Little Bluestone) – c. 1834 – The little Bluestone is a small Upper Canadian house, little more than a cottage. Certain elements are related to the Bluestone, but here the local stone also stuccoed is supplemented by limestone of better quality for sills, lintels and string course instead of the red sandstone used in the larger house. The principal external feature which gives such distinction to the facade is the door case, but its dominance over the adjoining windows is relieved by the judiciously placed semi-circular attic light in the gable. In 1834, John David Smith married his second wife Augusta and built the Bluestone (21 Dorset Street East). In that same year, J.D. Smith’s eldest son, Elias Peter Smith (1807-1860) married Sophia Soper (1803-1885) and the Little Bluestone was built on the same estate. Elias Peter Smith was named after his grandfather, Elias Smith, one of the founding fathers of Port Hope. He was the Manager of the local branch of the Bank of Upper Canada located in the 1840’s on Walton Street (118-120 Walton Street).15 Baldwin Street – William Hewson House – c. 1850 – This is a one-story cottage from the north facade, while a view of the south facade shows two storys. It is a classic example of the Ontario Cottage with three bays and a center gable in its hipped roof. The house is done in narrow clapboard. The building has well-proportioned exterior features and a center-hall plan. At the gable peak in the center of the main facade sits a finial; directly below this, tucked into the gable, is a semi-circular fanlight divided into five parts by narrow radiating muntins. Between the main facade’s windows and directly below the fanlight is a small, enclosed porch. Small double windows of three panes each are located on the front face of the porch which has a truncated hipped roof. The sashed windows are six-over-six and have slightly protruding lugsills that are decorated with end drops resembling acorns. The windows are treated with eared label surrounds. The horizontally louvred shutters on the main facade are for decoration. 15 and 11 Baldwin Street were built by William and Henry Hewson. The Hewson brothers were born in England and arrived in Port Hope in the early 1840s.35 Baldwin Street – Second Empire style – mansard roof, cornice brackets, attractive porches, arched voussoirs108 Bruton Street – Nathaniel Gillespie Cottage – c. 1854 – This is an Ontario Cottage, single story frame house with a hipped roof and a semi-circular window in the central gable. the sun porch now masking the front is a more recent addition and may replace an earlier verandah, a feature to be expected on the south face. Nathaniel Gillespie (1821-1899) was originally from County Armagh Ireland. He and his wife Cecelia emigrated to Canada in 1847. He established himself as a painter, during the building boom of the 1850s and it is an occupation he would have his entire life. The house remained in the Gillespie family, transferring to son Robert Tobias in 1899 after the death of both Nathaniel and Cecelia, which occurred within two days of each other.159 Bruton Street – William Skitch Cottage – c. 1861 – This is a diminutive example of the Ontario cottage with a hip roof, front gable with fanlight and end chimneys; the house is set over a high basement so that the rear allows more light to the cellar. The facade has a center door with transom above flanked by French windows. The building has a rear wing. The exterior is rendered in roughcast, but there is evidence of the original stucco finish scored to look like ashlar. William Skitch (1823-1894) was born in Stratton, Cornwall, England in 1823, emigrating to Canada in 1850. His wife, Anne Burney and five children arrived later that year. William established a tailoring business. Unfortunately, his shop was located in the Quinlan Block (78-92 Walton Street), which was destroyed by a fire in 1866. He was left with only his tailor irons as a result of not having any insurance. He was able to re-establish his business and by 1871, son Henry (1849-1924) was also a tailor. He took over the family business when William died in 1894.254 Ridout Street – Richard Trick House – c. 1851 – This house is one of the finest examples of a brick Ontario Cottage in Port Hope. It is a raised cottage with the front entrance elevated from street level and approached by double stairs. The heavy lintels of the basement windows form a continuous line with the entrance platform. Capping the house is a low-pitch hipped roof with projecting eaves and a center gable. The cornice is boxed and has fine crown molding. Each corner and the ends of the gable have small acorn drops. A turned finial and drop pierce the front gable apex. Beneath the eaves is an interesting brick frieze which consists of protruding brick courses enclosing brick dentiling. An open circle of brickwork decorates the front gable. All of the front facade windows have timber lintels, which appear to be twice the height of the lugsills below. The main-story openings hold paired, double-sash windows with doubled, mullioned transoms above. At each window corner, just under the lintels, protruding blocks have been placed. This is a small but classic example of imagination and care on the part of the planner. The main entrance in its molded housing consists of a paneled door, flanked by sidelights. Topping the door is an unusual ogee transom with well-arranged muntins. The corners of the house exhibit brick quoins. The entire house is a showcase for the talents of Richard Trick, the original owner of this house, and a prominent local bricklayer. Richard Trick (1822-1890), originally from Hartland, Devon, England, came to Canada with his brother William about 1836. He established himself as a local mason and was responsible for building many of Port Hope’s important brick structures.267 Ridout Street – c. 1851 – corner quoins, transom above entrance, multi-paned windows, shutters284 Ridout Street – Thomas Spry Cottage (Forge Cottage) – c. 1850 – The house is a good example of local Georgian styling of the one and a half story cottage design with a center hall plan, constructed of two course local brick. Some of the features are the brick pilasters, the entrance sidelights and transom. The window above the main door is known as an eyebrow window, which was to provide light to the upstairs hallway. The large twelve-paned windows provide excellent lighting and ventilation most of which is still the original glass. Rectangular multi-paned sidelights and a transom of the same style and dimension flank the Palladian proportioned front entrance. A unique fanlight window that provides light to the upper story appears to rest on the door lintel. Forge Cottage was built by Thomas Spry; the name of the cottage is a reference to his trade.
44 Pine Street North – c. 1816 – The two-story brick house in the Tudor Manor style has a steeply pitched gable roof, two chimneys, decorative buttresses, stepped gables with thickly molded windows, and enclosed front porch. on the ground floor there are double casement sash windows with Gothic tracery and a quatrefoil pattern in the top two panes. On the frontispiece above the brick porch is a Gothic arched double casement sash window. The brick porch is reinforced at the corners by attached pillars.82 Victoria Street South – Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams House (Penryn Park) – c. 1859 – Penryn Park is an excellent example of the Cottage Gothic house. It includes details such as barge board trim truer to the medieval pattern in their cusped and carved form than the lacy interpretation common to other buildings of the period. The house has hood molds to openings and a Chinese pagoda roof over a rear second-story window and a tower at the entrance, which might be expected of the mid-nineteenth century Picturesque. Fine finials and pendants adorn the gables. A long verandah with chamfered pillars runs along the south side of the house; originally narrow, it was widened by three feet in 1895. The house is constructed of local bright red brick with woodwork painted the appropriate period color of Tuscan red. The front steps display cast-iron risers. The oldest chimney is a joined chimney with six flues. Penryn Park was built for one of Port Hope’s most famous citizens – Colonel Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams. His father, John Tucker Williams, came to Canada during the War of 1812 and later settled in Port Hope to become its first Mayor. Arthur T.H. Williams was born in Port Hope in 1837. Arthur attended Upper Canada College in Toronto and Edinburgh University in Scotland. Like his father, he held many responsible positions in the town in addition to managing the family’s business enterprises that included large land holdings and investments in timber and mines. His political career included being elected several times to the Ontario legislature from 1865 to 1875, and later holding the position of Conservative MP in Ottawa from 1878 to 1885. After his marriage to Emily Seymour in 1859, Colonel A.T.H. Williams commissioned architect Edward Haycock to design his house named Penryn Park on the vast acreage adjacent to his father’s house, Penryn Homestead (82 Victoria Street). A.T.H. Williams is best remembered for his military career. He was Colonel of the 46th Regiment and saw service during the Fenian Invasion. As Commander of the Midland battalion during the Riel rebellion of 1885, he led a daring charge against the Metis that resulted in victory at Batoche, Saskatchewan.82 Victoria Street South – John Tucker Williams House (Penryn Homestead) – c. 1828-1829 – The exterior appearance is the result of extensive alterations made in the 1890s. These included the bricking over of the roughcast walls, the building of the two projecting porches to the north and south through the full height of the house, and a rebuilding of the roof, which altered its pitch and extended its eaves. The exterior double doors have a rectangular transom above them. The roof is a medium pitched hip with center flat deck and has brick chimneys. Each of the projecting porches has returned eaves, ornamental dentils, and a small circular window below the peak. From the main facade projection extends a porch with fluted Doric pillars and a carved radiating fan decoration in the pediment. On the north front projection is a pair of shuttered casement windows, and on the north facade wall are four two-over-two double hung shuttered sash windows.17 Victoria Street South – Samuel Coombe Cottage – c. 1860 – This is a one story high hip-roofed Ontario cottage, roughly square in plan with an ell to the rear. Constructed in stretcher-bond brick, it stands on a level site on a corner lot. The facade is symmetrically arranged around a central front door flanked by sidelights and transom. The gable is decorated with barge board and accented by a round-headed window and topped by a spike finial and ornament. Of special interest is the front door vestibule that could be seasonally removed in the warmer months. Samuel Coombe (1826-1905) was born in Stowford County, Devon England emigrating to Port Hope during the prosperous early 1850’s. He made a contribution as a carpenter during the building boom, and into the following decades.345 Lakeshore Road – William & Augusta Fraser House (Dunain) – c. 1857 – It was named Dunain (translated means Hill of the Birds) after the family’s ancestral home near Inverness in Scotland. The house was built by William A. Fraser on land given by his wife’s family, the Williams, owners of Penryn Homestead. In 1898, the house was taken over by Mr. Fraser’s daughter, Sarah and her husband, Frederick Barlow Cumberland. The Cumberland coat of arms etched on stained glass graces the front entrance window. The style of the original house is Loyalist Georgian with its dignified symmetry but this house exhibits a breakaway from the rigid symmetry of earlier Georgian houses. The porch and portico were added to the north side in the latter part of the century, as was the conservatory to the south, which was rebuilt again in the early part of the 20th century. The original portion of the house is a two-story red brick structure with a symmetrically placed front door, and symmetrically placed windows. The roof is a hip roof with wide overhangs and bold cornice fascia. The roof culminates in a glass roofed Belvedere bringing light into the central hall below. There is a west wing, probably originally servants’ quarters constructed in the same manner as the main house and capped by a Belvedere, lighting the center hall of this wing. A further addition was made to this west wing to accommodate a more modern kitchen, constructed in a similar manner to the original house. In the latter part of the 19th century, the front portico and porch were added to the north side of the house, the style of which is more Classic Revival popular in that period. The porch is a good example of the classical period with classical Doric columns and a wide entablature and in-filled with large windows extending to the ceiling inside. These windows are an eight over sixteen central window with four over eight sidelights on both floors, and sides of the portico and paneled. The railing for the upper porch completes this classical composition. To the southeast is a conservatory constructed in steel and is an excellent example of early 20th century greenhouse construction. This present structure replaces an earlier conservatory.22 Shortt Street -Thomas White House – c. 1890 – The style of this frame two-story house can be described as cottage with horizontal wood ship lap siding, six over six windows and simple trim. The plan is unusual with a side entrance accentuated by a simple but elegant porch. High pitched cross axis roofs add particular interest to this house. The front of the house has a picket fence. White was originally from England, born in 1838, and as of the 1881 census had four daughters and one son. The house remained in the White family for many decades transferring to the White children in 1929.48 Bloomsgrove Avenue – Thomas B. Chalk House – c. 1890 – This late Victorian two-story brick house has fine brick detailing. The center bay of the house has two large arched windows (typical of the Romanesque style) with stained glass semicircular transoms. Above is a protruding bay window in frame with fine wood detailing and a large arched top central window. The peak of the roof above has decorative fretwork suggesting a more Edwardian period. The side bay has a similar arched top window. On either side of the house is a porch. The west porch protects the front door located on the side of the building, while the east porch provides a kitchen entrance. Each of these porches has decorative columns and fretwork. A side bay window is similar to the front bay window. The brickwork has decorative brick arches over windows, brick corbels with specially formed brick, brick banding, and decorative brick chimneys.5 Bloomsgrove Avenue – Robert Horsey House – c. 1870 – Robert Horsey was a Port Hope carpenter. This one and a half story, two bay house is rectangular in plan and constructed of brick veneer laid in stretcher bond with a coarse rubble foundation. The roof is a high gable, gable end to the street, and contains some decorative trim at the apex. The eaves consist of a plain boxed cornice. The shuttered windows on the upper story are six over six double-hung sash with plain surround and lugsills. The decorative details on the porch are Victorian details.98 Ontario Street – Thomas Wickett House (Penstowe) – c. 1894 – Although built in the Queen Anne Revival style, it has detailing of the Romanesque style. The roof is irregular and complicated, but is composed basically of several steeply pitched gables and one overhanging gable dormer. The gables are pedimented with some rafters exposed. The pediment has a set of triple windows in a bold wooden surround. Trimming the windows are tooled pilasters and heavy entablature. Decorative shingles complete the pediment. The stretcher-bond brick house has various types of structural openings from flat on the top story, to segmental on the projecting south bay, to rounded Romanesque on the front facade. Voussoirs head most windows, but protruding arched gables of brick surround the semi-elliptical openings. Stringer courses join the sills of the house and join the tips of the arches on the main facade. The main door is set in one of the arched openings, but is itself flat. The house has a second-story bell-cast balcony adorned with heavy turned balusters and turned columns. The balcony roof is supported by brackets and has a molded frieze. The open end of the balcony is partially filled by lattice-like woodwork. The spooled columns are turned and have a rounded, bulbous appearance. On the first story, a shed-roofed porch with the same characteristics can be seen. The house sits on a squared-stone foundation with segmental basement windows.162 Peter Street – This two-story house is indicative of the Italianate Style Victorian house. A symmetrically placed entrance is noted for its heavily decorated portico topped by iron balustrade made in the foundry of the original owner. The entrance is flanked by two bay windows with similar iron topping. The roof overhangs are supported by brackets typical of this Italianate period and is topped by a widow’s walk. The semi-circular window over the entrance designed in a Florentine pattern is of particular interest. Another interesting point is the unusual width of the overhanging eaves with their double brackets.
Before Canada became a nation in 1867, Port Hope was already a boom town. Its main streets were thronged with horse-drawn carriages and farmers’ wagons, its plank sidewalks crowded with shoppers and merchandise. Wood-burning locomotives pulled heavily loaded trains through town on their way to a harbor filled with schooners and steamships. Solid brick commercial blocks and houses lined the streets.
The town grew rapidly from four
families of English descent who arrived by boat in 1793 and settled at the
river mouth. Until then the area had been home to aboriginal groups—Huron, then
Iroquois, and finally Mississauga—attracted by the salmon and sturgeon that
swarmed in its river.
The first European settlers came
from the new United States. They had chosen to follow the British crown after
the American Revolution. More families arrived including blacksmiths,
carpenters, bricklayers, and merchants. The mills drew farmers from fifty and
sixty kilometers away. Grain that could not be milled was bought by
distilleries—there were eventually five along the river—that produced a famous
Port Hope whisky. In 1856 the Grand Trunk Railway connected Port Hope to
Toronto and the Atlantic seaboard. Its viaduct over the Ganaraska River was the
second greatest engineering challenge on the route, exceeded only by bridging
the St. Lawrence River at Montreal.
Another railway heading north from Port Hope opened up the vast timberlands and new farms of central Ontario and stretched to Peterborough and Lindsay. Eventually it reached
Georgian Bay, at Midland. Down this line came great loads of timber and grain.
Some went east to England, but most was exported to the USA through Rochester
across the lake.
86 John Street – The Bank of Upper Canada – c. 1857 – The three-story brick structure is almost square and is a good example of Italianate architecture with a flat roof, protruding eaves supported by ornamental molded brackets, tall and round-headed windows and decorative window trim. The exterior walls have recessed panels in the brickwork and the white brick was manufactured in Toronto. A stone band course separates the coursed rubble foundation from the brick structure. On the main facade, there are nine openings, two windows and one entrance way on the first story, and three windows on each of the second and third floors. The first story windows are round-headed and six over three double hung with a round-headed center pane and five surrounding panes over three vertical panes. These windows are surmounted by molded wooden “pedimental” surrounds. Double pilasters on each side are formed out of the brick. The second story windows are flat six over nine double hung sash, surmounted by molded “entablature” surrounds with a central flourish, and bordered by single brick pilasters. The center window has been replaced by French doors, and opens out to the cast iron railed balcony on top of the front porch. The original cast iron balconies of the other second story windows have been replaced by plain modern iron rails. Three projecting rows of brick form the sills on the second story fenestration. The third story windows have segmental molded wood heads, and have brick pilasters at the sides, and wooden lugsills with supporting brackets. The Bank of Upper Canada was established in York (Toronto) in 1822. Until its demise in 1866, the bank was one of British North America’s leading banks. It played a significant role in the financial development of Upper Canada.94 John Street – J.D. Smith House – c. 1835 – symmetrical arrangement of windows around the central front door with pilastered doorcase and transom, two-story gable roof with brick end chimneys, timber frame construction sheathed in clapboard. A one story hipped roof addition is at the side, and if not original is fairly early; it provided a separate entrance to the taproom. The house had its historic beginnings as a local tavern.25 John Street – Meredith House – c. 1853 – This symmetrical design with two-story bay windows flanking the wide double entrance is a good example of late Victorian brick building. Decorative trim appears on the front facade. A flat roof, simple chimney, and two-story verandah are additional features.27 John Street – The Cochrane House – c. 1848 – This two and a half story frame dwelling is an early example of the Greek Revival. It is a square house with a side-hall plan and gable roof. The main facade has three bays and the main entrance to the house is located on the north side of the facade. The entrance is simple, yet gracefully done. The wide, closed transom, with its plain entablature, helps to frame the entrance. On either side of the door are plain, wooden pilasters. The entrance is reached by a wide flight of stairs. All of the windows have the original sashes of six panes over six panes. They all have molded wooden surrounds and flush wooden sills. The Cochrane House is named for James Cochrane, the original owner and proprietor of the Queen’s Hotel (81 Walton Street). James Cochrane (1815-1900) was born in County Down, Ireland in 1815. He came to Canada in 1841, and settled in Port Hope. In 1871, he built the Queen’s Hotel.50 John Street – Y.M.C.A. (Young Men’s Christians Association) – c. 1874 – The main floor of the two-story front contains round arched main entrance (asymmetrically placed) and secondary flat-arched entrance at left. Between are brick pilasters enclosing a plain window and transom. The second story has a central projecting panel into which a circular window with quatrefoil glazing is placed. Twinned narrow windows, symmetrically placed, complete the composition. Separating the two storys is a band course. The cornice is molded and at center is an unusual peak with applied ornament. The roof is of the shed type.10-12 Mill Street South – Customs House and Registry Office – c. 1845 – This three-story parapet gabled brick commercial building retains its original features on the upper storys but has been considerably altered on the ground floor level, although the separate three entrances still remain. Five double-hung sash are on the second and third floors. The medium peaked roof is supported by decorative eave brackets on the front facade. A wooden shop front cornice runs along the front facade. T. Ward was the Registrar during that period and by 1853 this building was being used as the Customs House and Registry Office. Port Hope was constituted as a port of entry in 1819, however, it was not until 1829, that a harbor was established. A wharf was constructed on the east side of the river and a pier was established on the west side. By the late 1840s, Port Hope was a bustling port and busy commercial area; modifications and expansions were made to the harbor in the ensuing decades. As a port of entry, a Customs House was required. Additionally, the building served as the Registry Office, a repository of legal land transactions until 1871, when a separate Registry Office was built on the north side of Mill Street (17 Mill Street North).17 Mill Street North – County Registry Office East Durham – c. 1871 – The Land Registry Office is an attractive Neo-Classical brick building, simple in its single story silhouette and gable roof of medium pitch. The gable end, which forms a triangular pediment, faces the street and presents a three-bay facade with projecting vestibule. All the door and window openings are crowned with true semi-circular arches. On the facade these are recessed into arched brick panels and topped with keystones. Band courses in brick and a plinth add decorative emphasis to the masonry. Still visible and of significance is the painted sign over the front door that reads “East Durham 1871. The structure is unique, composed of three brick vaults that run across the width of the building. The building’s prime objective, fireproofing, was essential to its role as a safe depository for all legal documents affecting land ownership. It follows a plan established by the provincial government in the 1870s.37-41 Mill Street North – This is a three story, brick building with gable roof with parapet walls and end chimneys. The windows at street level are conventional sash. At second and third storys, the windows are glazed in original six over six sash. The brick arches are remarkable for the angle of their splay, which creates a decorative pattern unusual in Port Hope. The upper cornice is distinguished by a decorative bracket and molded boards. 41 Mill Street – Crawford Block – c. 1848 – is the north third (left of picture) of a very important terrace. Henry Howard Meredith purchased the Crawford Block in July 1853. Robert Crawford, a saddler and tanner located on Ward Street, had built the block. In 1853, Henry Howard Meredith acquired this block of townhouses. In a rental advertisement of 1860, he described the townhouses as “three comfortable three story Brick Dwelling houses on Mill Street North of the Post Office. These houses are particularly well adapted for persons requiring residences in the business part of Town, or for persons wanting a dwelling house with offices adjoiningâ€.46 Cavan Street – c. 1842 – The Chalk Works is one of the few buildings that remain from Port Hope’s industrial heyday. The brick structure stands three storys high with a gable roof, rounded corner in header bond. Robert Chalk (1820-1890), an English immigrant born in Biddeford, Devonshire, England, settled in Port Hope in 1842 at the age of 22, and established a wagon and carriage-making business. Chalk Carriage Works was located on Cavan Street on the steep hill where South and Cavan Street meet, a hill that was sometimes referred to as Chalk’s Hill. Many of Port Hope’s early industries were located on Cavan Street on the Ganaraska River. The Chalk Carriage Works manufactured lumber wagons, cutters and carriages and provided blacksmithing as well.72 Augusta Street – Smith Cottage – c. 1865 – This is a 1½ story brick cottage perched high on a hill with a grand overlook to the south. The porch was restored based on archival photos. The simple center hall plan is punctuated by a protruding center bay entrance.78 Augusta Street – Thomas McCreery House – c. 1875 – This is a late Victorian Italianate design, with the characteristic irregular plan, ell-shape to the front and with the tower crowned by a steeply pitched mansard roof, with a gable and with iron cresting to the small flat deck. The ornamented window heads and door arch with their incised decoration, projecting keystones and scrolls are probably cast stone. Florid Renaissance detail, multi paneled doors and square towers are typical of the Italianate style. Brown and green were popular colors used on details. Thomas McCreery was the proprietor of a billiard saloon on Walton Street during the late 1860s and early 1870s. By the 1880s, he was a grocer on Mill Street, and later sold ale and porter from a shop located in the Robertson Building at the corner of Queen and Walton (35 Walton Street).86 Augusta Street – James Leverich House – c. 1877 – The house is a good example and characteristic of a mid-Victorian villa in the picturesque manner. Two story bay windows and paired brackets to eaves are typical of late Victorian houses. The basement wall material is rubble, and the brickwork is stretcher bond. There is one chimney on the east side of the house and two on the left, or west side, all made of brick. The main door surround is of plain wood. In 1887, James S. Leverich purchased the property. Leverich (1828-1892) was born in Otisco, New York. By 1857, he had established himself as a merchant selling groceries and liquors on Walton Street. By the early 1870s, he established a business as a lumber merchant selling lumber, lath and shingles. The house remained in the Leverich family until 1920.89 Dorset Street West – William Sisson House (Wimbourne) – c. 1853 – The well-balanced square house exhibits features of the Regency style. The roof is a variation of the truncated hipped roof with a medium pitch. On each side there is a center-hipped gable with attractive barge board. William Sisson (1801-1885) born in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York built Wimbourne House. He emigrated to Port Hope in June 1823. His wife, Elisa Ann Walton, was born in Upper Canada in 1805. He manufactured leather. Mr. Sisson, father of four children, was an active member of the Durham Agricultural Society and served as its treasurer for forty years. He was an active promoter of the first Mechanic’s Institute, and raised and commanded a troop of cavalry (attached to the Durham Regiment), which assisted in the suppression of the rebellion of 1837-38.108 Dorset Street West – 2½-storey frontispiece with cornice return on gable and trefoil window115 Dorset Street West – Thomas Clarke House (The Cone) – c. 1858 – The one and a half story grey board and batten house incorporates some elements of the Gothic Revival style. It has steeply pitched gables, the appearance of irregularity because of complex roof patterns, pointed arched openings such as the Gothic window above the doorway, and decorative details including the quatrefoil window tracery in this same window, the barge boards in the gable peaks and the finial. A notable feature of the exterior is, the board and batten, was preferred by Downing for he believed that it was more economical than clapboard, and because it was a bolder method of construction, it better expressed the picturesque beauty essentially belonging to wooden houses. The main facade has three pairs of four over four double-hung sashes, a bay projection containing three casement windows, and five six over six double-hung sashes. The central double doors each have twelve windowpanes. The original owner, Thomas Curtis Clarke (1827-1901) was associate engineer and secretary of the Port Hope, Lindsay and Beaverton Railway, and later advisor for the Harbour Board at the reconstruction of the harbor in the 1850’s. His wife Susan Harriet Smith (1837-1909) was a daughter of John David Smith (1786-1849) who built the Bluestone (21 Dorset Street East), and granddaughter of Port Hope founder, Elias Smith.175 Dorset Street West – David Smart House (The Hillcrest) – c. 1870 – This house is the only example of “Beaux Arts” architecture in Port Hope. An addition to the house was made around 1900 which consists of the large Jeffersonian portico on the north. This massive two and a half-story structure is held by fluted columns with large Corinthian capitals, the main original portion of the house is hipped roof section with two polygonal wings at each end. This section sports beautiful Palladian dormers, bracketed eaves and a grand verandah. The house was built for David Smart, a barrister and notary public who married Emily A. Worts of Gooderham and Worts Distilleries of Toronto. Smart became a director of that distillery.
Port Hope is a heritage community situated
on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Northumberland County and offers both an
urban and rural paradise with the perfect combination of heritage charm, modern
vibrancy and cultural allure. The Ganaraska River runs through the heart of
town past historic buildings.
The Township was opened in 1792
and named in honor of Colonel Henry Hope, a member of the Legislative Council
of Canada.
Before Canada became a nation in 1867, Port Hope was already a boom town. Its main streets were thronged with horse-drawn carriages and farmers’ wagons, its plank sidewalks crowded with shoppers and merchandise. Wood-burning locomotives pulled heavily loaded trains through town on their way to a harbor filled with schooners and steamships. Solid brick commercial blocks and houses lined the streets.
The town grew rapidly from four
families of English descent who arrived by boat in 1793 and settled at the
river mouth. Until then the area had been home to aboriginal groups—Huron, then
Iroquois, and finally Mississauga—attracted by the salmon and sturgeon that
swarmed in its river.
The first European settlers came from the new United States. They had chosen to follow the British crown after the American Revolution. So had Elias Smith, a Montreal merchant who, with two partners, Jonathan and Abraham Walton, financed their arrival. In return for settling forty families on the land and building a sawmill and flour mill to serve them, the partners received a grant of land roughly the size of modern urban Port Hope.
More families arrived including
blacksmiths, carpenters, bricklayers, and merchants. The mills drew farmers
from fifty and sixty kilometers away. Grain that could not be milled was bought
by distilleries—there were eventually five along the river—that produced a
famous Port Hope whisky. Its most rapid growth began when railways
revolutionized travel in what is now Ontario. In 1856 the Grand Trunk Railway
connected Port Hope to Toronto and the Atlantic seaboard. Its viaduct over the
Ganaraska River was the second greatest engineering challenge on the route,
exceeded only by bridging the St. Lawrence River at Montreal.
Another railway heading north
from Port Hope opened up the vast timberlands and new farms of central Ontario
and stretched to Peterborough and Lindsay. Eventually it reached Georgian Bay,
at Midland. Down this line came great loads of timber and grain. Some went east
to England, but most was exported to the USA through Rochester across the lake.
Walton Street was named after
Captain Jonathan Walton who brought the first settlers here. The Walton and
Smith families were among the original petitioners for land grants and figured
very prominently in the Town’s history. Port Hope was incorporated as a police village
in 1834.
56 Queen Street – c. 1851-53 – The Town Hall has a center entrance with a round-headed fan-lighted transom on its seven-bay pilastered front. The building was designed in the Neo-Classical style. The central octagonal cupola has alternating four-paned, heavily mullioned transomed windows, and clock faces with Roman numerals. Louvered panels are separated by small slender Roman Doric colonettes.28 Bedford Street – This large 2½ story four bay brick house is built in the Romanesque Revival style with a large irregular plan, heavy masonry, steeply pitched roof, tall chimneys, recessed porch, and oriel windows. The imposing entrance way is composed of a shingled pediment and round arches of corbelled and stepped brick with decorative panels on either side of corbelled brick.42 Bedford Street – c. 1860 – mid-Victorian style – two storeys high with a hipped roof with extended eaves; wood band decoration below the cornice; transom and sidelights around front door; collared polygonal posts on the full-width veranda One Walton Street – The Waddell Hotel – c. 1845 – This three-story brick ell-shaped commercial block with residential space above fronts to Walton and Mill Streets. Its handsome facades include stone columns, pilasters and lintels at the ground floor level, rusticated stone quoins, eared wood window surrounds with cornices to architraves at the second floor, and a simpler treatment with wood surrounds to openings on the third story. The roof is gabled and turning the corner forms a hip. The Ganaraska River originally divided into two streams around the present Walton Street Bridge and the area where this building stands was an island. When the river was re-channeled the entire Mill Street area was built up from marsh and became another access route to the harbor. In 1844, Robert Needham Waddell had this prominent corner block constructed.29-33 Walton Street – c. 1845 – It is a brick commercial building with residential and/or storage space above. The corner is rounded to Queen and Walton Streets, and the block stands three storys high. A pilastered front of Greek Revival style is topped by a heavy wooden frieze and cornice. The frieze is pierced by stomachers, and the soffit contains mutules and guttae, characteristic of Greek Revival. There are six bays to the Walton Street facade, including one on the rounded corner, and six bays to the Queen Street facade. The windows on the second and third storys are headed by a plain lintel and supported by lugsills on the third story and a continuous sill, acting as a string course on the second story.81 Walton Street – The Walton Hotel, formerly known as the Queen’s Hotel, was built in 1870. A story was added in 1876 and in 1907, a story was also added on the south end of the building. As it stands today, the Walton Hotel is a three-story brick building on the southeast corner of the intersection of John and Walton Streets. The Walton Street facade is divided in three sections by brick pilasters that carry through the ornamental brick cornice. The narrower central panel contains parted round-headed windows on the third floor surmounted by an ornamental name panel. Below is a round-headed window. Both side panels are identical on the second and third floors and contain paired windows with segmental heads and two-tier brick labels. The upper windows have individual sills whereas the second-floor ones share a continuous sill. An intricate brick cornice extends along the Walton Street facade as well as along John Street. The Walton Street corner of the building is rounded.114-116 Walton Street – Russell Block – c. 1875 – This block is a three-story Second Empire brick building, four bays wide with a false mansard roof. The second story bays have semi-circular structural openings with decorative cast iron lintels. The third story bays are twin semi-circular bays separated by narrow columns and featuring decorative brick lintels. The facade of the block is pilastered from the second story to about one and a half feet above the third story bays. There are two large pilasters on either end topped with decorative brick capitals. The facade has a machicolated brick cornice with recessed panels below the wooden cornice of the roof. Henry C. Russell (1834-1911) was a cabinetmaker and furniture dealer.Walton Street – Italianate style – iron cresting above bay windows and entrance, cornice brackets160 Walton Street – Andrews Newman House – c. 1852 – This two-story, rectangular, brick-veneered house with medium-pitched roof with a flat center deck has three bays to both storys on the main facade. The windows have plain lintels and lugsills and are shuttered on the second story. A verandah runs across the front of the house, supported by turned wooden supports and decorative barge board. The door has a flat transom and sidelights. The larger front windows on the ground floor with recessed door case with sidelights and transom indicate this building may have started out as an Ontario Cottage. The first story windows are wider than the second story, and the lugsills narrower than those of the second story. Joseph Newman (1813-1859) was originally from Ireland, having arrived in Port Hope about 1838 or perhaps earlier. He was a baker, grocer and dealer in country produce with a shop on Walton Street.162 Walton Street – c. 1888 – George Hooker House – Built originally as a two-story shop and dwelling, this square house is constructed of brick laid in stretcher bond and has a medium-pitched hipped roof with a flat deck and plain-boxed cornice. On the east wall, where the main door is located, there are three bays on both storys. The windows have segmental heads with radiating brick arches, painted lugsills, and well-fitting shutters. A porch with five supporting columns is located off-center on the east wall.186-184 Walton Street – Williams Duplex- c. 1875 – This is a duplex, standing two-storys high with a gable roof. The composition is enhanced by a gabled “frontispiece”, which projects slightly from the facade. This in turn is graced by a bay window (at ground level), complete with cornice and brackets. At second-floor level, the “frontispiece” bears two windows. All the bays are segmentally arched, except the louvered attic vent, which is round arched.202 Walton Street – c. 1850 – McDougall Smart House – It is a vernacular house with an interesting main facade. The roof has a parapet gable roof trim, and it has no overhang where it slopes down on the north and south sides. Four single chimneys, two on either side of the gable peak, emerge from the parapet trim. The main facade has six openings: there are three equally spaced windows on the second floor, and directly below are two more windows and the new front door with its single sash transom above. There are four pilasters; just below the roof line, some brick dentations decorate the wall’s surface. Around the back door there is a small inner closed porch composed of panels of wood and glass divided by chamfered strappings. A large porch extends over this and down to the road. It has an elevated concrete floor on which stands four columns: these columns are square-based and have beveled edges. They are crowned with simple capitals, and from these, decorative supports and small brackets extend up to the roof.236 Walton Street – 7 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms – 3,500-5,000 square feet – 2½-story tower with mansard roof, cornice brackets238 Walton Street – semi-circular radiating fan window in the gable above the porch, sidelights, transom240 Walton Street – 3-story tower with mansard roof, iron cresting, cornice brackets spindles and decorative porch supports
