The Joseph Lawrence House has a long and interesting history associated with its namesake and his family, and also with subsequent owners and residents from its early days. Visitors to this website and to our home who have the interest to persevere in reading what follows will learn the findings of our research since June 2004. More recently, local townspeople have been sharing their memories of it with us. Other contributors are also duly noted.

On October 27, 2008, the Corporation of the Town of Collingwood enacted By-Law No. 2008-142 which designated the Joseph Lawrence House a Heritage Building under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990 c.18. A Heritage Designation Report submitted to the Collingwood Heritage Committee in June 2008 by Su Murdock of Su Murdock Historical Consulting established eligibility for this designation. This report notes the arrival of Joseph Lawrence to the area in 1853, his acquisition and development of the property, its eventual sale, and the various subsequent owners until Barbara and Patrick Kelly purchased it for development as a Bed and Breakfast in 1999. Her report stated:

Based on the documentary and physical research, it is the conclusion of this Heritage Designation Report that the property known as 492 Hurontario Street, Town of Collingwood, has sufficient cultural heritage value or interest to warrant protection under s.29 of the Ontario Heritage Act. The property is first associated with the long-serving Town Clerk, Joseph Hill Lawrence. A remnant of his 1866 frame dwelling forms part of the large, brick addition erected in 1877 for local general merchants, Thomas and Elizabeth Fair. The next owners of the property were Richard and Mary Stephenson, whose daughter Muriel is remembered by area residents as a piano teacher. Although some components are reproductions, this structure has maintained its historic integrity as a fashionable residence influenced by Italianate and Queen Anne styles of architecture. This property at one time had extensive gardens and was a landmark at the southern boundary of the town. It contributes to the residential character of this section of Hurontario Street.

Schedule B of By-Law 2008-142 of the Town of Collingwood is a Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest. It reads as follows:

Regarding its Historical or Associative Value, the property at 492 Hurontario Street was associated from 1862 to 1876 with Joseph Hill Lawrence and his wife Sarah Drown Bliss. Lawrence had a successful career in the printing trade of Upper Canada before arriving in Collingwood about 1853. In 1858, he was appointed Clerk of the Council for the newly incorporated town. He served in this capacity until his death in 1877. The frame dwelling built for Lawrence in 1866 is no longer visible, but its presence is reflected in the unusual roofline at the west end of the existing brick structure, and the character of the window openings on the north and south facades.

It was Thomas Fair and his wife Elizabeth who in 1877-1878 had a large brick dwelling erected as an east addition to the Lawrence dwelling. Thomas Fair arrived in Collingwood about 1853 to join a successful partnership in the dry goods business known by various names in its history, including Melville, Fair & Co. When Thomas died in 1885, his wife and sons operated the business under the name of E. Fair & Co. Elizabeth died in 1908. During their ownership of the subject property this was a landmark estate with extensive gardens.

Richard and Mary Stephenson and their children owned the property from 1911 to 1974. Their daughter Muriel is remembered as a noted concert pianist and music instructor.

Regarding its Design or Physical Value, this property contains an attractive example of a fashionable, third quarter 19th century dwelling influenced by Italianate and Queen Anne styling. It is somewhat peculiar in that the Fairs, who had the financial means and acreage to do otherwise, chose to incorporate an earlier frame dwelling on site, into their substantial brick addition. The outcome was still a symmetrical, square plan structure. The well-crafted brickwork may be that of Collingwood mason John Chamberlain.

Regarding its Contextual Value, this property, with its dwelling and picturesque setting, enhances the residential character of the streetscape. It still presents a sense of having been a landmark.

Also included in Schedule B is a Description of Heritage Attributes. It reads as follows:

• No part of the 2006 west addition or the north and south new/rebuilt verandahs are included. The cultural heritage value or interest of this property is expressed by the principal heritage attribute of an 1877-1878, two-story, brick dwelling, including the following exterior features:
• All original components of the roof including the form pediments, gables, and dormer
• The original chimneystack on the south roof
• The historic form, massing, height, scale, and design element
• Any original roof brackets
• The masonry including red-orange and buff-yellow brick, accent banding, quoins,
• voussoirs or heads over door and window openings, and other decorative treatments
• All components of the original window openings, trim, and various sash types
• All original elements of the stacked bay windows on the east façade
• The enclosed brick porch on the east façade and all original components of the door case and upper balcony
• All the etched and stained glass
• All original entryways, including trim, transom windows, and paneled doors
• All original wood trim
• The iron fencing and gate, including the manufacturers’ crest
• The view of the front(east) façade of the dwelling from Hurontario Street

Writing in Collingwood Historic Homes and Buildings, (The Blue Mountain Foundations for the Arts, Collingwood, Ontario, 1989, pp.26, 27) Laurel Lane-Moore researched and documented the early history of the Joseph Lawrence House as follows:

At first glance, this two-storey brick house appears to be a straightforward example of the popular Italianate style that caught the fancy of many well-to-do citizens in the late 1870s and 1880s. Its projecting frontispieces, segmental windows, brackets and double door with rectangular transom are characteristic of a number of Collingwood homes constructed or updated according to the architectural fashion of the early 1880s. The decorative brickwork, with its distinctive band courses of contrasting buff bricks, was likely the work of John Chamberlain, a talented English bricklayer who was responsible for much of the town’s fanciful brick patterning.

Behind the neat façade, however, the remains of an early house speak of less prosperous times. The rear elevation, exposed to show the original frame construction, features small-paned windows and eaves returns, suggesting that a simple, two-storey frame house, built circa 1860, underwent a dramatic transformation in the latter part of the century. Inside, mouldings and door openings in the back portion of the house are considerably smaller than those found in the front section.

The original house was likely built by Joseph H. Lawrence, who acquired legal title to a large block of land surrounding the house in 1874. Lawrence, reputed to be the first settler in the town proper, came to Collingwood March 8, 1853, according to the Association of Collingwood Pioneers of which he was president.

A reformer, Lawrence was appointed town clerk in 1858, a position which he held until his death in 1877. From his office in the old town hall, Lawrence also carried out a number of other jobs. According to Mitchell’s Canada Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1864-65, he was town clerk, insurance agent, auctioneer, land agent, commissioner, and issuer of marriage licenses. In 1858, he also published a short-lived newspaper known as the Collingwood Journal.

At the time of the 1861 census, Lawrence, fifty-three, and his wife Sarah, had six daughters and one son. A man of culture noted for his fine penmanship, Lawrence brought one of the first pianos to town and his wife, Sarah, gave music lessons from her home for many years.

In his reminiscences of the early days published in the Huron Institute Papers and Records (Vol. II, 1914) John Nettleton recalled: “Mr. Lawrence’s house was the furthest south and was all surrounded by bush. On one occasion we had hard work to save his house from being burned down by bush fires.” In 1875, Lawrence sold a large portion of his property to Andrew Melville and Thomas Fair, partners in the town’s oldest dry goods operation. It was probably sometime in the early 1880s that the Lawrence house was altered dramatically.

In contrast to the simple, utilitarian building that Joseph Lawrence built, the new façade reflected the improved status of its occupants, with marble fireplace mantels, deep cornice mouldings, ceiling plaster medallions and finely etched coloured glass ornamenting the spacious front and back parlours.

After Thomas Fair’s death in 1885, his widow, Elizabeth, renamed the firm E. Fair and Co. and with the help of her three sons, took over management of the company. The large property, known as the Fair Estate for many years, was sold to Mary and Richard Stephenson in 1922.

With no indoor plumbing or modern heating system, the five-bedroom house needed a great deal of work, and the Stephensons’ daughter Muriel recalls that her father, the owner of several hotels, spent a considerable amount of money installing these conveniences. The “beautiful grounds” that once surrounded the house were subdivided into thirty-four lots and sold in the 1940s when wartime housing was needed.

Like the first lady of the house, Muriel Stephenson, a talented pianist who performed throughout the world, also taught music in the house for many years. Today, the stately residence, under new ownership, is home to an art gallery.

 

Joseph Hill Lawrence

The salient facts about Joseph Hill Lawrence reported in his obituary printed in the Enterprise on Thursday June 14, 1877 read as follows:

On Saturday evening last, about eight o’clock, Joseph Hill Lawrence, for over nineteen years clerk of this municipality, departed this life peacefully, and in hopes of a glorious immortality.

The deceased gentleman was born in Newmarket on the 24th of May 1808, his father, Morris Lawrence, as U.E. Loyalist, having taken up his abode with his family, there at the time of the American revolution. At an early age Joseph Hill Lawrence was sent to school, where he received what was then considered a very fair education. On leaving school he chose the printing as a calling, and was, when about sixteen years of age apprenticed in the Canada Gazette office, the official paper of the country. He remained for several years in this office as apprentice and journeyman, and in 1834 we find his name in the records of Parliament as Printer to the Parliament of Canada. After leaving the Gazette he travelled for a short time in the United States and then returned to Toronto where he assumed a position in the Christian Guardian Office as foreman, and afterwards as publisher; in that office he remained about fourteen years. In 1833,he married Miss Sarah D. Bliss, a teacher by whom several of the older members of the late Chief Justice Robinson McLean and other leading families, received their earlier educational training, for which, since then, most of them have taken prominent positions in the country. By his wife he had seven daughters and one son, all of whom with the exception of two daughters, are still living. About the year 1849 he tired of the printing, and having accumulated some means he left the city and removed to Cheltenham, in the County of York, where he opened a general store; at this place he only remained about one year, when he removed to Bolton’s Village and entered into partnership with his brother George as general storekeepers. The firm lasted about three years, when Mr. J. H. Lawrence retired and removed to Lloydtown, where he assumed the position of book keeper for his brother in law, J.H. Smith. About this time, 1853, Collingwood had been fixed on as the terminus of the Toronto, Simcoe and Lake Huron Railway, and a perfect rush was made for the rising city, which was to rival Chicago within three years. Mr. Lawrence having caught the mania, removed in 1853 to what was then known as Hurontario village, now a portion of this town. At Hurontario he, in partnership with Mr. J.H. Smith, opened a general store, and two days after getting their goods in order and ready for customers they were unfortunately burned out. This, however, did not deter him, and with his usual energy in two or three days another building, Phoenix like, was made to do duty as a place to barter and sell to the early settlers of Nottawasaga the tea and sugar, factory and prints in exchange for their [cereals]. In 1854 they erected a large frame building on Hurontario street [illegible].

The long and faithful [servant] of the Town, the Council decided on making his funeral a public one, and the Mayor issued notices to that effect and requested all the places of business to be closed during the afternoon, which was [agreed] to by nearly every businessman in the town. The funeral took place at two o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, and after the customary religious services said by the Rev. E. Sallows, the Corporation of the Town of Collingwood took possession of the remains and formed a procession in the following order:

Marshall
Clergymen
Public Schools and Teachers
High School and Teachers
Fireman
Orange Lodge
Oddfellows Lodge
Freemasons
Pioneers
Printers
Stayner Municipal Council
Collingwood Township Council
Members of the County Council
Collingwood Town Council
Pall Bearers The Hearse Pall Bearers
Relatives
Citizens on Foot
Carriages

A few minutes past two, the procession proceeded in the above order from the later residence of the deceased on Maple street, along Second to Hurontario street, and then to the Wesleyan Cemetery. The pupils and teachers of the Public and High Schools attended the funeral in force, and added a very pleasing feature to the procession. There were probably not less than 100 people who took part in the funeral, and many of the oldest settlers made the remark that the funeral was the largest that had ever taken place in Collingwood, and that it was a just and fitting tribute to one who had lived so long and so well amongst us, and who had departed, at the end of a busy life, with his harness on, still willing to do battle until the last moment.

Additional information regarding the family of Joseph Lawrence has come from several main sources. The genealogical website, www.ancestry.ca was a very informative resource. Mrs. Beth Cope of Huntsville, Ontario, prepared an exhaustive genealogy of George Henry Lawrence, a cousin of Joseph Lawrence, who also lived in Collingwood.  A copy is held in the Collingwood Library. Law Professor, John Davis of Osgood Hall, York University, married to a descendant of one of Joseph and Sarah’s daughters, shared his ongoing research regarding their children and descendants.

From these resources, we know that the family of Joseph Lawrence has been traced to one John Lawrence, born in Wisset, Suffolk, England in 1609. Descendants subsequently lived in Watertown, Massachusetts, just outside Boston. Later generations, including Joseph’s father, grandfather, and great grandfather continued to live in the area west of Boston until the family moved to Spencertown, Columbia County, New York. Years after the American Revolution, members of family emigrated to Lloydtown, Ontario, near Newmarket where Joseph was born in 1808. Joseph’s father, Judah Monis Lawrence had three marriages, producing a total of 15 children. Joseph was the third oldest child of ten from the third marriage. Subsequently Joseph’s parents and paternal grandparents relocated to York. Extended family members of this entrepreneurial family remained in the area around Lloydtown. Joseph and Sarah Lawrence had eight children, seven daughters and one son, William, who drowned as an adult on Georgian Bay.

Note again that Joseph was referred to as a “reformer” (Lane-Moore) and that his family had lived in Lloydtown, Ontario before Joseph settled in Collingwood in 1853. During the rebellions of Upper Canada in 1837, Lloydtown was known as a ‘rebel town’ politically split between loyalists who supported the Family Compact, a government appointed by the Crown, and reformers who advocated for an elected representative government. Lloydtown was also split between Anglicans with Loyalist sympathies, and Wesleyan Methodists, and Quakers who were Reformers in their sympathies. The Lawrence Family was Wesleyan Methodist. The loyalists of Upper Canada distrusted all immigrants, even United Empire Loyalists from the United States, fearing that they would bring republican  or anti-establishment political leanings unfriendly to the Crown and the current form of appointed government in Upper Canada. Joseph was definitely liberal and a reformer in his political sympathies. 

We have been able to obtain photographs of Joseph's father, sister, and several other comtemporary members of the Lawrence family. In spite of our best efforts thus far, however, we have been unable to find a photograph of Joseph Lawrence himself. Beth Cope has indicated that family history has revealed Joseph to have been quite a rebel during the period of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837. A possible speculative explanation for the absence of a photograph is that Joseph did not want his photograph to be taken. Given his reputation as a rebel and a liberal reformer, it is possible that his early political activities had put him at odds with the established political authorities before the time of elected representative government in Upper Canada. We continue, however, to search for a photograph of Joseph Hill Lawrence. Finding one will put this speculation to rest.

According to Beth Cope, based upon several facts gleaned from her exhaustive research, she is reasonably certain that the Lawrence Family came to Canada too late to have been United Empire Loyalist. Moreover, according to her, the family name is not included on the official list of known United Empire Loyalist families. Finally, in 1806, in the Town of York, Joseph's father, Monis, married Joseph's mother, Francis Crown, as his third wife. This evidence suggests that, contrary to what was stated in his obituary, Joseph Lawrence was not a member of a United Empire Loyalist family.

Historical Resources held in the Collingwood Public Library, notably Volume 1 of the Huron Institute Papers and Records (vol. 1-3. Published by the Institute: Collingwood, c. 1909), have provided additional information about Joseph Lawrence and some of his children. Apparently, the Wesleyan Methodist Church was the first organized religious institution in Collingwood. Its first permanent minister was the Rev. Edward Sallows who conducted the first service in August 1853 in the home of Mr. Leo Cathey at the foot of Pine Street. Joseph Lawrence was the first Superintendent of the Sunday School when it was founded in 1854. Through the kindness of Sarah Lawrence, Joseph’s wife, extra funds were gathered from the membership in order to provide additional financial support for the minister and his family. The Lawrence’s daughter, Fanny, was the organist in the new church building when it was finished in 1863. Another daughter, Susannah, was the first missionary sponsored by the Wesleyan Methodist Church and sent from Collingwood to British Columbia. The land for the congregational cemetery was purchased in 1872 and their daughter, Kate, was the first person to be buried in it.

In 1869 a society known as “The Pioneers” was founded in Toronto. Its charter members were men who had lived in the Town of York before March 6, 1834 when its name was changed to Toronto. Subsequent member status could be established through association with another family member such as a father. 1811 was the date given for the affiliation of Joseph’s membership, his eligibility established by association with his father and paternal grandfather. At one time, Joseph's father was the Clerk of Town of York and was the Innkeeper of the York Hotel on King Street.

Apparently there was considerable political intrigue during the early days of Collingwood in 1858. In preparation for her recent book about early Collingwood, The Chicago of the North, Anita Miles, formerly of the Collingwood Museum, unearthed additional information about Joseph Lawrence, generally considered to have been the first Clerk of Collingwood. In a personal communication, she informed us that although Joseph Lawrence was, indeed, the first official clerk of Collingwood who was not also a member of the Town Council, John Hogg had, in fact, held that office before him, but only for two months. Mr. Hogg founded the Enterprise, the first newspaper in Collingwood, which he later joined with the Bulletin. He was voted off the Council on a motion by Mr. Gibbard and Mr. McWatt and passed by a 4 to 3 vote. The reason was that he allegedly repeatedly published misstatements in his newspaper considered unacceptable by other members of the Council. On a second motion by Mr. Gibbard and Mr. McWatt, Joseph Lawrence was appointed Clerk of the town in his stead. Ironically, after the death of Joseph Lawrence in 1877, Mr. Hogg replaced him as clerk and was reinstated to the town council, eventually also becoming Reeve and Mayor. Joseph Lawrence' obituary was subsequently published in John Hogg’s newspaper.

During the period of the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870, local volunteers joined the Collingwood Rifle Company and served along the Niagara frontier hoping to defend against Fenian raids across the border. In response to rumours that Fenians had sailed from Chicago to attack Upper Canada through the back door of Collingwood, John Hogg and John Rennie organized a home guard unit known as the Collingwood Rifle Company, with John Hogg serving as Colonel.

Joseph Lawrence also briefly published a competing newspaper of his own known as the Collingwood Journal. It was published for 12 1/2 cents a month at the office of Joseph Lawrence situated on Huron Street. In its first issue of February 20, 1858, notably before the incorporation of Collingwood as a town, Joseph wrote a letter of congratulation to the editor of his paper.

We have before us the first number of a neatly printed sheet which hails from the town of Collingwood. Mr. J.H. Lawrence is the publisher. It is liberal in politics and its editorial columns give evidence that a practical hand is at the helm. The name of the Collingwood Journal contemporaneously with the incorporation of their “clearing” shows that the people of the forest town are determined to go ahead.

Local middle-aged and elderly people usually refer our home as the Stephenson House rather than as the Joseph Lawrence House. We attribute this to the fact that theirs is a living memory of the building. The Stephenson family purchased it from the Fair Family. Two generations lived in it from 1911 to 1974 when it was purchased by Ian McKay. The Stephenson family was highly respected in the community, especially by the many people who visited it frequently as piano students of Muriel Stephenson, a legally blind concert pianist. We recently were gifted two of Muriel’s academic diplomas by her nephew who stayed in the family home many times during his childhood. During a recent visit, he gave us several photographs of Muriel, one showing her seated at her grand piano. This piano, now owned by one of Muriel's students who also teaches piano, is now back in Collingood. Muriel's nephew informed us that his grandparents owned and operated two hotels in Collingwood including the Arlington Hotel. Significantly to us, after his grandfather died, his grandmother operated a 'B&B' in her home. Muriel is fondly remembered by her former students many of whom we have met. Many of them visit us from time to time to inspect our continuing renovation and restoration efforts. With great emotion and nostalgia they have expressed fond appreciation that the house of their childhood memories has been restored and renovated to its present condition. A great deal of the credit for beginning this must be attributed to Barbara and Patrick Kelly who, no doubt, rescued the deteriorating old house from the wrecking ball of certain demolition. When they purchased it in 1999 under power of sale from the Toronto Dominion Bank, it had been vacant for nearly two years, and was in a sorry state of disrepair.

Neighbours continue to share their interesting recollections of this remarkable old home. We invite anyone who has information to share about the Joseph Lawrence House and its generations of residents to contact us. Recently, we received old photographs faintly showing part of the original frame farmhouse and also its carriage house. During an early fire in downtown Collingwood, the buildings of the Foley Furniture Company were destroyed. The old carriage house was subsequently used as a furniture assembly and storage facility for several years.

During the May 24th weekend in 1974, several members of a local motorcycle group were renting rooms from Ian McKay, the owner at the time until 1987. As recounted to us by a neighbour in 2004, one of the female residents apparently had offended a female associate of a rival group in Wasaga Beach. Members of that group subsequently attempted to avenge the slight by entering the house uninvited during a party one evening. A noisy brawl ensued during which several people were injured. One was thrown out a second floor window. A local resident of Collingwood recently commented to us that “he still doesn’t walk right”. Police surrounded the house and restored order. No arrests were made. A local glazier, who later also replaced some windows for us shortly after we began renovations, recalled that he had been called in the next day to repair broken windows. Ian McKay recently confirmed this event and recalled that most of the damage was not inflicted on the house itself, but to his personal and family possessions.

Hopefully, the Joseph Lawrence House will continue to accrue an interesting history. We welcome additional information about Joseph Lawrence and his home. We will very much appreciate receiving photographs of the Lawrence Family, especially of Joseph and Sarah Lawrence. Our guests enjoy this Heritage Building, and enrich us with their perspectives drawn from their own rich and varied life experience. Conversation at the breakfast table is informative, lively, and often provocative. We usually manage a good attempt at solving most of the world’s problems. Come and join the fun with us!