HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law 8193/25The Corporation of the City of Pickering
By-law No. 8193/25
Being a by-law that designates the lands legally described as Lot 71,
Plan 40M-2774, (the “Forsyth House”) and municipally known as
5113 Brock Road (Claremont), Pickering, as being cultural heritage
value or interest.
Whereas the Ontario Heritage Act authorizes the Council of a municipality to enact a by-law to
designate real property, including all buildings and structures thereon, to be of cultural heritage
value or interest; and
Whereas on June 23, 2025, Council endorsed the recommendations of its Heritage Advisory
Committee to designate 5113 Brock Road (Claremont) as being of cultural heritage value or
interest; and
Whereas the Reasons for Designation are set out in Schedule “A” to this by-law; and
Whereas the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering has caused to be served on
the owners of 5113 Brock Road (Claremont) and upon the Ontario Heritage Trust, Notice of
Intention to designate the property and has caused the Notice of Intention to be published in a
newspaper having general circulation in the municipality as requested by the Ontario Heritage
Act; and
Now therefore the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering enacts as follows:
1. The Forsyth House, known municipally as 5113 Brock Road (Claremont) is designated as
being of cultural heritage value or interest for reasons set out in Schedule “A” attached
hereto.
2.The City Solicitor is hereby authorized to cause a copy of this by-law to be registered on
title to 5113 Brock Road (Claremont) (the Forsyth House).
3.The City Clerk is authorized to cause a copy of this by-law to be served upon the owners
of 5113 Brock Road (Claremont) (the Forsyth House) and the Ontario Heritage Trust and
to publish notice of this by-law on the City’s website, in accordance with City of
Pickering’s Public Notice Policy ADM100.
By-law passed on this 23rd of June, 2025.
Original Signed By________________________________
Kevin Ashe, Mayor
Original Signed By________________________________
Rumali Perera, Deputy Clerk
Schedule “A” By-law No. 8193/25
Reasons for Designation
Description of Property
5113 Brock Road (Claremont) is located on the east side of Brock Road. The property is
located at the northeastern edge of the former Village of Claremont, Pickering.
Reason for Designation
Built in 1916, 5113 Brock Road (Claremont) is valued as a fine representative example of an
early-twentieth century American Foursquare farmhouse. This is expressed through its square
plan, two-storey scale, hipped roof, and varied design details, including the wrap-around
verandah with its two-storey frontispiece.
5113 Brock Road (Claremont) has historical and associative value for its direct association
with G.M. Forsyth, a historically significant municipal leader and farmer in Claremont. Forsyth
held many major offices in Pickering Township and the Village of Claremont throughout his
political career, culminating in his appointment as Warden of Ontario County in 1923. During
his term as Reeve of Pickering Township, he was instrumental in bringing hydroelectric power
to Claremont. This association is expressed through the grandeur of the farmhouse and its
estate-style landscape treatment.
5113 Brock Road (Claremont) has contextual value for defining, maintaining, and supporting a
rural character along Brock Road in Claremont. Sited on the northern edge of the village, the
property’s agricultural landscape forms the backdrop to the late-nineteenth-century village
fabric. Additionally, the property is considered a local landmark in Claremont.
Description of Heritage Attributes
Key attributes that highlight the value of the farmhouse as a fine representative example of an
early-twentieth century American Foursquare farmhouse, featuring eclectic architectural and
landscape elements, including:
• Scale, form and massing of the two-storey house, with its square plan and flat-topped
hipped roof;
• Wrap-around verandah, including the two-storey frontispiece, pedimented roof, and
Tuscan columns;
• Five-sided single-storey bay window, covered by the verandah;
• Varied segmental-arch window openings;
• Dormer windows and chimneys protruding from the attic;
• Brick materials, laid in a stretcher bond pattern;
• Semi-circular front driveway lined with mature trees;
• Raised cut-stone foundation;
• Its location on the east side of Brock Road, just north of the village of Claremont;
• Farmhouse, set back from and oriented towards Brock Road, with front-yard mature
trees;
• Siting of the farmhouse atop a landscaped pedestal, marked by a retaining wall and split
staircase; and
• Scrub along the Brock Road frontage.