A History of the Innisfil Municipal Heritage Committee

Innisfil Municipal Heritage Committee

In March of 2003, Council adopted a report establishing the Innisfil Municipal Heritage Committee and so the process began. It took until February 2004 for the Terms of Reference to be developed and the first Members to be appointed by Council to the committee. The committee was designed to consist of two representatives of the Innisfil Historical Society, a representative from the Knock Community Centre Board and an Innisfil resident from the community at large. The first members were Audrey Miller, Doug Warrington, Robert Rymell, Andrew Cowan with Paul Wylie, Manager of Parks & Recreation/Programs and Development representing the town and Mayor Brian Jackson representing Council.

The mandate of the Committee as stated in the Terms of Reference:

1. Raising awareness of the local heritage; providing advice to help guide changes, and bringing new ideas and expertise on architectural, historical or heritage sites;
2. Inventorying and researching heritage buildings/sites;
3. The designation of individual properties, and districts;
4. Providing Council with advice on alterations to designated property;
5. Community involvement and liaison;
6. Information and education;
7. Heritage related municipal planning;
8. Demolition/removal of designated property;
9. Any other issues which may arise, as they pertain to the Ontario Heritage Act.

The first official meeting of the Committee was held 14 December 2004 at which point, Rymell was appointed Chair.  Paul Wylie agreed to provide secretarial duties to the committee until a member of the Clerk’s office was appointed to provide support. Along with other housekeeping items, the committee recommended an operating budget of $3,000 per year beginning in 2005. 

With each new subsequent Council, a new committee has been struck and a Chair has been elected by the members as follows:

• 2004 – 2008                Rob Rymell
• 2008 – 2010                Andrew Cowan
• 2010 – 2013                Barbara Potma
• 2013 – 2015                William Kell
• 2015 – 2016                David Steele
• 2016 – 2018                Deb Crawford
• 2019 -                         Councillor C. Payne

Members of the Committee drove around Innisfil, identifying many properties of potential historical significance.   With the creation of the Simcoe County Branch of the ACO (Architectural Conservatory of Ontario) additional support and expertise was available to the Committee.  Members of the ACO Branch provided architectural advice, analysis and support as the Committee sought to preserve key properties in Alcona.  The ACO Branch members produced articles for the local newspapers and newsletter, made presentations to historical societies, businesses and community organizations to promote the preservation of historical buildings, and raise the awareness of local citizens and municipal leaders.

Innisfil’s Municipal Registry: 

Properties added to the Registry are not designated but are added if, on the advice of the Heritage Committee, Council believes the property to be of cultural heritage value or interest. Once a property has been listed, property owners are required to give the Town 60 days’ notice of any intention to demolish or remove a building or structure on the property.

In January 2010 upon recommendation of the Committee, Council approved the addition of all of Innisfil’s churches and cemeteries to the Heritage Register.

Based on recommendations from the Committee, between 2010 and 2019 Council also approved the addition of the following properties to the Heritage Register:

The Cook House/Ravenscraig – 34 King Street South, Cookstown

The Guest House – 3523 25^th Side Road, Innisfil

The Half-way House – 6273 Yonge Street Churchill

The Lucas Store – 6272 Yonge Street Churchill

Cameron Farmhouse – 1878 Innisfil Beach Road, Innisfil

Todd Farm – 1730 2^nd Line Innisfil

Todd Farm – 1596 2^nd Line Innisfil

Sloan Dougherty- Short Farm – 3851 4^th Line Innisfil

Nightingale House – 1924 10^th Line Stroud

Barkley Post Office – 7335 Yonge Street Innisfil

Nanty School – 1497 7^th Line Innisfil

Cherry Creek School – 5850 Yonge Street Innisfil

Stroud Masonic Hall – 2156 Victoria Street Stroud

Big Cedar Club House – 1498 Maple Road Lefroy

Alcona Beach Club House – 2044 25^th Side Road, Alcona

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 547 – 1017 Robinson Street, Belle Ewart Camp

Arrowhead – 684 6^th Line Lefroy

Properties Designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act:

Sawyer House - 1350 6^th Line Innisfil, Ontario

This farmhouse is a marvelous example of Georgian style architecture and has all the classic elements. The main house has been built in a “T” formation with a rectangular-shaped building in front and two other sections in line behind it. The main structure has a chimney at either gable end of the roof (one of which has been replicated) and there is another chimney at the end of the second rear section. 

The farmhouse is constructed of solid brick (which were crafted from clay found in the adjacent field) and the walls are three courses deep. The bricks on the front of this farmhouse have been laid in the “Flemish Bond” pattern while the other sides of the home have the normal “Common Bond” pattern. The red bricks are offset by buff colored bricks in the lintels, on the quoins as well as in a solid band running across beneath the second story windows. The brick chimneys are intricately patterned as well.

The Sawyer family built the house in 1867 and it has been owned by four generations of Sawyers, with Lloyd Sawyer and wife Isabel (Shipley) being the last to occupy this property until 1953. It was then bought by the McQuarrie family who produced mixed crops of hay, wheat, oats and corn to feed their dairy herd of Guernsey cows whose milk was shipped to Silverwoods Dairy in Toronto. The farm was then owned by the Fermo’s from 1987 to 2006. They continued the farming tradition by growing hay and raising beef cattle.

The Knock School House - 7756 10^th Side Road Innisfil

The Knock Community Centre, formerly the Knock School, was built in 1902 by William Taylor of Allandale on the site of a log and frame school built in 1871 by Stephen Maneer. It is the only school site in Innisfil that is essentially unchanged from its original use. It is also a well-maintained example of late 19th/early 20th century Ontario schoolhouse design. 

The Knock School was purchased in the mid 1960's from the School Board and became known as Knock Community Centre. This is the only school site in Innisfil that is essentially unchanged from its original use. Description of the heritage attributes:  The School House is a one room brick building with full basement, rectangular in design, with a high-pitched gable roof and a bell tower on top.  The bell and bell tower are original to the building. The entranceway/cloakroom attached to the front has separate doors for "Boys" and "Girls" reflecting the practice at the time of the building's construction. Additional original features include the high ceiling, wood trim, wainscoting, hardwood flooring, external trim, and the position of the blackboard across the front with one on each side between middle and front windows.

The Cross House – 1770 20^th Side Road, Innisfil

The Cross House survives as one of the earliest and best examples of a settler’s first permanent farmhouse. The main structure measures 36 feet long by 28 wide. Original architectural features including the rubble stone walls; the 12 over 8 window sash; the presence of original trim and doors on both floors, all add to the heritage value of this unique example.

This 1850s stone farmhouse is one of the last remaining early buildings in Innisfil and has survived as a landmark in the community since its construction. It stands as a testament to the hard work and building skills of early settlers in the area. The solidity of its construction, the fact that it remains virtually intact, and its history relating to one of the earliest and most important families to settle in Innisfil, makes this one of the community’s outstanding structures and a resource of great value.

William Cross and his wife Mary Allan originally homesteaded on this property and it had been continuously owned by his descendants until 1947. The Allan’s and Cross’s were among the eight original families who moved to Innisfil from Dalhousie Township, just as settlement was beginning to gain momentum in the early 1830’s. The other families comprising of Duncan, Jack, Wallace, Lawrie, Todd and Climie were known as the “Dalhousie Settlers” and were highly active as public speakers, social reformers and political activists.

When Innisfil was first organized as a Township in 1850, William Cross became the first Reeve. Four descendants of “Dalhousie Settlers” have since been Reeve of Innisfil and two Wardens of Simcoe County,

William and Mary were among the original members of the 6^th Line Presbyterian Congregation in 1838. In 1844, the church was built and William was a “precentor”.

“Chimney Copse” – 1629 3^rd Line Innisfil

“Chimney Copse” (so named by the previous owner Col. Clement Dick), is a stately three-bay Georgian Style solid brick house with end chimneys, built in approximately 1864 by Frank Rogerson J.P. (born 1824) as a replacement for the board and batten farmhouse. He was one of the ten children of James Rogerson and Mary Bell who came from Dumfriesshire, Scotland and settled in Innisfil in 1833.  Frank, appointed as a Justice of the Peace, lived in Innisfil until his death in 1912.

The brick for the house was crafted from clay on the property, in an outdoor oven. The front (north) façade exhibits a fanciful “Flemish Bond” brick pattern, while the other sides have the more normal “Common Bond” pattern. The corner coigns, which are now painted white, cover the original softer yellow brick. It sits on a typical rough granite boulder foundation. The two rear sections to the south are supported by floor joists made of whole trunks of cedar trees complete with bark. The floors are the sloping earth of the hillside. The house has exterior decoration typical of other styles of the time: e.g. a solid wood front door with two rounded-head panels and brackets under the projecting eaves, which is all “Italianate” in style, together with pointed “Gothic” vents on either end of the attic. However, the door casing with a transom and sidelights is in a typical “Regency” style. The house has typical 6 over 6 wooden sash windows, mostly containing the original bubbled and streaked panes of glass. There is a central hall plan, with the staircase rising on one side, and two rooms to either side. The woodwork in the main section is almost all original: deep 16” to 22” moulded baseboards, paneling under the windows, and moulded projecting door and window casings.  The central hall and dining room retain the original plaster rosettes in the ceiling.

Membership:

Only a few of the members who began with the Committee in 2016 have continued until 2019. David Steele, our local expert and former President of the Simcoe County ACO resigned as Chair of the Committee in November of 2015. Bill Kell, a walking encyclopedia of the Innisfil resigned from the Committee in 2015. Between 2016 and 2017 Anita, Gina and Ileen all resigned for various reasons. Council or Town staff were not prepared to appoint additional members until the new Committee was formed in 2019. It was a difficult time. With the oversight of the newly approved Cookstown Heritage Conservation District (see below), the ongoing challenges of the McConkey House (see below) and the realization that there was much to do preserve the architectural history of Innisfil but few resources and limited expertise. 

We also tried to focus on updating the inventory of potentially significant properties by reviewing past work and trying to fill in the missing pieces. We enlisted our “friends of heritage” from the community to assist with identifying properties in parts of Innisfil that had not been previously documented. A revised property evaluation guide and workbook was also developed to be used to assess the heritage value of properties.  And perhaps last, but not least, we developed an information package to inform residents about the Heritage Registry, the Designation process and benefits.

Below: 2016-2018 Heritage Committee members:

(Left to Right) Ileen Sabean (Vice Chair), Jan Blommaert and Anita Werda (Innisfil Historical Society), Roger Johnson, Doug Lougheed (Councilor), Deb Crawford (Chair), Gina Hartley, and Kevin Jacob (Clerk’s Office)

In 2019, following the 2018 municipal election, a new Committee was formed with the following members: Carolyn Payne (Chair and Council representative), Deb Crawford (Vice Chair), Jeanette Blommaert (Innisfil Historical Society), Elaine Splet (ACO), Andrea Harper, and Roger Johnson. Committee members have been organized into three working groups: Property Evaluation, Cookstown HCD, and Communications.  Progress has been slow, but concerns continue given the prospect of developer speculation and the potential for significant heritage properties to be bulldozed for the sake of convenience.  Needless to say, a dedicated and industrious group!

Celebrations and Regrets (2003 – 2019):

Over the years, the Committee has had opportunities to celebrate their successful efforts to preserve and protect properties in Innisfil. Unfortunately, they have also mourned the loss of heritage properties. 

The Heritage Sign Project:

In July 2013 Innisfil Council adopted the Innisfil Community Grant Program in order to support programs and activities which promote a broad range of initiatives that supported the goals and objectives of Inspiring Innisfil 2020.

One component of the revised Grant Program was the Economic and Development Fund intended to support the promotion of ideas and strategies for heritage preservation and economic development in the Town.

As a township, and later through amalgamation in 1991, Innisfil was comprised of small villages and hamlets.  Much of this initial settlement arrived with the building of the military road (now Yonge Street) that joined York District with the British naval base at Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay.  Within these settlements, post offices, schools, churches and businesses were established, and a sense of community was born.

The Heritage Sign Project intended to identify and recognize these early settlement areas using distinct and informative interpretive signs. All of the signs would have a consistent look and style to reinforce a sense of common community identity and would be installed in conspicuous locations throughout the Town. The narratives for each sign were developed by the Heritage Committee. As the Innisfil Community Grant Program was a multi-year initiative, the Heritage Committee saw this project being implemented over a number of years as well.

The Committee’s first priority was to focus on settlements where former schoolhouses were still standing. The one room schoolhouse was often an integral part of the early communities and an important milestone and source of pride when built. Below, one of the first Heritage signs installed recognizes the village of Bethesda.

Between 2014 and 2019 a total of 23 signs were designed and installed:

Cookstown Heritage Conservation District

In May 2012, Town of Innisfil Council adopted a recommendation to establish a Heritage Conservation District Steering Committee and to undertake a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) Study for Cookstown. MMM Group Ltd. were the lead consultants hired to undertake the initial study.  

In May of 2013 Town of Innisfil Council endorsed the findings of the study and initiated Phase 2 of the project. A steering committee comprised of Lynn Dollin (Ward 7 Councilor), Don Eastwood (Director of Development), Bill Kell and David Steele (Innisfil Municipal Heritage Committee) and Lavana Zrnoh, Jacques Fortier, and Gina Hartley (Cookstown property owners).

Community consultations followed throughout 2013 and the prospect of the establishment of a Heritage District created a polarizing effect throughout the village.  The prospect was incredibly contentious with as many opposing the prospect as those supporting it. Following extensive consultations and the efforts of the steering committee and the consultants, the Cookstown Heritage Conservation District Plan and Design Guidelines were presented to Council for approval. In April 2014 Town of Innisfil Council endorsed the recommendations and approved the establishment of the Cookstown Heritage Conservation District. Later that summer appeals were submitted to the Ontario Municipal Board opposing the decision. It wasn’t until May 2015 that the decision to support Council’s approval was received and the District became a reality. 

Since then the Heritage Committee members have worked hard and devoted many voluntary hours in an effort to make Cookstown a successful Heritage Village. We have organized seminars for residents, staff and local politicians; met with and developed relationships with staff to discuss heritage permit applications and reported to Council on heritage issues. It has taken some time to develop our role, but we are beginning to see some positive results. It is going to take more time and also more of a commitment from Council that they will support our efforts with the staff and funds if Cookstown is to realize its full potential as Innisfil’s Heritage Village.

One issue that needs urgent attention in Cookstown and also in the rest of Innisfil is the problem with neglected and abandoned properties and the heritage committee will be focusing on finding solutions before the problem gets worse.

Ness Adair, Thomas McConkey Properties - Alcona:

If you talk to some of the active heritage advocates you will hear about the Ness Adair and McConkey properties and how their destruction continues to be a thorn in the side of descendants of the families and the frustration of having lost the two stone farmhouses that flanked the entrance to Alcona. 

In 2007/2008 this was the time when Alcona, a small cottage community was about to become the “town centre” of Innisfil. There was no room or patience for heritage – just development.

The Ness Adair property, on the north side of Innisfil Beach Road and the east side of the 20^th Side Road was sacrificed for what is now the No Frills store on April 3, 2008.

The McConkey property was directly across the road where the Canadian Tire store is now. 

In 2007/8 the Cortellucci family of the day were contemplating the creation of a “heritage village” at the intersection of the rail line and the 6^th Line. Representatives of the family presented a willingness to relocate heritage properties to that location for future restoration and development. 

The developer and owner of the south property advertised an offer to donate the house in the spring of 2008 and given no respondents, the structure was demolished in May.

1326 Innisfil Beach Road (McConkey - Wauchope House)

The McConkey/Wauchope house in Innisfil is the last significant heritage house remaining on Innisfil Beach Road between the 20^th side road and Lake Simcoe.

It is set back on the lot with inviting grass and trees in the foreground. It is a wonderful example of a story and a half, 3-bay (or opening) front Ontario Gothic style farmhouse built c. 1880.

The façade is notable for its orange/red brick with impressive buff brick detailing – seen particularly in the banding across the front of the house with its inset red cross motif. All of the brick work is in excellent state of preservation. The heavy curved lintels above the windows and front door display their own red and buff contrasting pattern. The common bond brick work, without header courses, reveals that this is a brick veneer structure with an internal frame and not a solid brick house.

Notable too is the quoin strip. Usually, the corner bricks are formed in a “zipper” pattern, but here the buff corner bricks are laid in a vertical straight line. The front entrance is Regency in style with transom and sidelights. However, in this case the transom is unusual in that it is made up of curved keystone- type panes. The original 2 over 2 window sash may have been replaced.

The façade is marked by a steep centre gable which contains a marvelous buff and orange – bricked Gothic arch. The gable window, now obscured, once provided light to the second-floor hall. The door opens on to a small balcony which is now supported by two metal posts.  This balcony would have been incorporated into the verandah and would have protected these two elevations of the house.

Most notable, however, are the eave brackets. These are quite extraordinary in that they are meticulously carved and feature a striking “tear drop” at the outer edge. The oblong wooden block which appears between the brackets is another noteworthy feature, as indeed is the heavy moulding at the base of the bracket support board.  The “eave returns” are another typical feature of the roof line.

The house is laid out in a “T” formation with a projecting wing to the north, probably the kitchen area.  A large two-story addition has been attached to the north of this wing parallel to the main part of the house.  This addition has been built to reflect some of the architectural features of the main house.

Much of the original architectural detail of this building has survived and is typical of the period.

This Ontario Gothic farmhouse remains an excellent example of the style and is one of the best original examples left in Innisfil.  It also stands as a testament to the craftsmanship of the period; whose building practices still survive for all to study and appreciate.

HISTORIC AND COMMUNITY VALUE:

The past 25 years, this property has been the residence of former Deputy Mayor/ Councillor/Mayor Gord Wauchope and his family.

The McConkey family played a major role in all aspects of life in Innisfil, Barrie, the County, and the Province of Ontario. Head of one of the earliest settler families, Thomas McConkey, helped open up Innisfil to agriculture, but played many other significant roles in the early years of this part of Simcoe County.

Thomas McConkey (1781- 1862) and his wife, Sarah Porter (1779-1871) left County Tyrone, Ireland for Canada in 1823 and brought with them their six sons (Oliver, John, James, Robert, William and Thomas D.) and their three daughters (Sarah, Jane and Nancy).

They lived for a year in Bytown, (now Ottawa) and then at Chippewa Creek for two or three years. They subsequently moved to the north half lot of Lot Six, Concession Four, Township of West Gwillimbury. The oldest two children, Oliver and Sarah died here. Then they moved to the south side of Lot Sixteen, Concession Eight in the Township of Innisfil, County Simcoe in 1828/9.

According to the History of Simcoe County, “Where the eighth concession crosses the Penetanguishene Road, a group of well-known settlers located at an early period.  'Squire' McConkey settled upon lot 16, con. 8 in the early part of 1829. His family were the first to settle upon the Main Road here after it was opened.” (Hunter, 1909, pp. 63)

He and his family eventually owned a large portion of the land between the 20^th side road and the lake along Innisfil Beach Road.

Robert McConkey, one of Thomas’s sons, owned the 10-room stone farmhouse built in 1858 at the south east corner of the 8^th line and the 20^th side road. In 1861 this property was valued at $8000. It was demolished in 2008.

John McConkey, another of Thomas’s sons, is listed as one of the settlers of Innisfil before 1837.  It was he who owned the south half of lot 22 Concession 8, where the McConkey/Wauchope residence now stands.

2020 Update:

Recognizing the heritage value of this property has been opposed since it was first recommended by the Innisfil Heritage Committee in October 2010. In 2011 to avoid adding the property to the Heritage Registry, a by-law with special conditions was crafted and approved by Council in 2011. Based on the conditions of the by-law once the owner had a bona fide offer to purchase, the Town had an option to offer to purchase the property for the same price plus $1. An offer to purchase was received in 2015 with a closing date of September 2016. The Town considered the options available in accordance with the by-law. The Heritage Committee, upon being consulted, confirmed the heritage significance of the property and recommended that the Town take all appropriate actions to preserve the property. The Town conveyed this information and their recommendations to Council. As Council did not support purchasing the property, the Heritage Committee prepared a recommendation to designate the property under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. 

Instead of designating the property, Council once again drafted and approved a separate by-law to “protect” the property and allow for an additional 30 townhouses to be built on the site. In order to facilitate the townhouse development, the heritage house was to be moved to a location which would feature the farmhouse as part of the development.

The grounds were stripped, and the rear addition was demolished in the fall of 2016 and in the spring of 2017 the house was moved.

(January 2017)                                        

(Spring 2019)

The house has sat, exposed to the elements, vandals and wildlife for over 2 years waiting. 

Barclay House 7335 Yonge Street:

The Barclay House was identified as a heritage property of significance based on the key exterior attributes as well as the contributions of the family to Innisfil. The Barclay House is one of the last remaining examples of a fieldstone farmhouse remaining the Town. The one and one half story solid fieldstone house boasts a cut stone façade and a rubble stone construction. The end gables and end chimneys frame a three bay front.  The original windows were six over six window sashes. The regency front entrance with transom and side lights offers a striking welcome

The Barclay House, a landmark on the south east coner of Barclay on Yonge Street and the 8^th Line was built circa 1870 by Francis Barclay and family, pioneer settlers from Dumfrieshire Scotland who arrived in Innisfil in 1849. The Barclays soon became prominent members of the community and were noted for their community and prize-winning agricultural endeavors. Francis’ son George became a magistrate and postmaster in Innisfil and carried the mail from Stroud to the Barclay house for 30 years.

The property was fully restored by David and June Chambers prior to their opening the site as a tea room in 1974. This property was listed on the Municipal Registry.

On December 31^st 2014 a fire destroyed all but the stone walls and part of the roof. In May 2017 the owners submitted a Demolition Permit Application to the Town. In order to preserve what remained of this property, and make recommendations to designate the property under the Ontario Heriage Act, the Heritage Committee requested Council to defer the response to the demolition application pending a request to designate the property. As no such provision exists Council voted to provide notice to Designate the property. The property owner was advised and the notice was posted in July 2017. The property owner appealed the decision. Between the appeal and Council’s decision to expropriate the land in 2017, the future of the structrue and the property have been subject to confidential negotiations.     

Contributions by Deb Crawford, Roger Johnson, and Jeanette Blommaert.   

Minutes of meetings and staff reports, Town of Innisfil.