Saturday, October 24, 2020

Markham has an old-age home for homes. Between 1981 and 1988 over 40 structures that were listed on the Markham Heritage Inventory were demolished to make way for construction projects. The citizens were upset and the city council decided to do something about it. They created the first heritage subdivision in the country. The Markham Heritage Estates were established in 1988 to provide a place for heritage homes that otherwise faced demolition. The first option is to retain the homes on their original site but this is not always possible. In those cases, the city has set aside 42 lots that it sells below market value to approved heritage homes. The savings in property price is used to encourage the homes to be moved and restored. For anyone with a keen interest in heritage homes a walk around this subdivision can be most enjoyable.

The section of the County Atlas below shows Markham Township in 1877. A small green rectangle marks the site of the Markham Heritage Estates. I looked up many of the homes in the subdivision and have marked them on the map. The lots marked in red contain homes that are featured in the article below. The lots marked in blue have had their home moved into Markham Heritage Estates. Several other homes in the estates have not been identified on the map due to a lack of information being available.

Houses arrive in the subdivision in various states of disrepair. There is one recent arrival that has several broken windows, holes in the roof and is missing the front porch. It will be interesting to see what this place looks like when the restoration team is finished with it.

The houses shown below are just a selection from the subdivision and are presented in order of age. All of them were on their respective lots when the county atlas was drawn in 1877. The Ambrose Nobel house is Georgian in style and was built in 1830 near the corner of Markham Road and 16th Avenue. The house belonged to the local tanner who operated his business on the same property. The most unusual feature of this home is the fact that it has two front doors. It is believed that Nobel used the door on the left as an entrance to his office for the tannery.

Peter Phillips (originally Phillipsen) built this lovely Gothic Revival home in 1835. Prior to this house being moved it was the last home remaining in the former community of Leek’s Corners.

Robert Gundy purchased the lot on which this house was built in 1818. After operating the farm for a few years he built this regency inspired home in 1840. Gundy was a reformer who is listed as having supported William Lyon Mackenzie in the rebellion of 1837. Gundy died in 1867 after which the house was occupied by Edward Sanderson.

Also constructed in 1840 is the house of Peter G. Mustard. It is a simple 3 bay Georgian style home that was moved the the Heritage Estates in 2003 in preparation for a realignment of the 9th line.

Joachim Pingle emigrated from Germany in 1794 and settled in Markham as one of the first Berczy Settlers. Jacob Pingle who was his son built a gothic revival style house in 1840 that had a wrap around veranda on three sides. It is a rare example of a home with the main entrance on the end, shown, rather than on the long side.

David Leek built this house in 1840 in the former community of Dollar. It is unusual in that it is one of very few examples of second empire style in the township of Markham. The mansard roof is the key architectural component of this style of building where the roof forms part of the upper walls. David Leek was a prominent member of the Headford Methodist Church which was known as Leek’s Chapel at one time.

The Udell-Hamilton house was built in 1850 for Mary Udell and her four children. It originally stood on a lot just south of Stouffville that had belonged to her husband Mathew. He was accused of printing counterfeit money for the Markham Gang and had been arrested and jailed in 1845. The house was sold in 1871 to Abraham Hamilton who converted the story and a half home into a full two stories and added the two bays at the front. This is one of my favourite homes in this little enclave.

David Gohn built this regency style one and a half story cottage in 1855 on Leslie Street near Highway 7. Of all the houses in the subdivision it is the one which was relocated here first and perhaps was moved the farthest of all the rescued heritage homes.

James Thomas used elements of the regency cottage and the Georgian style in 1856 when he built this home. It has an interesting window under the front gable. It has the over-all rounded shape of the Italianate style with pointed arches within that are Gothic in design. The combination of four major design styles makes this one of the more unique homes in Markham.

John McCreight built this two story farm house in 1874. This house is unusual in that it has a T section that comes out of the side instead of the back of the house. This puts both the front and back doors on the same side of the house. A nice wrap around veranda connects the two entrances.

The Google Earth capture from 2002 shows how few homes have been moved in during the first 14 years and how they have been concentrated at the north end of the site. To the east is the Markham Museum and Historic Village where another 30 historic buildings are preserved including homes, barns, a saw mill, train station and church. It is currently closed and will definitely be on the “to-do” list.

The Google Earth image from 2018 shows how much the subdivision has filled in. The new arrival that is waiting for restoration will fill in the last vacant spot in the middle loop. The loop at the top is known as David Gohn Circle and has an information sign on each of the little islands in the middle. These give the descriptions of the houses on the street as well as a brief history. I hope that will be completed on the second loop when all the lots have been filled. It makes the subdivision all the more interesting.

Markham Heritage Estates can be enjoyed as a walk around but it is most popular during Markham Doors Open events when you can visit the insides of the buildings.

Google Maps Link: Markham Heritage Estates

Like us at http://www.facebook.com/hikingthegta

Follow us at http://www.hikingthegta.com

Also look for us on Instagram