Residence of Andrew M. Ross, c.1895

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Unknown, Photographer

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Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

A black and white photograph of the residence of Andrew M. Ross.

Notes

This frame house was built between 1875 and 1880 by Andrew M. Ross (1851-1936) at the south-west corner of King and Colborne Streets (at 401 Colbourne Street West). Mr. Ross was a dry goods merchant in Whitby and a former mayor of the Town. His daughter, Miss Marcia Ross (1889-1979) was the last of the family to live in the house. The house in the background at right is the residence of Andrew's brother, Hugh Ross, at the south-east corner of Colborne and Henry Streets.

Whitby’s house numbering system was provided by Rev. Dr. James Roy Van Wyck (1877-1941), a retired Presbyterian minister. Van Wyck provided this service to the town, free of charge, during the Great Depression. By the summer of 1935, Whitby had a population of about 4,000 people and a house numbering system was needed. Prior to 1935, residences and businesses were listed in the telephone book with the street on which they were located. As well, there was no need for a house numbering system since all mail was picked up by local residents from the town post office. Under Van Wyck’s system, each block was numbered by a hundred. For instance, the first block south of Dundas on Brock Street was the 100 block; the second, the 200 block, and so on. Buildings on the west side of the street were given even numbers, while buildings on the east side were given odd numbers. On streets running east and west, even numbers were given on the north side while odd numbers were provided on the south. Van Wyck was careful to assign numbers for vacant lots between existing homes. Assigned house and business address numbers were published in the Whitby Gazette and Chronicle and a postcard was mailed to each residence in 1935 with the assigned house number and asking residents to please place this assigned number at their front door. Brooklin was given a house numbering system in the late 1960s or early 1970s, while Ashburn, Myrtle and Myrtle Station received a house numbering system in the 1980s or 1990s.

Date of Original