Kingsville Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee

Kingsville, Ontario is located in Essex County on the
northern shore of Lake Erie. It is Canada’s most
Kingsville
Heritage WalkingTour
southern town, rich with Victorian heritage.
KMHAC
The Town of Kingsville is committed to
preserving its heritage. The Kingsville Municipal Heritage Advisory
Committee was formed in 2004 by
Kingsville Town Council to promote and
protect built heritage in the municipality.
The committee fulfills these tasks by
providing an inventory of built heritage,
recommending properties for designation
and performing public outreach.
Much of Kingsville’s attraction stems from
its unique collection of historic properties,
visible reminders of Kingsville’s rich and
storied past.
For a virtual tour visit www.kingsvilleheritage.ca
Kingsville
Railway Station
A self-guided
walking
tour of Kingsville’s designated properties
1. Your tour begins at the Coda-Leach
House (111 Division St. S.), an 1884
Gothic Villa. William Coda was an
engineer who lived here with his
mother. Since 1969, it has been
home to scientist Joseph Leach,
integral to the discovery of invasive
zebra mussels in Lake Erie, and his
wife Mary, restaurateur and school
board trustee. In 1987, it became
Kingsville’s first property designated
under the Ontario Heritage Act.
2. Head north on Division Street to the
James Workman King House (86
Division St. S.), an 1882 Italianate
design. It was home to the eldest son
of Col. James King, after whom
Kingsville is named. J.W. King was a
merchant, salesman, bookkeeper
and gentleman. The building has
been used variously as a funeral
home, doctor’s office and bakery. 3. Next door (78 Division St. S.) is the
Curtis J. Green House, a Queen
Anne home which when built in 1893
was the first house in Kingsville to
boast indoor plumbing. Green was a
lumber mill owner who married
Fanny S. King, granddaughter of Col.
James King. The original open-turret
porch can be seen on the back cover
of this brochure.
The Jasperson House
(321 Lakeview Ave.) was home to
Lt.-Col. Frederick Kent Jasperson,
commanding officer of the Essex
Scottish Regiment during World
War II. He led the regiment in the
ill-fated invasion of Dieppe and was
captured. While he was a prisoner
of war, his wife, Jean McLaren,
purchased this 1922 Cape Codstyle home on the shores of Lake
Erie. The property was purchased
from U.S. businessman Louis Irion,
whose family owned the British
American Brewery in Windsor. In
1945, when Lt.-Col. Jasperson
came home to Canada after the
war, it was in this house that he
first lived. He wrote his memoirs in
his study on the second floor. A
lawyer by profession, he became a
magistrate and then a judge in the
Windsor courts.
Blacks who escaped slavery in the
southern United States, some said
to still have shackle scars visible
at their death, are buried in the
Negro Cemetery located within
Kingsville Memorial Gardens
(2401 Division Rd. N.). John
Williams, one of the first Black
men to own land locally, set aside
part of his farm for Black families
to bury their dead. In 1837,
Williams purchased the property
from Richard Herrington, founder
of the local Baptist community.
Herrington is believed to have
been a conductor on the
Underground Railroad. The
original gravestones were knocked
down decades ago by rooting pigs
from a neighbouring farm. The
monument at the site was erected
in 2005.
Additional designated properties outside the walking tour
Tourist Information Booth
Driving ten kilometres north of town
From Division Street drive west
along the Old Talbot Trail is the
3.5 km on Main Street and head
Old Boussey Farm House
north 1.2 km on McCain Side Road
(325 CR 34 E.). In 1825, Gabriel
to the Jonas Wigle House
Boussey and his bride, Mary
(1423 McCain Side Road). Wigle
included many personalizations in
Josette, moved to the land where
this French Second Empire style
this house would eventually be
home he had built on his farm in
built. These early pioneers had no
1888. On the mansard roof in
road to travel to arrive at this
contrasting slate is a W for Wigle and
forested property. The brick
Y88 for the year of construction. farmhouse was constructed in 1886
There is also a floral design, said to
for the Bousseys’ son, Joel.
be a wegelia, a reference to his
The 1½-storey structure is in the
German surname — Weigele. The
house, featuring brick from the local Gothic Revival style. In 1912, James
Broadwell Brick and Tile Yard, is the and Hattie Pedrick, owners of a livery
work of accomplished mason Newell business, purchased the property,
Woodiwiss, who also built
Their descendants continued to farm
Kingsville’s Epworth United Church
and reside on the land. They called it
and the former post office and town Avonlea Farm.
hall buildings. Start Here
Lake Erie
4. Continue north to the Epworth
Parsonage (62 Division St. S.),
built in 1908 next to the Epworth
United Church. The house
features red brick characteristic of
the Miner Brickyard. The cultural
heritage value of the home lies in
its association with the early
Methodist Church that dates back
in the area to 1817.
5. Proceed north to the corner of
Mill and Division Streets where
you will find the Canfield-Hellems
House (2 Mill St.), built in 1872 in
the Gothic Revival style. David W.
Canfield was a town councillor,
businessman and lumberman. He
sold the property to William H.
Hellems who, from 1893 to 1935,
was the publisher of The Kingsville
Reporter.
6. Next is the Carnegie Library (28
Division St. S.), erected in 1913
with a $5,000 grant from the
Carnegie Foundation. Andrew
Carnegie was an industrialist who
used his considerable fortune to
establish many libraries around
the world. This was Kingsville’s
public library until 2010. The
building’s foundation is made of
local fieldstone and its distinctive
red brick came from the Broadwell
Brick and Tile Yard.
The walk is approximately 3.6 kilometers long.
18. Proceed west on Main Street to
St. George’s Lodge (29 Main St.
W.), the eastern section of the
1889 Union Block. This Italianate
building has forever been home
to the Associated Free and
Accepted Masons, the fraternal
society to which many respected
civic leaders have belonged. The
block was designed by John
Alexander Maycock, whose work
defines Kingsville’s architectural
landscape. Maycock also
designed the Church of the
Epiphany (96 Main St. W.) and
the Conklin Block on the
southeast corner of Main and
Division.
19. Continue one block west to the
Church of England Parsonage
(108 Main St. W.), built in 1883 to
house the Anglican minister and
his family. The Anglican Church
has had a presence in Kingsville
since 1842. This Italianate home
served as the Church of
Epiphany rectory until 2005.
16. Continue north to the Wedding
House (98 Main St. E.). The circular
porch of this 1904 Queen Anne
Revival home has been a popular
place for newlyweds to have their
wedding pictures taken. The
tradition began in 1905 when the
local newspaper ran a photo of the
homeowners’ daughter and her
groom on the porch after their
nuptials in the parlour. It has also
been called the Wedding Cake
house because the fish-scale trim
on the porch looks like the icing on
a cake.
17. Next door is the Wigle-Webb
House (90 Main St. E.), a sevengabled brick Gothic Revival home
built in 1886. Jacob Wigle was a
farmer and local politician who
helped guard the Lake Erie shore
during the Fenian Raids. Notice the
white, weathered stone in the front
yard. Wigle found it on his farm and
was convinced it resembled the
profile of Sir John A. Macdonald,
Canada’s first prime minister. The
property was later home to Mayor
William Morton Webb, Ontario’s
district engineer during the
construction of Highway 3.
7. Turn west on Pearl Street and
proceed to the corner of Queen
where you will find the Gardner
Cobblestone House (31 Queen
St. ). Alfred Gardner was a painter
and paperhanger who offered his
services through the village
hardware store. This 1922
Craftsman-style home shows an
eye for detail, with its artfully-laid
brick and stone.
8. Continue south on Queen to the
James E. Brown House (47 Queen
St.), erected in 1885. The Queen
Anne-style veranda was added in
1914. Brown was a founding
partner in the Brown and Wigle
Woolen Mill. The company was
famous for its thick Aue Saxony
blankets used by prospectors
during the Klondike Gold Rush of
1898.
9. Turn west on Mill and south on
Laurel to the Henry P. Scratch
House (121 Laurel St.), a brick
Gothic Cottage built in 1902. A
successful tobacco farmer, Scratch
was the grandson of Capt.
Nicholas Lytle, who fought in the
Battle of Lundy’s Lane (Niagara
Falls), a strategic victory for the
British in the War of 1812.
10. Proceed east on Elm to the
Davis McCay House (40 Elm St.),
one of the best examples of the
Queen Anne style in Essex County.
This 1903 home features an openturret porch, stained and leaded
glass and elaborate gable detailing.
McCay, in addition to being a
municipal politician, was a carriage
maker, house builder and owner of
the village hardware store.
11. Continue to Division and turn south
to find the Howard Scratch House
(164 Division St. S.). An
accomplished tinsmith, Scratch put
his talents to use in the 1886
construction of this Italianate home.
Scratch owned the local bicycle
factory. The bicycle business must
have been good to him because
when it came to building his home,
he could afford such exotic materials
as cocobolo, a tropical hardwood
used for the interior staircase.
12. Further down Division is the John
Malott House (189 Division St. S.),
built in 1887. In addition to running
the village bakery and confectionery,
Malott owned an oyster parlour, the
Victorian version of a bistro where
fish and seafood were served. Malott
sold the home to William A. Smith,
who, before becoming Reeve of
Kingsville, was for many years the
village’s only lawyer.
13. At the foot of Division Street South is
Lakeside Park. Covering 11.26
acres, it opened in 1907. The idea of
an urban park was a popular concept
at the turn of the 20th Century.
Lakeside Park was part of the same
trend that led to the creation of New
York City’s Central Park. With its view
of Lake Erie, landscape of trees,
paths, gardens and its meandering
Mill Creek, Lakeside Park has seen
many community social and cultural
events.
14. Head east on Park Street to the
Mettawas Cottage (64 Park St. ),
built in 1891 as a summer getaway for
Hiram Walker’s family. Famous for his
distillery in Windsor, Walker is one of
Kingsville’s most important historical
figures. In 1889 he built an opulent
hotel on the lake that transformed
Kingsville from a sleepy little village
into a bustling tourist destination.
15. Proceed to Lansdowne and turn north
to the Kingsville Railway Station
(169 Lansdowne Ave). Hiram Walker
hired Detroit architect George Mason
for the design of this Richardsonian
Romanesque-style building. When the
station opened in June 1889, it
became Kingsville’s stop on Walker’s
Lake Erie, Essex & Detroit River
Railway. The Kingsville Railway
Station was saved from demolition
twice, in 1989 and 1993, and was
designated in 1994.