177 Church St. S., 1980s

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

This photo gives a view of the Tracy House as it appeared in the early 1980s. The house was built in 1854 for land owner and early settler George Tracy. Robert Barbour was the builder of the home; he was responsible for the design of many homes in St. Marys around that time. The house was locally known as the "Castle in the Bush" due to its size and location on a hill overlooking many of the smaller homes. Tracy lived in the home with his wife and five children for around four years.

The home was then owned by the McDougall family around 1858. Daniel McDougall was a successful businessman, owned a local grist mill and worked as a Justice of the Peace. The McDougalls named the house "Cloudesdel Hall". The house was eventually sold to the Weir family. John Weir, son of retired Downie Township farmers William and Margaret Weir, purchased the house from the McDougalls in 1878. He ran a cattle exporting business and flax mill with his brother William Jr. John lived in the home with his parents and unmarried siblings. The Weir family named the grounds surrounding the house "Cadzow Park", after an estate in Scotland.

The house and park were transferred to the Town of St. Marys in 1926. Tenants lived in the house for several decades. By the year 1959, the building housed the St. Marys Museum. The house, built with locally quarried limestone, is now an historically designated structure. The house features a verandah and balcony with grand pillars and picturesque gingerbread details along the gabled roof. A new addition was added to the home in 2006.

In the winter and early spring of 1982-1983, Randall Speller, a colleague of Larry Pfaff from the Art Gallery of Ontario, took a series of black and white photographs of houses of architectural significance in St. Marys. Larry Pfaff and several local friends who shared this interest in architecture took some additional photographs in a subsequent summer. This photograph is one of this series.

*To see additional photographs related to this image click on the "detail" link under the image.

Notes

Condition: Excellent - Image is very clear. No signs of damage tot he negative.

Dimensions

Width: 3.6 cm
Height: 2.3 cm

Image Dimensions

Image Width: 3.6cm
Image Height: 2.3cm

Subject(s)

Architecture
Galleries & museums
Dwellings
Historical Houses

Personal Name(s)

Tracy, George ; Barbour, Robert ; McDougall, Daniel ; McDougall, Hannah ; Weir, John ; Weir, William ; Weir, Margaret.

Local identifier

LP177ChurchS_b

Collection

St. Marys Museum Photo Collection

Language of Item

English

Geographic Coverage

St. Marys

Ontario, Canada

Latitude: 43.25009 Longitude: -81.13304

Donor

Larry Pfaff - on behalf of LACAC.

Copyright Statement

Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.

Recommended Citation

"177 Church St. S., 1980s", St. Marys Museum, LP177ChurchS_a and LP177ChurchS_b.

Location of Original

R. Lorne Eedy Archives

Terms of Use

Reproduction of digital objects is restricted to fair use for personal research or study; any other use must be done with permission of copyright holder.

Reproduction Notes