Three more properties in Bradford West Gwillimbury are set to be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, following the recommendation of committee-of-the-whole during the Jan.18 meeting.
The properties in question are located at 2659 Line 8 in Bradford, 4118 Line 6 near Bond Head and 4304-4306 Line 10 in Newton Robinson.
Council voted to designate the Wood House at 2659 Line 8 in June 2021, after it was first brought to the attention of the Heritage Committee in 2020. Only the house on the property will be designated; the barn, which Coun. Ron Orr described as in “rough shape,” will be salvaged, as per the request of the Heritage Committee.
The home is “an asset to the community,” Orr said, and its new owners have co-operated fully with the designation process.
The property was first purchased by the Rose family in 1849, who built the two-storey, three-bay farmhouse soon thereafter. The front porch is believed to have been added on around 1890.
Currently not designated are the decorative pillars at the front of the property, as they are situated on the municipal right-of-way. With the proposed reconstruction of Line 8, they will need to be moved, confirmed Clerk Rebecca Murphy.
The designation of the Landerkin-Page House at 4118 Line 6 is the result of a request from the owner for the Heritage Committee to evaluate the property.
The staff report described the home as “a very early one,” for the community, being constructed in the 1830s.
“The home has significant historical value as having been occupied by several generations of the Landerkin family from the 1830s until the 1960s,” the report stated. “The Landerkin family were very early settlers in Bradford West Gwillimbury and contributed to the development of the adjacent hamlet of Bond Head.”
The third property addressed was home to one of the area’s most famous residents.
Council moved to designate the Earl Rowe property in March 2019. Since then, staff has worked with the current property owners on what aspects would receive heritage designation.
In December 2018, plans to demolish existing buildings on the property brought a potential designation to the forefront. Since council decided to designate the property, there has been “a lot of back and forth” between the town and the property owners, Senior Planner Brandon Slopack told councillors.
“This is really an important property,” he said, explaining part of the town’s process was to educate the new owners on who Earl Rowe was and his historical importance, including being the youngest reeve in West Gwillimbury Township history, his lengthy careers as an elected member of both federal and provincial parliaments, and as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Rowe owned the property from 1917 until his death in 1984.
“This is one we had to make sure we did right and we’ll continue to work with the property owner as we move forward,” Slopack said.
The 41.06-hectare parcel includes a one-and-a-half storey single detached farmhouse, shed, detached garage, barn, silo, small outbuildings, pumphouse, mature trees and remnants of a harness racing track.
That the designation encompasses so much of the property beyond the house itself pleased Mayor Rob Keffer.
“That is a great achievement,” Keffer said. “We’ll have to continue to work with the property owners to make sure that we do keep this property looking up and something that our community can be proud of.”
The bylaws to make these designations official will be brought forward at the next council meeting.
