A Walker's Guide to Historical Trafalgar Road
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The Moses McCraney House - 1850 (213 Trafalgar Road)
At some point before 1872 they bought this house. You can see that the front part is an addition. Recently (2006?) the house was restored, the porch put back and the main entrance moved back to its original location.
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The McCraney family was very important in the development of Oakville. Moses was the eldest of 10 children born to William Payne McCraney and Rebecca Teeter on their farm at 4th Line and Lakeshore Road. The corners were a stop on the Radial Railway known as McCraney’s Corners and the creek there bears the family name.
The eldest son, Moses, inherited the whole farm in 1852 but provided farms for his three brothers and his mother. Her farm is now part of Appleby College. Moses’ grandfather, William, arrived in Canada in 1801 from Rhode Island. As well as the farm, Moses had a general store and made buying trips to the US with Timothy Eaton. When corsets became popular he bought three, giving one to his wife, Sarah, who apparently had a 21 inch waist. He was a very strong man and is mentioned in Schooner Days as saving a sinking ship by cutting away the rigging single-handedly.
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The Melancthon Simpson House - c1839 (235 Trafalgar Road)
This property was purchased from William Chisholm by William Dolby in 1838 and the house was built about a year later, probably as one of a pair built by John Potter who lived next door.
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In 1846 it was purchased by Melancthon Simpson. Simpson was a Methodist born in Upper Canada in 1823. His wife was Esther Terry, daughter of Elizabeth Silverthorn and John Terry. Esther was a niece of both William Chisholm and Merrick Thomas. Melancthon and his brother, John, bought a shipyard about 1849 and built schooners ranging from the 141-ton Lily to the 230-ton Sea Gull which sailed to South Africa and back. The Sea Gull carried a deck cargo of prefab houses and Canadian Whisky in the hold. Apparently they were unable to sell the whisky in South Africa but it sold well in New York City on the way back. After they left Oakville, Simpson build the steamship Segwun which is still plying Lake Muskoka today.
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In 1858 the Simpsons sold the house but got it back in 1866. They resold it a year later. In 1882 the property right through to Reynolds Street and including a barn was purchased by John Freestone for $525 cash. He worked at the basket factory and his mother looked after portions of his weekly pay for him. In 1915 Freestone built a new house on Reynolds Street and in 1920 sold this one back into the Chisholm Family where it remains today.
It is a fine example of a Regency Cottage and is the earliest in Oakville. The tent-shaped verandah roof flanked by two shuttered French windows identifies the style. The verandah originally covered three sides of the house and the lawn was level with the sidewalk. Curved walls by the sidelights allow light into an otherwise narrow hallway. Several additions have been made over the years.
It is a fine example of a Regency Cottage and is the earliest in Oakville. The tent-shaped verandah roof flanked by two shuttered French windows identifies the style. The verandah originally covered three sides of the house and the lawn was level with the sidewalk. Curved walls by the sidelights allow light into an otherwise narrow hallway. Several additions have been made over the years.
Potter’s Folly- c1870 (241 Trafalgar Road)
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John Potter was born in 1811 and arrived in Oakville as a young man to work on construction of the harbour piers. He became a shipwright and housebuilder and was a tenant on the south part of this property which was purchased by Charles Biggar from William Chisholm in 1839. Potter was responsible for building the Congregationalist Church in 1842. It stood at the corner of Wilson and John Streets across the creek. Potter was a temperance man and was instrumental in building the Temperance Hall. He was also a member of the Mechanics Institute and was on the first town council in 1857.
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Potter built several schooners at his yard on the 16 before getting into financial difficulties and selling the house in 1859. It was sold again in 1861 and 1869. 19 days later the original house burned to the ground.
Construction on this house started soon after and by 1874 it was rented to the Presbyterians for use as a manse. Potter never lived in it – he lived with is daughter Jerusha at 205 Trafalgar – but it has always been known as Potter’s Folly. Potter died in 1908 in his 98th year.
The Presbyterian Congregation bought the house in 1881 and used it as a manse until 1927 when it was sold.
It is the only Italianate Villa in Oakville. The balconies on the tower have been removed and then replaced, and the arcade verandah with fine treillage (latticework) has been replaced by a closed-in porch. Originally there was also a porch on the south side. The windows maintain their original massive dressings, pediments and cornices held in place by oversized brackets. The roof has an extensive overhang with large brackets.
In 1978 the present owner had it moved 65 feet forward on to the front two of its four original lots.
Construction on this house started soon after and by 1874 it was rented to the Presbyterians for use as a manse. Potter never lived in it – he lived with is daughter Jerusha at 205 Trafalgar – but it has always been known as Potter’s Folly. Potter died in 1908 in his 98th year.
The Presbyterian Congregation bought the house in 1881 and used it as a manse until 1927 when it was sold.
It is the only Italianate Villa in Oakville. The balconies on the tower have been removed and then replaced, and the arcade verandah with fine treillage (latticework) has been replaced by a closed-in porch. Originally there was also a porch on the south side. The windows maintain their original massive dressings, pediments and cornices held in place by oversized brackets. The roof has an extensive overhang with large brackets.
In 1978 the present owner had it moved 65 feet forward on to the front two of its four original lots.
The John Porquin House - 1839. Rebuilt by Mary Minhear - 1870 (247 Trafalgar Road)
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About this house George Sumner in his diary entry of 20 June 1869 says: “…This afternoon Mary (her last name was Manear) and Potter's old place burned to the ground…”.
Hazel Mathews in “ Oakville and the Sixteen” repeats that it burned to the ground and adds: “She then determined to have a stone house and spent years collecting stones from the creekbed which she carried up the bank in her apron. She finally succeeded in hauling enough stone to build the house that is now here. It has since been covered with stucco." |
It is doubtful that the house was completely destroyed by fire. Hedleigh Home, a later owner, found some old papers, largely indecipherable, among which was a promissory note which made it clear that John Porquin, the original owner, was Danish. He also found some slightly charred barn boards. The back wall of the front section of the house is 14 inches thick of very solid stone construction and undoubtedly from the original structure. By contrast, the front wall which Mrs. Minhear built is largely rubble and mortar.
The property was originally sold by William Chisholm to John Porquin in May 1839. Porquin built a two-storey frame house of rough barn boards about 25’ square. He lived there until he sold it to Philander Travis in 1843. There were several other owners until Mary Minhear bought it in 1869 – the year of the fire.
Following her death it again changed hands many times until George Grice bought it in 1911. His estate sold it in 1945 to Hedleigh Home. At that time it was heated by four stoves on the main floor. In 1946 the whole back wall collapsed as it had never had any footings. Mr. Home lived here for many years and obviously made many improvements to the house. More recently other repairs and restorations have been made.
The property was originally sold by William Chisholm to John Porquin in May 1839. Porquin built a two-storey frame house of rough barn boards about 25’ square. He lived there until he sold it to Philander Travis in 1843. There were several other owners until Mary Minhear bought it in 1869 – the year of the fire.
Following her death it again changed hands many times until George Grice bought it in 1911. His estate sold it in 1945 to Hedleigh Home. At that time it was heated by four stoves on the main floor. In 1946 the whole back wall collapsed as it had never had any footings. Mr. Home lived here for many years and obviously made many improvements to the house. More recently other repairs and restorations have been made.
Captain Francis Brown House (Archlawn) - c1873 (289 Trafalgar Road)
Captain Francis Brown was born in Hampshire, England in 1842. He went to sea at an early age and arrived in Canada following the discovery of oil in Western Ontario. He arrived in Oakville in 1867 and, apparently, rented a brewery on the bank of the Sixteen, 2 blocks north of here, before purchasing it and naming it the Victoria Brewery. The brewery closed in 1870 and he became a shopkeeper and shipowner.
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In 1873 Brown and his wife, Hannah Moore, were tenants on the north side of Wallace Park and a year later were tenants here. The property had been owned by Barnett Griggs who also owned the Frontier House on Navy Street. Some time after that he and his wife returned to England.
In 1879 Brown was commissioned to sail a light-draught paddle steamer, the Henry Venn, to Africa where it was to be used to transport missionaries up the Niger River to the interior. |
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In 1880 he was hired by the Japanese government to deliver a converted steamship to Japan. He remained in the Orient for several years, sailing ships for a Japanese company and visiting every port from India to Vladivostok. During his travels he shipped home many art objects. On his return in 1889 he held his first exhibit of bronzes, ivory, embroidery and china here in this house. This was the beginning of a business founded by his children who, in 1898 moved to Galt where they opened the Oriental Bazaar. Many of Captain Brown’s treasurers remain in Oakville to this day.
The verandah is gone, as is the widow’s walk that surrounded the belvedere. The walls are 18” thick beach stone laid in thick mortar in a wood form. When the mortar had set, the forms were moved up and so the walls grew.
There was an evergreen arch which probably inspired the name “Archlawn”. And these giant Black Walnut trees we're walking under? They're at least 114 years old, and arguably much older. We'll talk about that more in a few minutes when we get to Kerosene Castle.
The house has seen many changes over the years and has been covered with stucco.
The verandah is gone, as is the widow’s walk that surrounded the belvedere. The walls are 18” thick beach stone laid in thick mortar in a wood form. When the mortar had set, the forms were moved up and so the walls grew.
There was an evergreen arch which probably inspired the name “Archlawn”. And these giant Black Walnut trees we're walking under? They're at least 114 years old, and arguably much older. We'll talk about that more in a few minutes when we get to Kerosene Castle.
The house has seen many changes over the years and has been covered with stucco.