26 Ontario St. S., 1980s

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

This limestone house located at 26 Ontario St. South is still standing today. It was the home of several notable St. Marys residents. The house was built c. 1870 by Robert Davy, listed as a plasterer in the census. In 1874 the property was sold to Martha Box Nickels, of the well-known Box family. There is no evidence that Davy lived in the house; he may have been the contractor for the Nickels family. Several months later, Richard Nickels, the husband of Martha Box, inherited the home. The house was lived in by tenants until c. 1910.

Notable tenants of the Nickels included lawyer William Cavan Moscrip and his family, who began living in the house in 1878. Moscrip was very involved in the community and later held positions as a town councillor and mayor. He held the position of colonel in the Perth Regiment. Moscrip's sister Mary also lived in the house. Mary Moscrip was an artist who gave lessons to local residents. She was a local Sunday School teacher and philanthropist; Mary created a charity to help local families in need.

After a period of tenants inhabiting the home, Charles Allen, a local butcher, purchased the home. The house remained in the Allen family for approximately 30 years. Other residents included Alfred and Irene Stone, the Johnston and Rath families.

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.

Notes

Condition: Excellent - Image is very clear. No signs of damage to the negative.

Dimensions

Width: 3.6 cm
Height: 2.3 cm

Image Dimensions

Image Width: 3.6cm
Image Height: 2.3cm

Subject(s)

Architecture
Dwellings
Historical Houses

Personal Name(s)

Davy, Robert ; Nickels, Martha Box ; Nickels, Richard ; Moscrip, William Cavan ; Moscrip, Mary ; Lane, Esther A. ; Allen, Charles ; Allen, Mary ; Stone, Alfred ; Stone, Irene ; Johnston ; Rath.

Local identifier

LP26OntarioS_a

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

"26 Ontario St. S., 1980s", St. Marys Museum, LP26OntarioS_a.

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