Two historic properties built in the 1800s set to receive heritage status in Ontario town

Two historic Ontario properties dating back to the 1800s — one of which has ties to modern-day General Motors Canada — have been earmarked for heritage designation. 

Earlier this month, the Town of Clarington, located in Durham, announced plans to designate two properties in the Bowmanville and Enniskillen communities for their historical and architectural value.

The first property, 75 Wellington Street, is a Bowmanville farmhouse that the municipality hopes to designate under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The home, located on the south side of Wellington Street, stands at one-and-a-half storeys and boasts a wraparound verandah. According to the municipality, it was constructed around 1875.

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According to listings on various real estate websites, the home sold for $590,000 in October 2020. The listing, calling out lovers of both century homes and verandahs, says the house is “one of the most historic addresses in Bowmanville” and features a sunroom, wood stove, main-floor bathroom and close proximity to the neighbourhood’s downtown core. 

Photo from Keller Williams Energy Real Estate Brokerage, via Zolo

The brick house, built in the Gothic Revival style, also features a side-gable roof with overhanging eaves, a central gable peak adorned with decorative vergeboard, a rectangular front entrance with classic details, and arched window openings with brick voussoirs. Photos from 2020 (which might be out of date if current owners have renovated the home) also show a classic, turn-of-the-century aesthetic marked by wood flooring, traditional floral wallpaper and ornate furniture. 

On its website, the municipality says the home is “important in supporting the 19th and early 20th century residential area associated with the historic town of Bowmanville,” adding that residential and commercial construction in the late 19th century was crucially important to the long-term economic and social development of the modern-day area. 

Photo from Keller Williams Energy Real Estate Brokerage, via Zolo

The house, Clarington said, exhibits massing, style, and decorative details consistent with the character of the historic town of Bowmanville. 

According to the notice, the property was once owned by the White Family. Members of the family worked as stone masons and constructed properties in the area, including five stone houses along Concession Road 7.

Photo from Keller Williams Energy Real Estate Brokerage, via Zolo 

Another property being considered for heritage designation is 7755 Old Scugog Road in Enniskillen. 

Photo from Google Maps

This property, better known as the McLaughlin Shed, is located on the east side of Old Scugog Road and consists of a one-storey wood-frame shed built in 1869.

The notice says the property has historical value due to its association with Robert McLaughlin and the McLaughlin Carriage Works. 

The notice said McLaughlin was born in Cavan Township in 1836 and moved to Enniskillen in 1896, where he opened Enniskillen Carriage Works on Old Scugog Road, across from his family home. 

A historical plaque and commemorative shed (with a carriage within) can be found on Concession Road 7. The McLaughlin family had ties to the Presbyterian church, where Robert taught Sunday school. In 1878, the family’s business moved to Oshawa for better access to the Grand Trunk Railway. 

In 1907, Robert’s two sons established an automotive branch of the family business, naming it the McLaughlin Motor Car Company. The new business took off, allowing the operation to pivot from carriage to car-making and in 1918, the company became General Motors Canada. 

Robert McLaughlin died of colon cancer in 1921 and is buried in Oshawa.

In the notice, the municipality said the wooden storage building is the last vestige of Robert McLaughlin’s Enniskillen Carriage Works. It serves, the notice said, “as a visual and historical landmark in the community of Enniskillen.” 

In the notice, the town said anyone who objects to the heritage designations can submit a notice to the municipality’s clerk within 30 days.