Museums and Historical Sites

Photo by: Gordon Beck
Written by: Russ Disotell, Brockville Blog
Homewood Museum deserves a prominent spot on your summer itinerary. Located on the north side of Highway 2, east of Brockville near Maitland it is one of the oldest surviving homes in Ontario. The house was built by 1800 by a master stonemason, Louis Brière (Brilliere) of Montreal in 1800 for Dr. Solomon Jones, a prominent United Empire Loyalist. Jones was a well regarded doctor, indeed the only doctor between Cornwall and Kingston at the beginning of the 19^th century. He also served as a judge.
The two-storey field stone house built in the Georgian style served as home for six generations of the Jones family. It serves as an illustration of how a house changed architecturally to meet the changing needs of a family. Pamela Peacock, former Coordinator, Eastern Ontario Museum Sites for the Ontario Heritage Trust (owner of Fulford Place Museum and Homewood) says, “You can see the development of the family in the bones of the house. It’s very special in that way.”
The original main floor plan included Solomon’s surgery, a kitchen, parlour and bedroom, which was unusual for the time as main bedrooms weren’t usually on the ground floor. After Solomon’s death in 1822 son Dunham changed the layout of the main floor turning the surgery into a drawing room, complete with arches and decorative trim. He also added a back kitchen, turning the original into a formal dining room complete with a magnificent Rumford Fireplace, with characteristic sloping sides. Further alterations occurred in 1927 when the home was divided into a duplex and the mid 1930’s when the west wing was expanded with stones selected to match the original materials.
One fact, little known today, is that the site was a division of the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, known as the St. Lawrence Fruit Station. Solomon’s great-grandson inherited his ancestor’s zeal for agriculture and developed five new varieties of apple. The Jones Red Fameuse was probably the most famous of the varieties and was renowned for “its crispness and suitability as a premiere variety for baking and apple pies”. Many of the station’s trees still bear fruit today in the carefully restored orchards.
There are also a number of outbuildings still intact on the property, including the ice house, apple shed, log shed and barn. Archeological excavations on site have located nearly 30,000 artifacts as well as the locations of the original smokehouse, privy, ash shed, carriage house and drive shed.
One note on the clock which appears amongst the accompanying photographs, by way of illustrating the methods of transportation used for breakables. It was purchased in the United States in the 1760’s and transported in a feather bed along with the family’s china, strung between two horses. A slow and cumbersome method, to say the least.
So there you have it, something for everyone. One of the oldest houses in the province, steeped in history, the structure mimicking the changing needs of the family that owned it, lovingly restored and furnished with pieces from the original Jones estate. One thing more, did we mention the grounds?
Homewood is located on a slight rise overlooking the St. Lawrence River, with a huge, gently sloped front lawn. Pack a lunch or pick one up from a restaurant in the area as the grounds provide a perfect spot for a summer picnic, with plenty of shade trees.
Homewood Museum
1372 County Road 2, between Maitland and Prescott
Telephone: 613-348-1246 (summer), 613-498-3003 (off-season)
Email: fulford@heritagetrust.on.ca
Hours
May 19 to September 2 – Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
French tours available by appointment

Admissions

• Adults – $3
• Students (16 and under) – $1.50
• Group rate (15 or more visitors) – $2 per person
• Passport (combined admission to Fulford Place in Brockville) – $6

Written by: Russ Disotell & Gordon Beck from Leeds & Grenville Rural Landscapes
Brockville’s Court House Avenue may be the most impressive urban panoramic vista in all of Ontario. Add a splash of colour from the springtime tulip beds and the issue is settled. If you have an interest in Ontario history, architecture, or photography then this is a setting you shouldn’t miss.
It may come as a surprise to many that Brockville is the oldest incorporated city in Ontario, having been granted that status on January 28, 1832 with the passing of the Brockville Police Act by the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, 1832. Yes, before Toronto and other larger urban centers.
The spectacular neo-classical Brockville Courthouse built between 1842 and 1844 crowns the crest of Court House Avenue. The statue of Lady Justice that tops the building is locally known as Sally Grant after a remark at her 1845 installation that she bore a resemblance to the rather tall, local dignitary Major Alexander Grant. Unlike most of her kind she has no blindfold, perhaps because of the spectacular view all the way to the St. Lawrence.
The impressive Courthouse Green has its origin in the traditions of the United Empire Loyalist founders of Brockville, who came from communities with large courthouse greens capable of accommodating town meetings. Today the Green continues to serve that purpose as the site for many city celebrations.
Surrounding the Green are three spectacular churches, First Presbyterian (northwest), Wall Street United (northeast) and First Baptist (southeast). The present incarnations of all three date from expansions that began in the late 1870’s. Their steeples and others from downtown churches can be seen from the St. Lawrence River and led to one of the city’s nicknames, “City of Churches”.
A handsome bust of Sir Isaac Brock, hero of the War of 1812, for whom the city is named, sits at the south end of the Green. The General has one of the most panoramic views in the province as the wide boulevards of Courthouse Avenue gracefully descend to the St. Lawrence. Slightly to the east, still on Courthouse Green, is the site of an October 1831 riot between Reform supporters of William Lyon Mackenzie and Orangemen led by Ogle Gowan on the occasion of a Gowan-Mackenzie debate at the nearby Methodist Church. A stone’s throw further east you will find the site of the first Orange Lodge in Canada, founded by Gowan.
On the west side of Courthouse stands Brockville’s former Post Office completed in 1886 and designed by Thomas Fuller, the Chief Dominion Architect. The ornately carved pink Credit Valley sandstone structure is a testament to the skills of 19^th century stonemasons. Fuller was responsible for many prominent Canadian architectural treasures including the Parliament Buildings, Library of Parliament, Halifax Armouries, the administration buildings at the Royal Military College and St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Anglican Church in Toronto. His great grandson, Simon Fuller, purchased the property on E-Bay (!) and has lovingly restored it to its original splendor.
The gorgeous John H Fulford Memorial Fountain with its ornately sculpted fish and turtles sits amidst the flower beds of the boulevard. It was erected by an appreciative populace in memory of the one time mayor. At the foot of the boulevard is the Brockville War Memorial erected in 1924. The figure atop the Memorial is modeled after Major Thain MacDowell, one time Brockville resident, who was one of four Canadians to receive the Victoria Cross at Vimy Ridge and the only one to survive World War One.
Grab a camera, some sunscreen and enjoy the view!