PUSLINCH – Several local landmarks are included in the township's latest round of heritage designations.
But while Puslinch council affirmed its decision to designate 21 properties as having heritage value at a meeting earlier this week, councillors withdrew their intention to designate another at 6714 Concession 1 after property owners delegated to council twice to share their concerns about the designation.
"Once we set a precedent that we don't have a willing host, that should be carte blanche for everybody ... save the staff resources," said Mayor James Seeley at the meeting.
The township honoured another designation objection last month after the property owner repeatedly delegated to council.
A full list of the designated properties is below:
4855 Pioneer Trail
Formerly known as Springfield Farm, the property was built in 1862 by James Anderson, the founder of Puslinch Farmer's Club and is considered the township's foremost example of Italianate residential architecture in brick.
4856 Sideroad 10 North
Built in 1848, the property is considered an outstanding example of an early three-storey Neoclassic house. In 1923, the property served as a rehabilitation/retraining centre called Vimy Ridge Farm for injured soldiers returning from the battlegrounds of World War I. It was later used as a summer camp for war orphans in 1924 before serving as an agricultural training centre under the British Government's Empire Settlement Act until 1932.
"Nationally, hundreds of Canadian families trace their heritage to Vimy Ridge Farm as their first residence in Canada," said staff, in the report.
6981 Concession 4
Constructed in 1865, the property is an "outstanding" example of ‘Ontario House’ architecture and now serves as the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada's administration building.
4556 Sideroad 20 North
A "rare example" of a large, two-storey side-gabled house constructed between 1840-1845, the property is adjacent to other properties of significant cultural heritage value and forms part of a built landscape containing numerous other Highland Scots settler residences.
6592 Concession 1
Built by Puslinch Lake innkeeper Frederick Begerow after 1861, this property served as the Highland Chief Inn and tavern, one of five hotels on Puslinch Lake and is connected to the area's "once thriving" hostelry industry. The lot was previously occupied by James Thompson, a Black preacher and barber who founded the first Black Baptist Church in Galt.
7098 Concession 1
This property has a strong connection to the Highland Scots immigration from Argyllshire to Crieff and Killean and is considered a "rare example" of a one-and-one-half storey side gabled log house. The house was constructed in 1845 for John Thomson, who later donated part of the lot for a public school where the building was ultimately replaced in 1874 with a stone schoolhouse. The land is presently repurposed as part of the Crieff Hills Retreat Centre.
69 Queen Street
This property originally hosted a blacksmith shop constructed in 1866 that replaced a previous shop that was destroyed by a fire the year prior. Subsequently, the property transitioned to a gristing business until 1898 when it was acquired by R. A. Butchart, who converted it into a cooperage. In 1922, the property was home to Heuther’s Garage until 1964.
56 Queen Street
One of the earliest log houses in the township, this building was constructed in the early 1830s by John Calfass, one of the three settling families in the Morriston area. The property's three owners also played integral roles in establishing the German Evangelical Church, which still exists today.
6 Victoria Street
Unique to Puslinch, this property is an exceptional example of a triple-gabled, straight coursed fieldstone residence of one-and-a-half storeys and is the logo of the Puslinch Heritage Committee's historical building plaquing program.
4162 Highway 6
This property includes two buildings of heritage value: a log house constructed in 1929 and a brick house constructed in 1875. The log house was built by Paul Winer, one of the first settler families in the Morriston area and is the earliest known extant property in the township. The brick house was constructed by Paul's son John to accommodate his growing family. A barn built in 1860 is still standing on-site; the original milk house is also still on the property.
7618 Leslie Road West
Constructed in 1880, this property is an "outstanding" example of Italianate architecture. William Nichol, who served as a Puslinch councillor and reeve, as well as the Warden of Wellington County in 1892, spent the remainder of his life in the farmhouse.
8 Brock Road North
Built as a blacksmith shop, building records indicate it was constructed in 1860 by Alex McKenzie before the building's upstairs was repurposed into a wagon and carriage shop and eventually a residence.
4347 Concession 11
Constructed in 1863, the property's stone house is considered an "outstanding" representation of domestic architecture in a Neoclassic style of the mid-1860s and was inhabited by Peter McLaren, who taught at the Corwhin school for over 20 years and was named “The Professor of Puslinch.”
7839 Wellington Road 34
One of the township's earliest examples of a two-storey fieldstone residence designed in a vernacular Neoclassic style, staff said the property's presence contributes to the cultural narrative of the Highland Scots' successful immigration and "stands as a symbol of community strength and resilience."
4217-4223 Watson Road South
Featuring an "outstanding" example of an Ontario one-storey stone schoolhouse built in 1889 with Italianate details, three schools were established throughout the property's history with the present-day schoolhouse being constructed in 1889. When the schoolhouse closed in 1964, the Badenoch community financially supported and operated the property as a community centre. It is now known as the Badenoch Community Centre and Park.
7751 Maltby Road South
An "outstanding" representation of a two-storey side-gabled Neoclassic stone residence, the property was constructed in 1870 and was inhabited by John McFarlane, one of the first settlers in the northeast part of the township. His son, Duncan, remained on the lot and commissioned the construction of the present property in 1870 where he served as a founder of the School Section 10, school trustee and a township councillor for twenty years, deputy reeve for three years, and was a justice of the peace member until his passing in 1892.
4677 Watson Road South
Built for John Murray in 1896, this property is the township's only example of a two-and-a-half-storey Queen Anne Revival/Italianate-style house. A farmer and livestock breeder, Murray was a prominent figure In Arkell, serving as Secretary of the School Board for School Section #1 and a director of the Puslinch Agricultural Society as well as facilitating the purchase of the school bell for the Arkell Schoolhouse.
4726 Watson Road South
In 1861, this lot was inhabited by William Rae, a skilled Scottish stonemason credited with building numerous farms in Eden Mills and Lower Puslinch. A successful farmer, Rae was an active member of the Puslinch Agricultural Society and a key figure in the Puslinch Farmers Club, where he transformed how farming knowledge and purchasing were shared among agricultural workers in Puslinch and throughout Ontario.
483 Arkell Road
The English-style Georgian cut and dressed stone residence on this property was built by Thomas Arkell in 1852 and is regarded as the “finest example of English architecture in Canada.” Arkell is credited with initiating emigration to Arkell from England, creating an English community in a township before becoming a major breeder of Cotswold sheep and Shorthorn cattle. His son Henry continued this practice at the farm and became a major breeder of Oxford Down sheep in North America, serving as a director of the Dominion Sheep Breeders’ Association and a director of the American Oxford Down Association for ten years.
The property was acquired by the Ontario Agriculture College (O.A.C.) in 1955 and livestock breeding and research activities are still practiced there today.
43 McClintock Drive
In 1841, Thomas Frame built one of the first hotels in Puslinch Lake on this lot. In 1879 the hotel caught fire and Frame subsequently sold the lot to George Martin, who erected the present hotel structure in 1880. By 1883, the former hotel building was purchased by George Sleeman of Guelph and his partner John Davidson, who installed a 50-passenger steamboat called “The City of Guelph” to carry passengers to and from his hotel to St. Helen’s Island in Puslinch Lake. In 1907, the City of Guelph acquired the Lake Hotel, who operated it as a resort until 1930.
32 Brock Road North
This property's heritage value is retained by a stone school house on-site which served as an elementary school and social centre for the Aberfoyle school community from 1872 until 1959, when the new Aberfoyle School was established.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
