HomeMy WebLinkAbout204Hardbound book written and illustrated by Jane Buckles.
"INTRODUCTION
The sketches in this booklet are of homes in the expropriation site of the proposed
airport in north Pickering Township. Thanks to the owners of the houses involved and to
Mr. Bob Miller of Brougham and Dr. Tomlinson in Claremont for their help with the historical
background for these sketches.
"
"THE BENTLEY HOUSE
This exquisite home, located at the corner of the Brock Road and Highway 7, was originally
built in 1852 by Dr. Lafayette Bentley. It remains today an outstanding example of 19th century
architecture. There were no brick kilns in the area at that time, so the bricks for this house
were probably brought from Toronto. Old photographs of the house show an extremely ornate
white wooden fence around the property, with similar fencing adorning the top of the front porch.
Across the road, where the church now stands, Dr. Bentley originally had a pill factory.
This house is presently owned by Mr. & Mrs. Gibson, to whom much of the credit must go for
restoring it to its original splendour.
"
"THE COMMERCIAL HOTEL
This old building was once one of three hotels in Brougham. The front part only was the hotel,
and was built by Mr. Samuel Webb onto the front of his residence in 1858 (the back residence
was built in 1855). The hotel was called ""The Commercial."" This name can still be detected,
printed on the timber across the front of the building. The present porch was a late addition,
and there is evidence that during a middle period there was a verandah along the front and the
east side. A livery stable once adjoined the hotel, but has been moved into a field to the south.
Directly across from the hotel, where the gas station now stands, once stood a carriage factory
owned and operated by Sampson Webb.
The building on the opposite corner was another hotel called ""The Central"", once owned by
Powell Woodruff. In old photographs it was a magnificent place made of brick, with an ornate
balcony around the front and sides on both the lower and upper floors. Hotels
were needed by the many people travelling either west to Yonge Street or south to
Frenchman's Bay.""The Commercial"" is now the home of Mr. Albert Grey.
"
"THE MAJOR HOUSE
This lovely stone house stands on the Fifth Concession just east of the town of Whitevale,
and was part of a larger settlement which has since disappeared. The house originally
belonged to Mr. John Major, an immigrant from Ireland, and remained in the family until 1966.
The Majors were a very active and respected family in Pickering Township. In fact, the town of
Whitevale, where the family established a grist and saw mill, was originally called Majorville.
The house was probably built in the 1840's by stonemasons brought from England to build the
Rideau canal. The lovely panelling and stonework is more typical of a ""gentleman's""
home than of a farmer's. There used to be a Christian Bible Church in the area, which was
moved behind this house and used as a garage for many years after the decline of the
settlement. More recently it was moved to the Brougham Museum, where it has been restored
as a church.
"
"PUGH HOUSE
This very large house is located on the Fifth Concession just east of Whitevale, and directly
across the road from the old Major place. The property was and still is owned by the Pugh
family. Hugh Pugh was a farmer who immigrated from Wales in 1840. The original, a log
house, was situated south of the present drive. Of the home that now stands, the stone back
portion was built in about 1850 and the brick front portion was added in about 1880.
Like the Major house, this house was originally part of a small community, and a blacksmith
shop stood on the corner where the orchard is now. This shop has since been moved behind
the barn, and is used as a shed. The property presently belongs to Mr. Sydney Pugh.
"
"ARMSTRONG HOUSE
This house is located on Highway 7, just east of the village of Locust Hill. It presently belongs
to the Armstrong family, and has been in their family for over 100 years. The property itself may
have been occupied as early as 1783, by a Mr. Samuel Reynolds. (There exists a survey of
property dated in 1804, and a Crown Grant deeding the land to Mr. Reynolds in 1813).
The Armstrongs first came to the property in 1844, and lived initially in a log house.
Not until 1869 was the present board-and-batten house built. It is almost unchanged,
and inside there still remains the lovely old fireplace in the back kitchen, with its iron crane and
bake-oven.
"
"HOPKINS HOUSE
This house is located on the Seventh Concession, just east of the Pickering-Markham Town
Line. The property was first owned by Mr. Henry Hopkins, a veterinary surgeon who came from
Scotland in 1862. He called the property ""Silver Maple"", and built the first (smaller) section of
the house in 1866, a very charming little house of board-and-batten construction.
An old hitching-post still standing at the front suggests that he used this house for part of his
practice. The second and larger part, constructed of vertical boards, was added in 1880
(as evidenced by the date, August 4,1880, found written under the floor boards).
The house is now owned by Mr. J. E. Brass.
"
"THE MILLER HOUSE
This magnificent squared-stone building, located at the corner of the Brock Road and
Concession Seven, still is owned by the Miller family. John Miller immigrated from Scotland in
1835, and bought the land from Mr. George Barclay. The family then built the front part of the
house in 1855. The large back addition, including a ballroom, was built in 1876. The Millers
called the farm ""Thistle Ha' "". Mr. Miller was most enthusiastic about improving the farm
herds of sheep, cows, and swine in the area, and began importing breeding stock from
Scotland as early as 1852. These animals, of course, came over by boat, taking almost two
months to make a fulljourney. Miller brought the first Shorthorn cattle to Canada in 1849,
and today the Shorthorn herd on this farm is the oldest in the world. The Millers also have the
world's oldest flock of Shropshire sheep. The stone house remains today the same as it
always has been. The farm is operated by Hugh Miller, who still uses a team of Clydesdales to
farm the land, instead of a tractor.
"
"BARCLAY HOUSE
This house is situated on the corner of Concession Seven and the Brock Road.
The property was first owned by the Barclay family, which is thought to be the first Scottish
family in the area. As early as 1817, Mr. George Barclay settled on the Brock Road.
He was a Baptist minister who traveled by horseback to preach in Claremont, Uxbridge,
Markham, and Duffin's Creek. Though a sympathizer of MacKenzie, he never joined in any of t
he rebellions. His sons did, however, and many meetings of the rebels were held at the
Barclay home. The beautiful board-and-batten house now on the property was built by the elder
Barclay's son, Eli, in 1865. Surrounded by beautiful gardens, the house was then called
""Ever-Green Villa"", and had a porch across the entire front. Part of the property still belongs
to the Barclay family, but the house is presently owned by Miss Anne Wanstall.
"
"WHITESIDE PLACE
This classic red brick farmhouse is located on Line Twenty, between Concessions Seven and
Eight. The property was first purchased by Mr. Whiteside in 1851, and then passed into the
hands of the Miller family. There used to be a log house and a small, low barn located a few
hundred feet to the north, which were probably replaced by the present brick house in the
1860's. This house originally had a decorative porch extending across the entire front, and a
circular drive. Outstanding features are the large original fireplace with a crane for the cooking
pots, and the elaborate pine mouldings in the dining and living rooms. The house is presently
owned by Mr. & Mrs. Brian Buckles.
"
"BASSETT HOUSE
This lovely vertical-board house is located in a beautiful setting above a stream, just south of
Concession Eight near the Pickering-Markham Town Line. Although we have been unable to
track down a history of the house, it is definitely over one hundred years old and is on a
property originally owned by the Nighswander family of Altona. The house is presently owned
by Miss Eva Bassett.
"
"NIGHSWANDER HOUSE AND MILL
This property was the home of the Nighswander family. Abraham Nighswander came to
Ontario in 1824 from Maryland, and acquired this property on the Thirty-first Line between
Concessions Nine and Ten as a Crown Grant. Abraham had two sons, one of whom was
Samuel. Samuel settled in the house just south of the original homestead in 1851,
and opened a wool mill, a grist mill and a cider mill. The last still stands and is used today;
it is the building located in the centre of the sketch, and probably dates from about 1860.
The large solid concrete house in the background was not the original home of the
Nighswanders, but dates from 1890.
"
"NIGHSWANDER
This house belonged to the Nighswander family. It is located just south of the hamlet of Altona,
beside the cider mill shown in the sketch of the other Nighswander farm. It is a frame house,
recently covered with insulbrick, and may be the one that Samuel, owner of the mill,
reportedly built on the southern part of the Nighswander property in 1851.
"
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The proceeds from the sale of this book have been donated by the artist to the People or
Planes Committee as needed; any balance to environmental conservation.
May 1972.
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