Around Town is a project to document the history of every property in Brighton. Following are all the properties on Main Street, between Memorial Park and Ontario/Princess Streets. Come on a virtual walking tour and learn about Brighton history.
Here is a snip of the Belden County Atlas map of Brighton Village created in 1878 to help locate the properties on Main Street.
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48 Main Street - Memorial Park
The history of Memorial Park is divided into two parts. The eastern two-thirds of the park was owned by John Edward Proctor in the early 1880s when the movers and shakers in the town felt that they needed to build an impressive and functional town hall. Their motivations were partly to provide services to the community more efficiently by having one large facility but they also had the feeling that Brighton must have a majestic building that represented the community’s prosperity and progressiveness. Besides, they had to keep up with the other towns in the area, and might even try to outdo some of them if they could.
In the lower level of the town hall were the council chambers, the court, jail and police station. For a time, the fire station was at the north end. Upstairs was the majestic Opera House where travelling theatre groups played, then silent movies were projected. There was lots of music from orchestras to Neil Taft and Dan Thompson’s band in the 1960s. It was used for all sorts of events such as scout meetings and badminton games. As some of you here might recall, for some time, Brighton High School commencement events were held here, with everyone dressed the nines. The Town Hall was the place to go in Brighton for almost a century.
The history of Memorial Park is divided into two parts. The eastern two-thirds of the park was owned by John Edward Proctor in the early 1880s when the movers and shakers in the town felt that they needed to build an impressive and functional town hall. Their motivations were partly to provide services to the community more efficiently by having one large facility but they also had the feeling that Brighton must have a majestic building that represented the community’s prosperity and progressiveness. Besides, they had to keep up with the other towns in the area, and might even try to outdo some of them if they could.
In the lower level of the town hall were the council chambers, the court, jail and police station. For a time, the fire station was at the north end. Upstairs was the majestic Opera House where travelling theatre groups played, then silent movies were projected. There was lots of music from orchestras to Neil Taft and Dan Thompson’s band in the 1960s. It was used for all sorts of events such as scout meetings and badminton games. As some of you here might recall, for some time, Brighton High School commencement events were held here, with everyone dressed the nines. The Town Hall was the place to go in Brighton for almost a century.
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By the early 1970s the building was in bad shape and there was heated debate over whether to repair or replace it. Then, on July 13, 1973, a tornado ripped through town and the old town hall turned into a pile of rubble. The decision was made. Recently we learned a lot about this through the event provided by the Brighton Digital Archives. Be sure to check out their video which you can see on YouTube. It includes lots of people giving their own experiences on that day.
Then the space was cleaned up and a band shell was built. Only recently a much more modern and substantial band shell was built which we are using today. The space where the Town Hall was located has become the primary sitting space in Memorial Park.
On the west side of the park, the land was owned by Ida Lockwood during World War I when members of the community took stones from their fields and placed them on the ground west of the town hall in memory of loved ones lost in the war. By the end of the war there was a substantial pile of stones and the community considered it a sacred place.
The town purchased the land and the Legion, which was getting started in the early 1920s, raised money to build a proper memorial which was completed in 1923. Four years later the cenotaph was formally dedicated by Sir Arthur Currie as a large crowd looked on.
In 2012, a brand new cenotaph was dedicated to refresh Memorial Park and add Memorial Walk which allows more families and individuals to commemorate those who have served and made sacrifices in the conflicts up to the modern day.
On August 30, 2023, Music in the Park hosted the All Star Band and, before the music began, a ceremony celebrated the 100th Birthday of Memorial Park.
Then the space was cleaned up and a band shell was built. Only recently a much more modern and substantial band shell was built which we are using today. The space where the Town Hall was located has become the primary sitting space in Memorial Park.
On the west side of the park, the land was owned by Ida Lockwood during World War I when members of the community took stones from their fields and placed them on the ground west of the town hall in memory of loved ones lost in the war. By the end of the war there was a substantial pile of stones and the community considered it a sacred place.
The town purchased the land and the Legion, which was getting started in the early 1920s, raised money to build a proper memorial which was completed in 1923. Four years later the cenotaph was formally dedicated by Sir Arthur Currie as a large crowd looked on.
In 2012, a brand new cenotaph was dedicated to refresh Memorial Park and add Memorial Walk which allows more families and individuals to commemorate those who have served and made sacrifices in the conflicts up to the modern day.
On August 30, 2023, Music in the Park hosted the All Star Band and, before the music began, a ceremony celebrated the 100th Birthday of Memorial Park.
75 and 77 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 36
A walk on Main Street in downtown Brighton will highlight Memorial Park, on the north side of the street. Across the street from Memorial Park is a small plaza that contains RBC Financial Group on the south-west corner of Main and Division Streets. The western part of the plaza contains Main St. Variety. This property is the north part of Village Lot 36, which stretched down Division Street past The Gables. For the most part, our interest is in the northern part of this lot and we will deal with Division Street properties in the future.
The original Patent from the Crown for all 200 acres of lot 1, concession 1, Cramahe Twp. was acquired by James Richardson in 1809. He was a very active trader and commercial ship captain who had operated businesses out of Kingston, trading across Lake Ontario during the formative years of Upper Canada in the 1790s. He believed that Presqu’ile Bay was the best harbour on the north shore of Lake Ontario between Kingston and York, the new capital of Upper Canada.
His property bordered the Danforth Road on the north, the road to Presqu’ile Bay on the east, which would become Prince Edward Street, and extended south to the north shore of the bay. The western border was what would later become Centre Street. Over the next few decades, parts of the land would be sold to other speculators, divided into smaller bits and sold and resold as those with money tried to make money from land. In the meantime, people settled, began to farm and started businesses in the area.
In 1838, Josiah Dix Wellington acquired 35 acres on the north-west part of lot 1. Soon after, in 1846 and 1849, his son, Isaac Maitland Wellington, purchased very small pieces of land on or near Main Street in the area of what became Division Street. Isaac Wellington proceeded to set up a bakery business at the corner of Main and Division Streets. At the same time, he built a large brick house for his family a bit south from his business. The area around the house, which was in the south part of village lot 36, was a small farm and not considered to be in town, as we see it today.
The bakery would operate for several decades, although Mr. Wellington leased or rented the space to other bakers at different times. His interests evolved to include writing history about the area and even publishing in the Ontario Historical Society Papers. As time went by, he became an insurance agent and filled service roles in the community such as Clerk of the Church Treasury. He was a respected and trusted member of the community.
Isaac M. Wellington passed away in June 1897, and, just before, sold the property in village lot 36 to his daughter, Addie Wellington. This lady was a popular presence in town, engaged in church and social activities while renting space on Main Street for a succession of small businesses. It was not until 1939 that Addie Wellington’s estate sold the north-east part of village lot 36 to the Canadian Oil Companies Ltd.
A walk on Main Street in downtown Brighton will highlight Memorial Park, on the north side of the street. Across the street from Memorial Park is a small plaza that contains RBC Financial Group on the south-west corner of Main and Division Streets. The western part of the plaza contains Main St. Variety. This property is the north part of Village Lot 36, which stretched down Division Street past The Gables. For the most part, our interest is in the northern part of this lot and we will deal with Division Street properties in the future.
The original Patent from the Crown for all 200 acres of lot 1, concession 1, Cramahe Twp. was acquired by James Richardson in 1809. He was a very active trader and commercial ship captain who had operated businesses out of Kingston, trading across Lake Ontario during the formative years of Upper Canada in the 1790s. He believed that Presqu’ile Bay was the best harbour on the north shore of Lake Ontario between Kingston and York, the new capital of Upper Canada.
His property bordered the Danforth Road on the north, the road to Presqu’ile Bay on the east, which would become Prince Edward Street, and extended south to the north shore of the bay. The western border was what would later become Centre Street. Over the next few decades, parts of the land would be sold to other speculators, divided into smaller bits and sold and resold as those with money tried to make money from land. In the meantime, people settled, began to farm and started businesses in the area.
In 1838, Josiah Dix Wellington acquired 35 acres on the north-west part of lot 1. Soon after, in 1846 and 1849, his son, Isaac Maitland Wellington, purchased very small pieces of land on or near Main Street in the area of what became Division Street. Isaac Wellington proceeded to set up a bakery business at the corner of Main and Division Streets. At the same time, he built a large brick house for his family a bit south from his business. The area around the house, which was in the south part of village lot 36, was a small farm and not considered to be in town, as we see it today.
The bakery would operate for several decades, although Mr. Wellington leased or rented the space to other bakers at different times. His interests evolved to include writing history about the area and even publishing in the Ontario Historical Society Papers. As time went by, he became an insurance agent and filled service roles in the community such as Clerk of the Church Treasury. He was a respected and trusted member of the community.
Isaac M. Wellington passed away in June 1897, and, just before, sold the property in village lot 36 to his daughter, Addie Wellington. This lady was a popular presence in town, engaged in church and social activities while renting space on Main Street for a succession of small businesses. It was not until 1939 that Addie Wellington’s estate sold the north-east part of village lot 36 to the Canadian Oil Companies Ltd.
This corner was the perfect location for a gas station to support the exploding demand for fuel for all those new automobiles. Through the 1940s, there was a succession of White Rose gas stations on the east corner as well as different businesses in a larger building on the west side. Josephine Atkinson had her hairdressing salon here for several years.
Then, in 1956, Max Young acquired the rights for a gas station and garage on the corner and his business would expand to take up the western part as well. Young’s garage was also an American Motors dealership where the History Guy’s family acquire two Rambler cars in the early 1960s. Max would operate here until 1973 and soon afterward this corner lot was redeveloped into the plaza we see today, containing the RBC bank and the variety store.
The Wellington home would become the restaurant on Division Street called The Gables.
Then, in 1956, Max Young acquired the rights for a gas station and garage on the corner and his business would expand to take up the western part as well. Young’s garage was also an American Motors dealership where the History Guy’s family acquire two Rambler cars in the early 1960s. Max would operate here until 1973 and soon afterward this corner lot was redeveloped into the plaza we see today, containing the RBC bank and the variety store.
The Wellington home would become the restaurant on Division Street called The Gables.
72, 74 and 78 Main Street - Village Lot 54
The building at the north west corner of Main and Kingsley Street contains two popular establishments as of this writing in 2023. The largest part of the building, to the north end, hosts the Beer Store and the smaller part to the south end hosts Lola’s Café, where wide glass windows allow patrons a clear view of the street. Into the mix is the small cottage that stands back from the street on the west side of the main building.
The land north of Main Street and between Young Street and Platt Street was originally part of lot, 1, concession 2, Cramahe Township. Land records show that the Patent for all 200 acres of lot 1 went to Edward Goodyear in 1803. He was a middle-aged fellow from Connecticut who had left his first family in his original home and took work as a bateau-man on the St. Lawrence River in the 1790s. For his service, the British provided him with land in Upper Canada, right here where the town of Brighton later formed.
The west side of that lot, from Kingsley to Platt was acquired by Thomas D. Sanford in 1817 and was sold to Hiram Bulkley in 1850 who turned it over quickly to William Brown. A more permanent owner, John B. Young, acquired Village Lot 54 in 1852 and built a significant wooden structure on the corner of Main and Kingsley. It acted as his home, but also was host for his shoe making business.
Mr. Young’s building also contained a second floor where there was a large meeting room. From the middle of the 1850s, this room hosted the Mason Lodge which had established itself in Brighton after moving up from the Carrying Place. United Lodge No. 29 would meet here for about a decade.
Village Lot 54 was sold to Isaac B. DeMille in 1867 and he ran a successful hardware business from the building. We might expect that Mr. DeMille built the small cottage around on the west side of the larger building.
The property was in the hands of the DeMille family until 1926 when it was sold to Anna Blakely who held it until 1947, selling to Joseph W. Dixon. At this time, the property was divided and the larger, east part, at the corner of Kingsley, was sold to Clayton Smith. Mr. Smith had grown up in the Belleville area and had been a garage mechanic in Toronto before taking the leap to start his own garage in Brighton. He also had a GM Dealership which explains the shape and design of the building.
However, Clayton Smith turned the business over very quickly, selling in 1950 to Rupert J. Forrester of Toronto. The garage and GM Dealership would operate here from 1950 until 1959 when Mr. Forrester began to lease the north end of the building to Brewers Retail. Over the years there have been several occupants of the front (south) part of the building, but Lola’s Café has become a popular addition to Main Street, providing a pleasant place to sit and watch the world go by.
The cottage around to the west side was sold by the Dixon family in 1947 and there have been many owners, including a wine shop, and a law firm.
The building at the north west corner of Main and Kingsley Street contains two popular establishments as of this writing in 2023. The largest part of the building, to the north end, hosts the Beer Store and the smaller part to the south end hosts Lola’s Café, where wide glass windows allow patrons a clear view of the street. Into the mix is the small cottage that stands back from the street on the west side of the main building.
The land north of Main Street and between Young Street and Platt Street was originally part of lot, 1, concession 2, Cramahe Township. Land records show that the Patent for all 200 acres of lot 1 went to Edward Goodyear in 1803. He was a middle-aged fellow from Connecticut who had left his first family in his original home and took work as a bateau-man on the St. Lawrence River in the 1790s. For his service, the British provided him with land in Upper Canada, right here where the town of Brighton later formed.
The west side of that lot, from Kingsley to Platt was acquired by Thomas D. Sanford in 1817 and was sold to Hiram Bulkley in 1850 who turned it over quickly to William Brown. A more permanent owner, John B. Young, acquired Village Lot 54 in 1852 and built a significant wooden structure on the corner of Main and Kingsley. It acted as his home, but also was host for his shoe making business.
Mr. Young’s building also contained a second floor where there was a large meeting room. From the middle of the 1850s, this room hosted the Mason Lodge which had established itself in Brighton after moving up from the Carrying Place. United Lodge No. 29 would meet here for about a decade.
Village Lot 54 was sold to Isaac B. DeMille in 1867 and he ran a successful hardware business from the building. We might expect that Mr. DeMille built the small cottage around on the west side of the larger building.
The property was in the hands of the DeMille family until 1926 when it was sold to Anna Blakely who held it until 1947, selling to Joseph W. Dixon. At this time, the property was divided and the larger, east part, at the corner of Kingsley, was sold to Clayton Smith. Mr. Smith had grown up in the Belleville area and had been a garage mechanic in Toronto before taking the leap to start his own garage in Brighton. He also had a GM Dealership which explains the shape and design of the building.
However, Clayton Smith turned the business over very quickly, selling in 1950 to Rupert J. Forrester of Toronto. The garage and GM Dealership would operate here from 1950 until 1959 when Mr. Forrester began to lease the north end of the building to Brewers Retail. Over the years there have been several occupants of the front (south) part of the building, but Lola’s Café has become a popular addition to Main Street, providing a pleasant place to sit and watch the world go by.
The cottage around to the west side was sold by the Dixon family in 1947 and there have been many owners, including a wine shop, and a law firm.
79 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 35
The next property to the west on the south side of Main Street is number 79, currently hosting “Willow Lifestyle Boutique” and often called the blue house because of the attractive blue paint and classic design. The property was originally part of village lot 35, but represents only a small part of the north-east corner of the lot. In fact, this area of village lot 35 over to Meade Street is very confusing.
For example, if we look at the Brighton Plan of 1866, we see no Meade Street in existence, although there is a narrow strip of land in between lots 34 and 35. Then, in the 1878 Belden Atlas map of Brighton Village, we see that Meade Avenue is now present, but it jogs dramatically before reaching Main Street. In effect, village lot 35 has been replaced by the north end of the street as well as four smaller lots along the new street. This looks very strange to the modern eye.
The explanation for this odd situation goes back to the early days in Brighton. In 1837, James Richardson sold part of lot 1, concession 1 to Dr. Henry Meade, who had recently come to town to practice medicine. He was already in his 30s when he came to Brighton and was a bachelor until 1840 when he married Eiza Ann Singleton, a daughter of John Singleton and Margaret Canniff. It is fairly obvious that Dr. Meade had plans in mind when he acquired this and many other pieces of land around Brighton.
Unfortunately, Dr. Meade died in 1858, leaving his wife to manage his investments. It would take a few years, but Dr. Henry Meade’s legacy would be realized in a new sub-division on the immediate west side of the growing town, south of Main Street. The new sub-division of properties would be focused around Meade Street. A Plan was created by the town in 1875 to establish this new street and housing opportunity. Henry Meade, Jr. was involved in many transactions related to “The Meade Estate” in the 1880s, as the land situation sorted itself out.
The pertinent event related 79 Main Street occurred in 1902 when parts of lot 35 were sold to Mary E. Ainsworth. Mary’s husband was Edgar P. Ainsworth, a member of a prosperous farming family west of Brighton. The records are interesting in that they show the purchase of the property at a price of $400 and then a mortgage taken out for $1,200. This indicates that the couple purchased the property as an investment and planned to build a house, then sell with the hope of making a profit on the project.
Common parlance in Brighton mentions that the lovely frame house built there after 1902 was “The Ainsworth Place” although there is no evidence that they actually lived there. In 1911, the Ainsworth couple sold the improved property to George Drewry, a lawyer who was establishing himself in Brighton. The project was apparently successful because the purchase price was $4,200.
Two years later, George Drewry married Carrie Morrow, a daughter of James Harcla Morrow and Irene Alzina Wade, cementing his position in the community. It appears as if George Drewry and his wife enjoyed living at 79 Main Street. The couple did not have any children, but were active members of the community. George died in 1930 and it would be 1970 before the estate of Carrie Drewry finally sold the property out of the family.
In more recent years, 79 Main Street has become a store which helps to extend the commercial area along Main Street out of downtown. That trend continues.
The next property to the west on the south side of Main Street is number 79, currently hosting “Willow Lifestyle Boutique” and often called the blue house because of the attractive blue paint and classic design. The property was originally part of village lot 35, but represents only a small part of the north-east corner of the lot. In fact, this area of village lot 35 over to Meade Street is very confusing.
For example, if we look at the Brighton Plan of 1866, we see no Meade Street in existence, although there is a narrow strip of land in between lots 34 and 35. Then, in the 1878 Belden Atlas map of Brighton Village, we see that Meade Avenue is now present, but it jogs dramatically before reaching Main Street. In effect, village lot 35 has been replaced by the north end of the street as well as four smaller lots along the new street. This looks very strange to the modern eye.
The explanation for this odd situation goes back to the early days in Brighton. In 1837, James Richardson sold part of lot 1, concession 1 to Dr. Henry Meade, who had recently come to town to practice medicine. He was already in his 30s when he came to Brighton and was a bachelor until 1840 when he married Eiza Ann Singleton, a daughter of John Singleton and Margaret Canniff. It is fairly obvious that Dr. Meade had plans in mind when he acquired this and many other pieces of land around Brighton.
Unfortunately, Dr. Meade died in 1858, leaving his wife to manage his investments. It would take a few years, but Dr. Henry Meade’s legacy would be realized in a new sub-division on the immediate west side of the growing town, south of Main Street. The new sub-division of properties would be focused around Meade Street. A Plan was created by the town in 1875 to establish this new street and housing opportunity. Henry Meade, Jr. was involved in many transactions related to “The Meade Estate” in the 1880s, as the land situation sorted itself out.
The pertinent event related 79 Main Street occurred in 1902 when parts of lot 35 were sold to Mary E. Ainsworth. Mary’s husband was Edgar P. Ainsworth, a member of a prosperous farming family west of Brighton. The records are interesting in that they show the purchase of the property at a price of $400 and then a mortgage taken out for $1,200. This indicates that the couple purchased the property as an investment and planned to build a house, then sell with the hope of making a profit on the project.
Common parlance in Brighton mentions that the lovely frame house built there after 1902 was “The Ainsworth Place” although there is no evidence that they actually lived there. In 1911, the Ainsworth couple sold the improved property to George Drewry, a lawyer who was establishing himself in Brighton. The project was apparently successful because the purchase price was $4,200.
Two years later, George Drewry married Carrie Morrow, a daughter of James Harcla Morrow and Irene Alzina Wade, cementing his position in the community. It appears as if George Drewry and his wife enjoyed living at 79 Main Street. The couple did not have any children, but were active members of the community. George died in 1930 and it would be 1970 before the estate of Carrie Drewry finally sold the property out of the family.
In more recent years, 79 Main Street has become a store which helps to extend the commercial area along Main Street out of downtown. That trend continues.
82 Main Street – Village Lot 21
Village Lot 21 was part of the original lot 1, concession 2, Cramahe Township and would be in the hands of Thomas D. Sanford from 1817 until 1845 when it was sold to Dr. Pitkin Gross. Dr. Gross had been born in Vermont in 1792 and was engaged on the US side, as a regimental surgeon during the War of 1812. He brought his wife and baby to Canada in 1817, settling in the south end of Murray Township, near the Carrying Place.
In 1845, Dr. Gross purchased Village Lot 21 and built a substantial house for his larger family. Doctors practiced out of a room in their house in those days, and Dr. Gross would be known as a respected part of the Brighton town until his death in 1874.
In 1858, Dr. Gross played a prominent role in the events around tragic death of Sarah Ann King who was poisoned by her husband, Dr. William Henry King. The King family had moved into the larger new frame house on the west side of Kingsley, just north of Sanford Street, in the spring of 1858, where Dr. King began to practice his own style of medicine. He was in his early 20s, and his training was recent, at the Homeopathic Medical College in Philadelphia. This new-fangled method of practicing medicine was nonsense to an old hand like Dr. Gross and these two professionals were soon in verbal conflict.
When Sarah’s family wanted to get a second opinion about her condition, Dr. Gross was the obvious choice, but Dr. King raged that Dr. Gross was his worst enemy and he would never let him into his house. In fact, Dr. King feared another doctor might uncover his scheme to poison his wife with arsenic, telling everyone the white powder was the best medicine for her terrible disease. It was all a hoax! Sarah died and Dr. King was hanged for his crime.
After the Gross family sold Village Lot 21, it came into the hands of Thomas Huyck in 1876 and his estate would sell it to Edward and Lillie Cochrane in 1904. Edward Cochrane was from a farm family in Cramahe Township and had been member of parliament for the riding of Northumberland East in Ottawa for several years. He was forced to retired due to ill health and the house at 82 Main Street was meant as a retirement residence. Unfortunately, Mr. Cochrane’s health declined and he died in 1907. His wife, Lillie, sold the property in 1909 to Florence H. Thorne, wife of Stephen Richard Thorne.
The Thorne’s held the property for a decade, but, by 1919, they had moved to California, so it was sold to Morley Simpson, who sold it in 1922 to Dr. Harold Clarke. When Dr. Clarke retired in 1848, the property went to another doctor, Arnold Andrews who was there until 1961 when lot 21 was sold to Dr. Henry Persutti. These doctors practiced at the clinic that had been set up at the south-west corner of Center and Main Street. The History Guy recalls being taken to doctor appointments in that building which is now Allen Insurance.
The house at 82 Main Street has changed hands several times in recent years, but, in 2019, it had new owners who moved their business into the house. The sign out front is for “The Birdhouse”, selling items in support of birds around your home.
Village Lot 21 was part of the original lot 1, concession 2, Cramahe Township and would be in the hands of Thomas D. Sanford from 1817 until 1845 when it was sold to Dr. Pitkin Gross. Dr. Gross had been born in Vermont in 1792 and was engaged on the US side, as a regimental surgeon during the War of 1812. He brought his wife and baby to Canada in 1817, settling in the south end of Murray Township, near the Carrying Place.
In 1845, Dr. Gross purchased Village Lot 21 and built a substantial house for his larger family. Doctors practiced out of a room in their house in those days, and Dr. Gross would be known as a respected part of the Brighton town until his death in 1874.
In 1858, Dr. Gross played a prominent role in the events around tragic death of Sarah Ann King who was poisoned by her husband, Dr. William Henry King. The King family had moved into the larger new frame house on the west side of Kingsley, just north of Sanford Street, in the spring of 1858, where Dr. King began to practice his own style of medicine. He was in his early 20s, and his training was recent, at the Homeopathic Medical College in Philadelphia. This new-fangled method of practicing medicine was nonsense to an old hand like Dr. Gross and these two professionals were soon in verbal conflict.
When Sarah’s family wanted to get a second opinion about her condition, Dr. Gross was the obvious choice, but Dr. King raged that Dr. Gross was his worst enemy and he would never let him into his house. In fact, Dr. King feared another doctor might uncover his scheme to poison his wife with arsenic, telling everyone the white powder was the best medicine for her terrible disease. It was all a hoax! Sarah died and Dr. King was hanged for his crime.
After the Gross family sold Village Lot 21, it came into the hands of Thomas Huyck in 1876 and his estate would sell it to Edward and Lillie Cochrane in 1904. Edward Cochrane was from a farm family in Cramahe Township and had been member of parliament for the riding of Northumberland East in Ottawa for several years. He was forced to retired due to ill health and the house at 82 Main Street was meant as a retirement residence. Unfortunately, Mr. Cochrane’s health declined and he died in 1907. His wife, Lillie, sold the property in 1909 to Florence H. Thorne, wife of Stephen Richard Thorne.
The Thorne’s held the property for a decade, but, by 1919, they had moved to California, so it was sold to Morley Simpson, who sold it in 1922 to Dr. Harold Clarke. When Dr. Clarke retired in 1848, the property went to another doctor, Arnold Andrews who was there until 1961 when lot 21 was sold to Dr. Henry Persutti. These doctors practiced at the clinic that had been set up at the south-west corner of Center and Main Street. The History Guy recalls being taken to doctor appointments in that building which is now Allen Insurance.
The house at 82 Main Street has changed hands several times in recent years, but, in 2019, it had new owners who moved their business into the house. The sign out front is for “The Birdhouse”, selling items in support of birds around your home.
81 Main Street South Side – Village Lots 34 & 35
The property at 81 Main Street is on the east side of the modern Meade Street, but it is also located where the old jog in the first Meade Avenue was located. The land it occupies makes up parts of both lots 34 and 35, as well as part of the old street. Sorting out the land records in this area is very challenging, to say the least!
This property was part of the Meade Estate which was wound down in the 1880s, and this particular property came into the possession of Thomas C. Lockwood, who was very active in real estate around Brighton. He acquired the property in 1888 and would own it for two decades, so it may have been the Lockwood family who built the significant brick house which has a charming and unusual appearance today. See below for an architectural description of the building.
In 1918, Ida Lockwood, the unmarried daughter of Thomas Lockwood and Elizabeth Haight, sold the property to Fred Jaques who would live on Main Street in Brighton for 77 years, according to his obituary in 1984. Fred married Ada Shewman in 1911 and, while they would not have any children, they would be active members of the community.
Fred Jaques operated a harness-making business at 1 Young Street for a time, and was also known as a skilled cooper for many years. In 1965, when he was 78, he was working as a clerk in Phil Graham’s hardware store. Fred died in 1984 and the property was passed to his adopted daughter, Mary Hulin, who had married James Hulin. The Hulin family was involved with the place until 2006.
Here is a more specific description of the architecture of 81 Main Street. (Pictorial Brighton, page 32, 1984)
The property at 81 Main Street is on the east side of the modern Meade Street, but it is also located where the old jog in the first Meade Avenue was located. The land it occupies makes up parts of both lots 34 and 35, as well as part of the old street. Sorting out the land records in this area is very challenging, to say the least!
This property was part of the Meade Estate which was wound down in the 1880s, and this particular property came into the possession of Thomas C. Lockwood, who was very active in real estate around Brighton. He acquired the property in 1888 and would own it for two decades, so it may have been the Lockwood family who built the significant brick house which has a charming and unusual appearance today. See below for an architectural description of the building.
In 1918, Ida Lockwood, the unmarried daughter of Thomas Lockwood and Elizabeth Haight, sold the property to Fred Jaques who would live on Main Street in Brighton for 77 years, according to his obituary in 1984. Fred married Ada Shewman in 1911 and, while they would not have any children, they would be active members of the community.
Fred Jaques operated a harness-making business at 1 Young Street for a time, and was also known as a skilled cooper for many years. In 1965, when he was 78, he was working as a clerk in Phil Graham’s hardware store. Fred died in 1984 and the property was passed to his adopted daughter, Mary Hulin, who had married James Hulin. The Hulin family was involved with the place until 2006.
Here is a more specific description of the architecture of 81 Main Street. (Pictorial Brighton, page 32, 1984)
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85 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 34
Crossing Meade Street, the next property is 85 Main Street, which is in village lot 34 and hosts the Special Effects store today. The history of this property does not include the Meade estate, but comes through James Richardson, Josiah Proctor, and his son Isaac C. Proctor. In 1845, lot 34 was acquired by Christopher E. Bullock, a very active merchant in Brighton. He would own this property until 1879 which suggests that it was the Bullock family that built the handsome brick house we see today at 85 Main Street.
In 1881 the property came to Daniel W. Dulmage, a dentist who had moved to Brighton from Ameliasburgh Township in 1870 and would provide Brighton with an important service well into the 1920s. Mr. Dulmage took the step of transferring the property to his first wife, Catherine Beech in 1884 and, when she died in 1900, he did the same with this second wife, Sarah Jane Rogers, in 1906.
Sarah had been married to James Wallace Freeman who died in 1899 and, after she died in 1945, her son, Wallace Ray Freeman would own the property and live in the house. He was a music teacher who taught music lessons out of the house for many years. It was not until 1969 that the property was sold and there are many transactions in the decades since, with few long tenures.
Recently, the place has been refreshed and energized with a commercial role, once again extending the business area a little farther west on Main Street.
Crossing Meade Street, the next property is 85 Main Street, which is in village lot 34 and hosts the Special Effects store today. The history of this property does not include the Meade estate, but comes through James Richardson, Josiah Proctor, and his son Isaac C. Proctor. In 1845, lot 34 was acquired by Christopher E. Bullock, a very active merchant in Brighton. He would own this property until 1879 which suggests that it was the Bullock family that built the handsome brick house we see today at 85 Main Street.
In 1881 the property came to Daniel W. Dulmage, a dentist who had moved to Brighton from Ameliasburgh Township in 1870 and would provide Brighton with an important service well into the 1920s. Mr. Dulmage took the step of transferring the property to his first wife, Catherine Beech in 1884 and, when she died in 1900, he did the same with this second wife, Sarah Jane Rogers, in 1906.
Sarah had been married to James Wallace Freeman who died in 1899 and, after she died in 1945, her son, Wallace Ray Freeman would own the property and live in the house. He was a music teacher who taught music lessons out of the house for many years. It was not until 1969 that the property was sold and there are many transactions in the decades since, with few long tenures.
Recently, the place has been refreshed and energized with a commercial role, once again extending the business area a little farther west on Main Street.
86 Main Street – Village Lot 21 & 55
Just across the fence from The Birdhouse is 86 Main Street, a new two-storied grey brick building that has the sign “Whole Health” above the front doors. The building was built in 2016 and provides offices for several medical practitioners. In early 2023, space was re-purposed to support even more offices, this is a very busy place.
In the spring of 2017, the History Guy of Brighton became a tenant in a small apartment at the back of the second floor. It is a very convenient and efficient home for a busy historian, and, hopefully, will continue to be for some time.
This new building replaces an old white frame house which had been there for some time. Like the current building, it was a long and narrow structure, going even farther back into the current parking lot. Both buildings on this piece of land had to be narrow in order fit between the house at 82 Main Street and the driveway of the Presbyterian Church which was on the west side.
In fact, the house at 86 Main Street was built straddling the border between Village Lot 21 to the east and Village Lot 55 to the west. The effect was another house along the street, but the impact of the land registry records was profound. In order to document on of the buildings on these two lots, it is necessary to find an early record certain to be about that building and follow the stream of transactions back in time. Many of the same records will exist in transactions for both lots, and it is a difficult task records them accurately, and not get confused.
There had been various owners of 86 Main Street from 1961 to 2006, as indicated in the land records. However, it is odd that there are no records at all from 1892 to 1961. Starting in 1877, when the church was being built on village lot 55, we see transactions that have the land description “strip 12 feet wide on the east side”. This represents part of lot 55, on the east side, acquired to support the house at 86 Main Street.
Just across the fence from The Birdhouse is 86 Main Street, a new two-storied grey brick building that has the sign “Whole Health” above the front doors. The building was built in 2016 and provides offices for several medical practitioners. In early 2023, space was re-purposed to support even more offices, this is a very busy place.
In the spring of 2017, the History Guy of Brighton became a tenant in a small apartment at the back of the second floor. It is a very convenient and efficient home for a busy historian, and, hopefully, will continue to be for some time.
This new building replaces an old white frame house which had been there for some time. Like the current building, it was a long and narrow structure, going even farther back into the current parking lot. Both buildings on this piece of land had to be narrow in order fit between the house at 82 Main Street and the driveway of the Presbyterian Church which was on the west side.
In fact, the house at 86 Main Street was built straddling the border between Village Lot 21 to the east and Village Lot 55 to the west. The effect was another house along the street, but the impact of the land registry records was profound. In order to document on of the buildings on these two lots, it is necessary to find an early record certain to be about that building and follow the stream of transactions back in time. Many of the same records will exist in transactions for both lots, and it is a difficult task records them accurately, and not get confused.
There had been various owners of 86 Main Street from 1961 to 2006, as indicated in the land records. However, it is odd that there are no records at all from 1892 to 1961. Starting in 1877, when the church was being built on village lot 55, we see transactions that have the land description “strip 12 feet wide on the east side”. This represents part of lot 55, on the east side, acquired to support the house at 86 Main Street.
88 & 90 Main Street – Village Lot 55
Village Lot 55 had an interesting early life. It was part of lot 1, concession 2 of Cramahe Township, which was sold by Edward Goodyear to Thomas D. Sanford in 1817. However, a record in 1849 shows that Thomas D. Sanford obtained eighteen different village lots in a Sherriff’s sale, the sheriff being Henry Ruttan of Cobourg. The list of lots includes 55 and 56, among others, and there is a separate transaction in the Brighton Village records that mention only lot 55.
We might speculate that all of these lots had been sold or allocated in some way to various different people who, through whatever circumstances, were unable to fulfill their responsibilities of paying a mortgage or doing improvements, so the property is forfeit. In some case, people simple left the area and never appeared again. Maybe some of them died and no records could be found. Whatever, it was, the delay in having occupants in these valuable village lots, right on Main Street, was impeding the development of the town.
Thomas D. Sanford was a wealthy land owner in his own right and would have to resources to win the bidding for the properties through a sheriff’s sale, or maybe to lobby the right folks to move the process in his direction. His job in this case was to try to sell these properties to serious owners who would stick around and make the town more prosperous. In the meantime, if he found buyers, he would benefit to some degree in the transaction. Everybody wins.
In the case of village lot 55, Mr. Sanford sold to Robert Biggar who lived near the Carrying Place. He only held the property for two years before it was passed along in his will and a few years later, it was sold to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
A very impressive church was built on the village lot 55, using a very popular design of the times that would also appear in the Brighton town hall, built down the street in 1885. We should also picture the church building accompanied by a larger barn to the north where horses and buggies were parked during church services. A U-shaped driveway went around either side of the church and around behind it, to access the buggy barn.
Within about a decade of the church being built, several denominations merged, leaving this building redundant. In 1885, the local Presbyterians stepped up and purchased the church. As a result, this building would be known as the Presbyterian Church and was a significant part of the Main Street community.
The tornado that roared down Main Street on July 13, 1973 broke several of the large stained-glass windows of the church, resulting in significant rain and wind damage inside the church. The congregation set about repairing the damage, but a larger problem loomed. Serious structural weaknesses were evident in the foundation and walls of the building, simple due to its age. There was a rancorous debate in the community about whether to save the heritage building or make way for development. In the end, the cost of renewing the structure was deemed too high and it was sold for development. Two town houses were built on the property, which are 88 and 90 Main Street.
Village Lot 55 had an interesting early life. It was part of lot 1, concession 2 of Cramahe Township, which was sold by Edward Goodyear to Thomas D. Sanford in 1817. However, a record in 1849 shows that Thomas D. Sanford obtained eighteen different village lots in a Sherriff’s sale, the sheriff being Henry Ruttan of Cobourg. The list of lots includes 55 and 56, among others, and there is a separate transaction in the Brighton Village records that mention only lot 55.
We might speculate that all of these lots had been sold or allocated in some way to various different people who, through whatever circumstances, were unable to fulfill their responsibilities of paying a mortgage or doing improvements, so the property is forfeit. In some case, people simple left the area and never appeared again. Maybe some of them died and no records could be found. Whatever, it was, the delay in having occupants in these valuable village lots, right on Main Street, was impeding the development of the town.
Thomas D. Sanford was a wealthy land owner in his own right and would have to resources to win the bidding for the properties through a sheriff’s sale, or maybe to lobby the right folks to move the process in his direction. His job in this case was to try to sell these properties to serious owners who would stick around and make the town more prosperous. In the meantime, if he found buyers, he would benefit to some degree in the transaction. Everybody wins.
In the case of village lot 55, Mr. Sanford sold to Robert Biggar who lived near the Carrying Place. He only held the property for two years before it was passed along in his will and a few years later, it was sold to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
A very impressive church was built on the village lot 55, using a very popular design of the times that would also appear in the Brighton town hall, built down the street in 1885. We should also picture the church building accompanied by a larger barn to the north where horses and buggies were parked during church services. A U-shaped driveway went around either side of the church and around behind it, to access the buggy barn.
Within about a decade of the church being built, several denominations merged, leaving this building redundant. In 1885, the local Presbyterians stepped up and purchased the church. As a result, this building would be known as the Presbyterian Church and was a significant part of the Main Street community.
The tornado that roared down Main Street on July 13, 1973 broke several of the large stained-glass windows of the church, resulting in significant rain and wind damage inside the church. The congregation set about repairing the damage, but a larger problem loomed. Serious structural weaknesses were evident in the foundation and walls of the building, simple due to its age. There was a rancorous debate in the community about whether to save the heritage building or make way for development. In the end, the cost of renewing the structure was deemed too high and it was sold for development. Two town houses were built on the property, which are 88 and 90 Main Street.
91 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 33
The next property is 91 Main Street, which is contained in village lot 33, a very small and narrow lot, seemingly cut out of the north-west corner of lot 34. One might ask how this arrangement came about, but that would be a waste of time. We can only guess.
Like lot 34, this was part of lands acquired by Christopher Bullock in 1845. He sold lot 33 in 1850 to Fanning Marsh and it went to Samuel P. Gross in 1852. He was a son of Pitkin Gross, the doctor who built the house across the street at 84 Main Street. The son may have lived on the south side for a time, but lot 33 was sold in 1870 to Beekman Phillips, a prosperous farmer west of Brighton, who passed it along to his children.
In 1880, James Nesbitt acquired the property for $400 and sold it in 1884 for $2,000, suggesting that the brick house was built in this period. Burton E. Brintnell owned lot 33 from 1925 to 1934, when it was acquired by Eva P. Bullock, wife of businessman Arthur David Bullock.
Then, in 1941, lot 33 was purchased by Edith Spencer, wife of Harold George Spencer, the fellow who started Spencer’s Dairy in Brighton. Harold Spencer died in 1948 and the business was carried on by his sons Roy and Gordon Spencer. It was not until 1982 that the property at 91 Main Street was sold by Edith Spencer’s estate to Lawrence and Barbara Pitcher. They sold it to Christopher Pitcher in 2005.
The next property is 91 Main Street, which is contained in village lot 33, a very small and narrow lot, seemingly cut out of the north-west corner of lot 34. One might ask how this arrangement came about, but that would be a waste of time. We can only guess.
Like lot 34, this was part of lands acquired by Christopher Bullock in 1845. He sold lot 33 in 1850 to Fanning Marsh and it went to Samuel P. Gross in 1852. He was a son of Pitkin Gross, the doctor who built the house across the street at 84 Main Street. The son may have lived on the south side for a time, but lot 33 was sold in 1870 to Beekman Phillips, a prosperous farmer west of Brighton, who passed it along to his children.
In 1880, James Nesbitt acquired the property for $400 and sold it in 1884 for $2,000, suggesting that the brick house was built in this period. Burton E. Brintnell owned lot 33 from 1925 to 1934, when it was acquired by Eva P. Bullock, wife of businessman Arthur David Bullock.
Then, in 1941, lot 33 was purchased by Edith Spencer, wife of Harold George Spencer, the fellow who started Spencer’s Dairy in Brighton. Harold Spencer died in 1948 and the business was carried on by his sons Roy and Gordon Spencer. It was not until 1982 that the property at 91 Main Street was sold by Edith Spencer’s estate to Lawrence and Barbara Pitcher. They sold it to Christopher Pitcher in 2005.
93 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 32
A very long, narrow duplex has recently been built in the narrow village lot 32, maintaining a red brick style to blend in with the streetscape. There may have been more than one house on the lot over time, but there certainly have been some interesting occupants.
In 1865, lot 32 was sold by Ira R. Proctor to Robert Barker who operated a drug store on Main Street and would have been known as a druggist. He had been the druggist involved in the fiasco about Sarah Anne King’s stomach and the pickle jar which is part of the murder story that rocked the town in 1858. Mr. Barker provided the doctors with a pickle jar to contain Sarah’s stomach after they completed the autopsy. He then took Sarah’s stomach to Kingston to have it examined by experts and the university there. After being rebuffed there, he brough the pickle jar back home and Sarah’s stomach would make its way to Toronto for investigation by an expert in the field of detecting arsenic.
The Barker family would own lot 32 until 1922 when it was sold to James McQuoid who owned it until 1935 when it went to Oscar P. McConnell. This appears to have been the acquisition of a retirement home in town for the lifetime farmer east of Hilton. Sadly, Mr. McConnel passed away only a few months later and the property passed on to his wife Edith, then their son Alexander in 1940. Nettie Belle McConnell was an unmarried sister of Oscar P. McConnell and she inherited lot 32 in 1946.
Then, in 1962, Nettie Belle’s estate sold lot 32 to Yarko and Nunzia Zavi. He was a world-renowned sculptor and artist, working in ceramics to product wonderful representations of birds and other animals. He was very much engaged in the art world in Toronto but established his home here at 93 Main Street in Brighton. Part of the house was set aside as a studio and he was very prolific in this space until his death in 1987.
In 1988, the estate of Elizabeth Zavi, Yarko’s second wife, sold the property to Johan and Herta Schiessling who owned it until selling to Gordon and Marilyn Page in 2006.
A very long, narrow duplex has recently been built in the narrow village lot 32, maintaining a red brick style to blend in with the streetscape. There may have been more than one house on the lot over time, but there certainly have been some interesting occupants.
In 1865, lot 32 was sold by Ira R. Proctor to Robert Barker who operated a drug store on Main Street and would have been known as a druggist. He had been the druggist involved in the fiasco about Sarah Anne King’s stomach and the pickle jar which is part of the murder story that rocked the town in 1858. Mr. Barker provided the doctors with a pickle jar to contain Sarah’s stomach after they completed the autopsy. He then took Sarah’s stomach to Kingston to have it examined by experts and the university there. After being rebuffed there, he brough the pickle jar back home and Sarah’s stomach would make its way to Toronto for investigation by an expert in the field of detecting arsenic.
The Barker family would own lot 32 until 1922 when it was sold to James McQuoid who owned it until 1935 when it went to Oscar P. McConnell. This appears to have been the acquisition of a retirement home in town for the lifetime farmer east of Hilton. Sadly, Mr. McConnel passed away only a few months later and the property passed on to his wife Edith, then their son Alexander in 1940. Nettie Belle McConnell was an unmarried sister of Oscar P. McConnell and she inherited lot 32 in 1946.
Then, in 1962, Nettie Belle’s estate sold lot 32 to Yarko and Nunzia Zavi. He was a world-renowned sculptor and artist, working in ceramics to product wonderful representations of birds and other animals. He was very much engaged in the art world in Toronto but established his home here at 93 Main Street in Brighton. Part of the house was set aside as a studio and he was very prolific in this space until his death in 1987.
In 1988, the estate of Elizabeth Zavi, Yarko’s second wife, sold the property to Johan and Herta Schiessling who owned it until selling to Gordon and Marilyn Page in 2006.
97 Main Street South – Village Lot 30 & 31
The substantial two-story brick house at 97 Main Street has a charming veranda along the north and west sides, with a driveway on the west side as well. Most of this property is on village lot 31, a long narrow piece of land. However, part of the western side is in lot 30, the large square lot to the west and up to Centre Street. Many transactions related to 97 Main Street have duplicate entries to accommodate this situation. Further complicating the information is the fact that separate transactions for these village lots deal with the south end of the lots and property that is not located on Main Street. It is a challenge to focus on records for the Main Street properties.
These village lots are east of Centre Street, so still part of township lot 1, concession 1, which means that the first records follow the pattern of James Richardson, and Josiah Proctor. Then, in 1834, Josiah Proctor sold lot 31 to John Nix who would also acquire land to the west, later to be 99 Main Street, where he built a building containing a meeting hall.
There was much changing of hands for lot 31 over the next few decades, including names such as Thomas Webb, John Lear and Fanning Marsh. All of these fellows were involved in real estate speculation and development, greasing the wheels with their money. Then, in 1885, John Lear sold lot 31 to Matilda Macklam, wife of Robert Macklam. Matthew Macklam had come from Ireland and settled in Cramahe Township not long after the War of 1812. The family established a very productive farm and the three sons, Robert, John and Thomas, carried on into the 1900s.
Robert and Matilda Macklam would own lot 31 and “as strip 21 feet wife on the east side” of lot 30, until 1901 when it was sold to Charles Donaghy who sold to Edward Bate in 1920. The Bate estate then sold the property in 1941 to Elizabeth Scanlon, wife of Mark Scanlon, a pharmacist who had established himself in business at the corner of Main and Prince Edward Street. Scanlon’s drug store and the active presence of the Scanlon family would benefit Brighton in many ways.
In 1976, the estate of Kathleen Scanlon sold 97 Main Street to Dennis Buckley, a high school teacher at E.N.S.S. The History Guy of Brighton was lucky to have Mr. Buckley as a very engaged Latin teacher, from grade 10 to 13. Geek alert here! As an avid history buff, even as a teenager, Mr. Buckley’s Latin classes were a joy and a major learning opportunity. We had fun and learned a lot. By grade 13, there were only five students in the class and I was the only boy. It was the class I looked forward to the most. Thank you, Mr. Buckley!
Then, in 1987, 97 Main Street was sold to Johann Georg Schiessling who also had 93 Main Street at the same time. Both properties were sold around 2005.
The substantial two-story brick house at 97 Main Street has a charming veranda along the north and west sides, with a driveway on the west side as well. Most of this property is on village lot 31, a long narrow piece of land. However, part of the western side is in lot 30, the large square lot to the west and up to Centre Street. Many transactions related to 97 Main Street have duplicate entries to accommodate this situation. Further complicating the information is the fact that separate transactions for these village lots deal with the south end of the lots and property that is not located on Main Street. It is a challenge to focus on records for the Main Street properties.
These village lots are east of Centre Street, so still part of township lot 1, concession 1, which means that the first records follow the pattern of James Richardson, and Josiah Proctor. Then, in 1834, Josiah Proctor sold lot 31 to John Nix who would also acquire land to the west, later to be 99 Main Street, where he built a building containing a meeting hall.
There was much changing of hands for lot 31 over the next few decades, including names such as Thomas Webb, John Lear and Fanning Marsh. All of these fellows were involved in real estate speculation and development, greasing the wheels with their money. Then, in 1885, John Lear sold lot 31 to Matilda Macklam, wife of Robert Macklam. Matthew Macklam had come from Ireland and settled in Cramahe Township not long after the War of 1812. The family established a very productive farm and the three sons, Robert, John and Thomas, carried on into the 1900s.
Robert and Matilda Macklam would own lot 31 and “as strip 21 feet wife on the east side” of lot 30, until 1901 when it was sold to Charles Donaghy who sold to Edward Bate in 1920. The Bate estate then sold the property in 1941 to Elizabeth Scanlon, wife of Mark Scanlon, a pharmacist who had established himself in business at the corner of Main and Prince Edward Street. Scanlon’s drug store and the active presence of the Scanlon family would benefit Brighton in many ways.
In 1976, the estate of Kathleen Scanlon sold 97 Main Street to Dennis Buckley, a high school teacher at E.N.S.S. The History Guy of Brighton was lucky to have Mr. Buckley as a very engaged Latin teacher, from grade 10 to 13. Geek alert here! As an avid history buff, even as a teenager, Mr. Buckley’s Latin classes were a joy and a major learning opportunity. We had fun and learned a lot. By grade 13, there were only five students in the class and I was the only boy. It was the class I looked forward to the most. Thank you, Mr. Buckley!
Then, in 1987, 97 Main Street was sold to Johann Georg Schiessling who also had 93 Main Street at the same time. Both properties were sold around 2005.
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92 & 96 Main Street – Village Lot 20
The house at 92 Main Street hosts the Sports and Wellness Centre and number 96 has the “Gallery 96” out front. Both properties are located in Village Lot 20. This lot was one of many that ended up in the hands of Thomas D. Sanford, although not, in this case, through a sheriff’s sale, but several transactions with local residents. In 1845, Mr. Sanford sold lot 20 to John McAlease who had come from Ireland as a young man, bringing his experience as a blacksmith to Canada in his baggage. In 1848, he married Emily Anne Valleau, a daughter of William Valleau and Catherine German, a family in Richmond Township, Lennox & Addington County. Emily Valleau’s nephew, Cornelius, would move to Brighton in a few years to become a prosperous builder.
John McAlease leased space for his blacksmith ship on the south side of Main Street, not far from his home at lot 20, and he was a respected tradesman in town until his death in 1895. It seems clear that he was a trusted citizen of Brighton because his signature is included in a list of a dozen others at the end of Simon Davidson’s Coroner’s Report regarding the death of Sarah Ann King in the fall of 1858.
We can expect that John McAlease built a house on lot 20, although not likely the house we see there today. He raised a family of six at this place and would eventually be married three times. His third wife, who he married in 1875, was Sarah Ann German, who had been married to Joseph W. Elmore. Sarah would inherit village lot 20 and pass it along to her two spinster sisters, Rebecca and Amelia German. In a few yeas, they would sell it to William Andrew Bulkley, a son of Hiram Bulkley and, in his own right, a prosperous and active merchant and land developer in Brighton.
In 1907, William A. Bulkley sold village lot 20 to the estate of the late William Henry Macklam, a prosperous farmer west of Brighton. Olivia Macklam, the widow of the late William Henry Macklam, would live at village lot 20 until she remarried in 1911. The Macklam estate would hold the property until 1923 when it was sold to Dr. Franklin Dure who practiced medicine from this house until his death in 1954. The Dure estate would own 96 Main Street until 1976.
The History Guy was lucky enough to stay over night in the house at 96 Main Street during Applefest 2005. The building was Apple Manor at that time and I manager to arrange for a booth at the end of the driveway of this house. It was extremely convenient to drive down from Toronto on Friday, spend the night in a comfortable room and walk down the driveway to set up my tent and displays. Perfect!
Records for 92 Main Street separate from those of 96 Main St. in 1941 when Clive Thompson and his wife Isabel Cope purchased the east side of lot 20. Mr. Thompson came from Toronto to set up a new law practice in Brighton, a practice that continues to this day. Clive and Isabel Thompson owned this property for about two decades, until 1962. In fact, this couple were the grandparents of Dan Thompson, a lawyer in Brighton today.
The house at 92 Main Street would change hands several times until it became the Sports and Wellness Centre in 2005.
The house at 92 Main Street hosts the Sports and Wellness Centre and number 96 has the “Gallery 96” out front. Both properties are located in Village Lot 20. This lot was one of many that ended up in the hands of Thomas D. Sanford, although not, in this case, through a sheriff’s sale, but several transactions with local residents. In 1845, Mr. Sanford sold lot 20 to John McAlease who had come from Ireland as a young man, bringing his experience as a blacksmith to Canada in his baggage. In 1848, he married Emily Anne Valleau, a daughter of William Valleau and Catherine German, a family in Richmond Township, Lennox & Addington County. Emily Valleau’s nephew, Cornelius, would move to Brighton in a few years to become a prosperous builder.
John McAlease leased space for his blacksmith ship on the south side of Main Street, not far from his home at lot 20, and he was a respected tradesman in town until his death in 1895. It seems clear that he was a trusted citizen of Brighton because his signature is included in a list of a dozen others at the end of Simon Davidson’s Coroner’s Report regarding the death of Sarah Ann King in the fall of 1858.
We can expect that John McAlease built a house on lot 20, although not likely the house we see there today. He raised a family of six at this place and would eventually be married three times. His third wife, who he married in 1875, was Sarah Ann German, who had been married to Joseph W. Elmore. Sarah would inherit village lot 20 and pass it along to her two spinster sisters, Rebecca and Amelia German. In a few yeas, they would sell it to William Andrew Bulkley, a son of Hiram Bulkley and, in his own right, a prosperous and active merchant and land developer in Brighton.
In 1907, William A. Bulkley sold village lot 20 to the estate of the late William Henry Macklam, a prosperous farmer west of Brighton. Olivia Macklam, the widow of the late William Henry Macklam, would live at village lot 20 until she remarried in 1911. The Macklam estate would hold the property until 1923 when it was sold to Dr. Franklin Dure who practiced medicine from this house until his death in 1954. The Dure estate would own 96 Main Street until 1976.
The History Guy was lucky enough to stay over night in the house at 96 Main Street during Applefest 2005. The building was Apple Manor at that time and I manager to arrange for a booth at the end of the driveway of this house. It was extremely convenient to drive down from Toronto on Friday, spend the night in a comfortable room and walk down the driveway to set up my tent and displays. Perfect!
Records for 92 Main Street separate from those of 96 Main St. in 1941 when Clive Thompson and his wife Isabel Cope purchased the east side of lot 20. Mr. Thompson came from Toronto to set up a new law practice in Brighton, a practice that continues to this day. Clive and Isabel Thompson owned this property for about two decades, until 1962. In fact, this couple were the grandparents of Dan Thompson, a lawyer in Brighton today.
The house at 92 Main Street would change hands several times until it became the Sports and Wellness Centre in 2005.
99 Main Street South – Village Lot 30
Village Lot 30 is a large, square piece of land that occupies the south-east corner on Main and Centre Streets. Today, there are four separate properties on Main Street that are in Lot 30, including 99, 101, 103 and 107 Main Street. As we have mentioned, a strip on the east side of lot 30 became part of 97 Main Street.
The position of lot 30 as the north-west corner or quarter of lot 1, concession 1 helps researchers locate the transactions related to this land. In 1825, this is the description used on the transaction that saw James Richardson, the original Patent holder, sell the north-west quarter to Josiah Proctor. Then, in 1833, “1 acre more or less said to be this lot” was sold to John F. Sherman, a farmer south of Smithfield, and an active participant in the business of growing hops for export.
This was apparently an investment that turned around in a few yeas when the property was sold to Sarah Marsh. This person is interesting, but largely undocumented. Scant information suggests she was a daughter of Cyrus Marsh and Ann “Nancy” McArthur who had been the wife of George Singleton. Ann Marsh was prominent in land records for the east side of Brighton up to the 1860s and there are a couple of records that show the participants as A. Marsh and Sarah Marsh, so it is fair to expect that these two were closely related.
In any case, in 1838, Sarah Marsh acquired part of lot 30 and would hold it until 1852 when she sold it to Edwin Nix. The interesting thing here is that Edwin W. Nix was ten years old at the time. There is no other person with a similar name of the earlier generation as far as records show to this point. In this light, it is not unreasonable to think that the actual buyer was Edwin’s father, Henry Nix, who was active in real estate around Brighton. The next transaction appears to confirm, this as Edwin Nix sold the property to Henry Nix. Sometimes, we simply do not have enough information to be sure.
Brighton history tells us that the first meeting of the Brighton Village Council on January 1, 1858 was held at Nix’s Hall which was located at 99 Main Street. This occurred after Brighton Village decided to separate from Brighton Township so that the needs of the towns people could be more directly addressed. The separation also left the township with no meeting place, so a township hall was built at Hilton, which is one of our most treasured heritage sites.
Henry Nix sold his property in Lot 30 in 1875 to John Lear who appears to have been dabbling in real estate speculation in the area. He turned the property around and sold in the next year to James Nesbitt. The Nesbitt family had done well in Brighton since coming from Ireland in 1856. James was said to have been on the first eastbound train after the Grand Trunk Railway was completed in the fall of 1856.
James and his sons were active as merchants and engaged in real estate speculation. This purchase, however, was for a home and they would built the brick house that is there today. In 1893 James passed 99 Main Street on to his son Samuel who was a very active businessman and would be MP for a time.
In 1910, the property would go on to Samuel’s daughter Edith. She married Rev. Robert Samuel Jones in 1920 and would live in this house until 1970.
That is why 99 Main Street is commonly called “The Nesbitt Place”.
Village Lot 30 is a large, square piece of land that occupies the south-east corner on Main and Centre Streets. Today, there are four separate properties on Main Street that are in Lot 30, including 99, 101, 103 and 107 Main Street. As we have mentioned, a strip on the east side of lot 30 became part of 97 Main Street.
The position of lot 30 as the north-west corner or quarter of lot 1, concession 1 helps researchers locate the transactions related to this land. In 1825, this is the description used on the transaction that saw James Richardson, the original Patent holder, sell the north-west quarter to Josiah Proctor. Then, in 1833, “1 acre more or less said to be this lot” was sold to John F. Sherman, a farmer south of Smithfield, and an active participant in the business of growing hops for export.
This was apparently an investment that turned around in a few yeas when the property was sold to Sarah Marsh. This person is interesting, but largely undocumented. Scant information suggests she was a daughter of Cyrus Marsh and Ann “Nancy” McArthur who had been the wife of George Singleton. Ann Marsh was prominent in land records for the east side of Brighton up to the 1860s and there are a couple of records that show the participants as A. Marsh and Sarah Marsh, so it is fair to expect that these two were closely related.
In any case, in 1838, Sarah Marsh acquired part of lot 30 and would hold it until 1852 when she sold it to Edwin Nix. The interesting thing here is that Edwin W. Nix was ten years old at the time. There is no other person with a similar name of the earlier generation as far as records show to this point. In this light, it is not unreasonable to think that the actual buyer was Edwin’s father, Henry Nix, who was active in real estate around Brighton. The next transaction appears to confirm, this as Edwin Nix sold the property to Henry Nix. Sometimes, we simply do not have enough information to be sure.
Brighton history tells us that the first meeting of the Brighton Village Council on January 1, 1858 was held at Nix’s Hall which was located at 99 Main Street. This occurred after Brighton Village decided to separate from Brighton Township so that the needs of the towns people could be more directly addressed. The separation also left the township with no meeting place, so a township hall was built at Hilton, which is one of our most treasured heritage sites.
Henry Nix sold his property in Lot 30 in 1875 to John Lear who appears to have been dabbling in real estate speculation in the area. He turned the property around and sold in the next year to James Nesbitt. The Nesbitt family had done well in Brighton since coming from Ireland in 1856. James was said to have been on the first eastbound train after the Grand Trunk Railway was completed in the fall of 1856.
James and his sons were active as merchants and engaged in real estate speculation. This purchase, however, was for a home and they would built the brick house that is there today. In 1893 James passed 99 Main Street on to his son Samuel who was a very active businessman and would be MP for a time.
In 1910, the property would go on to Samuel’s daughter Edith. She married Rev. Robert Samuel Jones in 1920 and would live in this house until 1970.
That is why 99 Main Street is commonly called “The Nesbitt Place”.
100 Main Street – Village Lot 56
At the north east corner of Main and Platt Streets, is 100 Main Street, which houses Brighton Chiropractic and Massage Therapy. This is village lot 56. It was acquired in 1850 by Hiram Bulkley. That is not Buckley, but Bulkley. It is hard to say but correct nonetheless.
Hiram Bulkley was a very active merchant and real estate speculator. His family is shown to be living at village lot 56 in 1850 and the property would be in the family until 1923. However, word is that this building was built in the 1870s as a dry goods store. That explains the shape and look of the structure and matches with lots of records that demonstrate the different businesses around Brighton operated by the Bulkley family.
In 1901, village lot 56 was granted by the estate of Stiles Bulkley to Dolly Vincent, third wife of William Andrew Bulkley. In 1914, she sold it to Erastus E. Howard, a Methodist minister who died in 1923. The Howard estate sold the property to William S. P. Boyce, also a minister, who died in 1940, passing the property on to his widow, Mary Elma Boyce. In 1944, she sold it to Margaret Cope, wife of Benjamin Corin Cope. This couple were the parents of Isabel Cope, who was the wife of Clive Thompson, the lawyer who acquired the property at 92 Main St. in 1941.
The estate of Benjamin Cope sold lot 56 to Everett and Margaret Newman in 1964, and in 1984, Margaret sold to Keith Wickens. At one point there was a computer company in the building and Sean McQuoid acquired it in 2007.
At the north east corner of Main and Platt Streets, is 100 Main Street, which houses Brighton Chiropractic and Massage Therapy. This is village lot 56. It was acquired in 1850 by Hiram Bulkley. That is not Buckley, but Bulkley. It is hard to say but correct nonetheless.
Hiram Bulkley was a very active merchant and real estate speculator. His family is shown to be living at village lot 56 in 1850 and the property would be in the family until 1923. However, word is that this building was built in the 1870s as a dry goods store. That explains the shape and look of the structure and matches with lots of records that demonstrate the different businesses around Brighton operated by the Bulkley family.
In 1901, village lot 56 was granted by the estate of Stiles Bulkley to Dolly Vincent, third wife of William Andrew Bulkley. In 1914, she sold it to Erastus E. Howard, a Methodist minister who died in 1923. The Howard estate sold the property to William S. P. Boyce, also a minister, who died in 1940, passing the property on to his widow, Mary Elma Boyce. In 1944, she sold it to Margaret Cope, wife of Benjamin Corin Cope. This couple were the parents of Isabel Cope, who was the wife of Clive Thompson, the lawyer who acquired the property at 92 Main St. in 1941.
The estate of Benjamin Cope sold lot 56 to Everett and Margaret Newman in 1964, and in 1984, Margaret sold to Keith Wickens. At one point there was a computer company in the building and Sean McQuoid acquired it in 2007.
101 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 30
The charming frame house at 101 Main Street has been recently occupied by some English folks, as can be demonstrated by the red British telephone booth out front. It is unclear when this house was built, but in 1875, when a brick house was being built at 99, a prolific builder, named John W. Grems acquired 101. Around 1880 he was busy building the large impressive house across the street for Thomas Webb and Mr. Webb purchased 101 from Grems in 1885.
In 1909, Thomas Webb passed the property on to his daughter, Jennie and she lived there until 1924 when 101 was sold to Herbert W. Roblin, a member of an extensive loyalist family that could trace his roots back to some of the earliest settlers in Prince Edward County. When Herbert died in 1938, the property went to his wife, Hellena Bernice Roblin.
In 1943, Helena Bernice Roblin sold 101 Main Street to Ralph Banbury who worked for the Agricultural Office in Brighton. His son, Joe Banbury, a lawyer, acquired the property in 1993 and then sold it in 2005 to move to a farm north of Brighton.
The charming frame house at 101 Main Street has been recently occupied by some English folks, as can be demonstrated by the red British telephone booth out front. It is unclear when this house was built, but in 1875, when a brick house was being built at 99, a prolific builder, named John W. Grems acquired 101. Around 1880 he was busy building the large impressive house across the street for Thomas Webb and Mr. Webb purchased 101 from Grems in 1885.
In 1909, Thomas Webb passed the property on to his daughter, Jennie and she lived there until 1924 when 101 was sold to Herbert W. Roblin, a member of an extensive loyalist family that could trace his roots back to some of the earliest settlers in Prince Edward County. When Herbert died in 1938, the property went to his wife, Hellena Bernice Roblin.
In 1943, Helena Bernice Roblin sold 101 Main Street to Ralph Banbury who worked for the Agricultural Office in Brighton. His son, Joe Banbury, a lawyer, acquired the property in 1993 and then sold it in 2005 to move to a farm north of Brighton.
104 Main Street – Village Lot 1
Going west down Main Street, we now cross Platt Street. This marks the border between township lots 1 and 2 of Concession 2, Cramahe Township. The land registry records show that the Patent from the Crown for all 200 acres of lot 2 was granted to David M. Rogers in 1809. In 1814, the land was sold to Josiah Proctor who had brought his family from Vermont four years before. This 200-acre lot, all the way to the next concession line to the north, would be the Proctor farm well into the middle of the 1800s. Over time, many small pieces of property were sold by members of the Proctor family and a good deal of wealth was generated in this way. Many of those small lots were on the north side of Main Street, so records for each one of the lots between Platt and Princess Streets will begin with these two transactions.
Village Lot 1 is a large sized lot north of Main Street and west of Platt Street. Today, the land in this area is occupied by several properties. Right on the corner, at 104 Main Street, is the Innovex Financial Services office. There is a relatively modern house north of Innovex and there is the large old brick house up the hill and west of Platt Street. We also see 108 Main Street, a smaller brick house father west on Main Street.
The history of Village Lot 1 begins when Josiah Proctor sold it to Simeon Kellogg in 1836. Mr. Kellogg had been born in Vermont and was married in Kingston in 1829. He came to this area as early as 1830 in order to engage in the hotel business. He immediately acquired a small piece of land in Village Lot 42, at the south-west corner of Main and Prince Edward Streets. Very quickly, he built a hotel on this corner, to take advantage of the growing traffic on the Kingston Road. The Kellogg Inn was not only a hotel and tavern, but it also contained a large room that was used for community meetings. It was called Union Hall and we have at least two examples of meetings held there.
On April 2, 1831, there was a meeting in Union Hall to establish a name for the village that was growing in this place. The name of “Brighton” was selected. In 1836, there was a community meeting that passed several resolutions to send to the government. These resolutions complained that the community had no justice of the peace or constable to keep the peace, in spite of the booming activity at the bay which brought in lots of sailors, who would do what sailors do. These resolutions were ignored in 1836, but the problems were largely resolved when Brighton Township was created on January 1, 1852.
By 1836, Simeon Kellog was well established in Brighton and was able to purchases Village Lot 1 and provide a home for his family. His first child was born in Belleville in 1829, and his next three children were born in Brighton in the early 1830s. His third child and first son was Marcus Henry Kellogg, born in Brighton in 1833. In fact, the tragic fate of this son would bring the life of Simeon Kellogg to the attention of historians, far more than his own history.
Mark Kellogg would move on with his family to settle in Wisconsin but he also became a writer and news reporter who travelled to some degree, covering stories that were assigned by the Bismark Tribune and the New York Harold. In June of 1876, he was assigned to cover the exploits of General George Custer as he led an army into Montana. Mark Kellogg was the only news reporter with Custer and he perished in the Battle of Little Big Horn along with Custer and all of his soldiers. The site has been preserved and there are memorials for the soldiers as well as for Mr. Kellogg.
Back in Brighton, Simeon Kellogg took advantage of growing property values on the main road in the village of Brighton and soon sold his hotel and other land he had acquired with speculation in mind. Village Lot 1 was sold in 1848 and the Kellogg family moved away from Brighton, heading first to Illinois and then settling in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The new owner of Village Lot 1 was Issac Chamberlain Proctor, a son of Josiah Proctor and a very busy businessman and land speculator. He quickly turned this property around by selling in 1849 to Charles Short, the son of a minister in Quebec who had been the recipient of large land grands in Cramahe Township, in the Hilton area. Charles lived initially in Quebec, but, around 1838, he came to Cramahe Township to farm on what remained of his family land. However, he soon turned his attention to the village of Brighton. He speculated in land south of Main Street and would be customs agent at the port of Newcastle (now Gosport) for several years in the 1840s.
On the death of Charles Short later in 1849, Village Lot 1 would pass on to his daughter, Mary Louisa, who had married George Elias Jones, a son of Elias Jones of Hamilton Township. In 1851, George and Mary Jones sold Village Lot 1 to Sarah Platt, a daughter of Charles Short and wife of Willett McConnell Platt.
Mr. Platt had been born in Percy Township but had come to the village of Brighton as a young man in order to engage in commerce as a merchant. He married Sarah Short in 1850 and quickly established a home for his family at Village Lot 1. Over the coming years, Willett Platt would become one of the most successful lumber merchants in the area. There were large lumber yards along the west side of Ontario Street which held piles of sawn lumber that waited to be loaded on wagons and taken to schooners at the wharfs on Presqu’ile Bay, destined for American lumber merchants who were anxious for the product to feed a booming economy.
Willett Platt became wealthy and was in a position to build a large, impressive house to demonstrate his success. This house was not built on Main Street, but up the hill near Sanford Street, on the west side of Platt Street. It was a large, two-story brick house with a large parlour that looked out through tall windows to the view of Main Street and the bay to the south. The house was located on the crest of the hill in a very deliberate way in order to physically dominate the Main and Platt Street area. As we can see, the street was named for him as well. The house would become 20 Platt Street.
The family that lived at 20 Platt Street included a son, Charles Platt, who carried on his father’s lumber business. A daughter, Julia, died at age 21 and a second daughter, Mary Elizabeth, would be the focus of her father’s interest. In 1889, Mary was married to David John Silcox, an American from Syracuse, New York. He had come to Brighton in 1882 after his company obtained the contract to construct the Murray Canal. Brighton was the closest town to the works, so he lived there during the 1880s as the canal was being built.
It seems normal that a prestigious stranger who was the talk of the town might meet and marry the daughter of one of the wealthiest merchant families in town. The Platt land had been put into a trust by her father, and, after she was married, it transferred to John and Mary Silcox. The Murray Canal was finished in 1889, and a few years later, John and Mary took their two sons to live in Syracuse.
In 1894, Village Lot 1 was sold to Dr. Charles M. Sanford, a 32-year-old doctor from a very early settler family. The Sanfords were also among the most prosperous families in Brighton. Sanford Street had been named for Charles’ ancestors. Charles Sanford had married Mary Ellen Ferris in 1887 and they would have only one child, Harriet, in 1898. Charles also had two brothers, Edward and Thomas. For the next several decades, there would be constant legal battles over the family property, as can been seen in land records.
The corner of Platt and Main, now called 104 Main Street, came into the ownership of Robert and Greta Rieger in 1952 and Greta’s estate would sell it to Fred and Beatrice Buck in 1958. Then, in 1964, it was sold to Ross and Elva May Sherwin and they are shown living there in the 1972 voters lists. In 1989, Elva Sherwin sold it to Devany Ann Twiddy & Karen Lynn Wiginton. Today, in 2023, we see the Innovex Financial Services located in the house at 104 Main Street.
Going west down Main Street, we now cross Platt Street. This marks the border between township lots 1 and 2 of Concession 2, Cramahe Township. The land registry records show that the Patent from the Crown for all 200 acres of lot 2 was granted to David M. Rogers in 1809. In 1814, the land was sold to Josiah Proctor who had brought his family from Vermont four years before. This 200-acre lot, all the way to the next concession line to the north, would be the Proctor farm well into the middle of the 1800s. Over time, many small pieces of property were sold by members of the Proctor family and a good deal of wealth was generated in this way. Many of those small lots were on the north side of Main Street, so records for each one of the lots between Platt and Princess Streets will begin with these two transactions.
Village Lot 1 is a large sized lot north of Main Street and west of Platt Street. Today, the land in this area is occupied by several properties. Right on the corner, at 104 Main Street, is the Innovex Financial Services office. There is a relatively modern house north of Innovex and there is the large old brick house up the hill and west of Platt Street. We also see 108 Main Street, a smaller brick house father west on Main Street.
The history of Village Lot 1 begins when Josiah Proctor sold it to Simeon Kellogg in 1836. Mr. Kellogg had been born in Vermont and was married in Kingston in 1829. He came to this area as early as 1830 in order to engage in the hotel business. He immediately acquired a small piece of land in Village Lot 42, at the south-west corner of Main and Prince Edward Streets. Very quickly, he built a hotel on this corner, to take advantage of the growing traffic on the Kingston Road. The Kellogg Inn was not only a hotel and tavern, but it also contained a large room that was used for community meetings. It was called Union Hall and we have at least two examples of meetings held there.
On April 2, 1831, there was a meeting in Union Hall to establish a name for the village that was growing in this place. The name of “Brighton” was selected. In 1836, there was a community meeting that passed several resolutions to send to the government. These resolutions complained that the community had no justice of the peace or constable to keep the peace, in spite of the booming activity at the bay which brought in lots of sailors, who would do what sailors do. These resolutions were ignored in 1836, but the problems were largely resolved when Brighton Township was created on January 1, 1852.
By 1836, Simeon Kellog was well established in Brighton and was able to purchases Village Lot 1 and provide a home for his family. His first child was born in Belleville in 1829, and his next three children were born in Brighton in the early 1830s. His third child and first son was Marcus Henry Kellogg, born in Brighton in 1833. In fact, the tragic fate of this son would bring the life of Simeon Kellogg to the attention of historians, far more than his own history.
Mark Kellogg would move on with his family to settle in Wisconsin but he also became a writer and news reporter who travelled to some degree, covering stories that were assigned by the Bismark Tribune and the New York Harold. In June of 1876, he was assigned to cover the exploits of General George Custer as he led an army into Montana. Mark Kellogg was the only news reporter with Custer and he perished in the Battle of Little Big Horn along with Custer and all of his soldiers. The site has been preserved and there are memorials for the soldiers as well as for Mr. Kellogg.
Back in Brighton, Simeon Kellogg took advantage of growing property values on the main road in the village of Brighton and soon sold his hotel and other land he had acquired with speculation in mind. Village Lot 1 was sold in 1848 and the Kellogg family moved away from Brighton, heading first to Illinois and then settling in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The new owner of Village Lot 1 was Issac Chamberlain Proctor, a son of Josiah Proctor and a very busy businessman and land speculator. He quickly turned this property around by selling in 1849 to Charles Short, the son of a minister in Quebec who had been the recipient of large land grands in Cramahe Township, in the Hilton area. Charles lived initially in Quebec, but, around 1838, he came to Cramahe Township to farm on what remained of his family land. However, he soon turned his attention to the village of Brighton. He speculated in land south of Main Street and would be customs agent at the port of Newcastle (now Gosport) for several years in the 1840s.
On the death of Charles Short later in 1849, Village Lot 1 would pass on to his daughter, Mary Louisa, who had married George Elias Jones, a son of Elias Jones of Hamilton Township. In 1851, George and Mary Jones sold Village Lot 1 to Sarah Platt, a daughter of Charles Short and wife of Willett McConnell Platt.
Mr. Platt had been born in Percy Township but had come to the village of Brighton as a young man in order to engage in commerce as a merchant. He married Sarah Short in 1850 and quickly established a home for his family at Village Lot 1. Over the coming years, Willett Platt would become one of the most successful lumber merchants in the area. There were large lumber yards along the west side of Ontario Street which held piles of sawn lumber that waited to be loaded on wagons and taken to schooners at the wharfs on Presqu’ile Bay, destined for American lumber merchants who were anxious for the product to feed a booming economy.
Willett Platt became wealthy and was in a position to build a large, impressive house to demonstrate his success. This house was not built on Main Street, but up the hill near Sanford Street, on the west side of Platt Street. It was a large, two-story brick house with a large parlour that looked out through tall windows to the view of Main Street and the bay to the south. The house was located on the crest of the hill in a very deliberate way in order to physically dominate the Main and Platt Street area. As we can see, the street was named for him as well. The house would become 20 Platt Street.
The family that lived at 20 Platt Street included a son, Charles Platt, who carried on his father’s lumber business. A daughter, Julia, died at age 21 and a second daughter, Mary Elizabeth, would be the focus of her father’s interest. In 1889, Mary was married to David John Silcox, an American from Syracuse, New York. He had come to Brighton in 1882 after his company obtained the contract to construct the Murray Canal. Brighton was the closest town to the works, so he lived there during the 1880s as the canal was being built.
It seems normal that a prestigious stranger who was the talk of the town might meet and marry the daughter of one of the wealthiest merchant families in town. The Platt land had been put into a trust by her father, and, after she was married, it transferred to John and Mary Silcox. The Murray Canal was finished in 1889, and a few years later, John and Mary took their two sons to live in Syracuse.
In 1894, Village Lot 1 was sold to Dr. Charles M. Sanford, a 32-year-old doctor from a very early settler family. The Sanfords were also among the most prosperous families in Brighton. Sanford Street had been named for Charles’ ancestors. Charles Sanford had married Mary Ellen Ferris in 1887 and they would have only one child, Harriet, in 1898. Charles also had two brothers, Edward and Thomas. For the next several decades, there would be constant legal battles over the family property, as can been seen in land records.
The corner of Platt and Main, now called 104 Main Street, came into the ownership of Robert and Greta Rieger in 1952 and Greta’s estate would sell it to Fred and Beatrice Buck in 1958. Then, in 1964, it was sold to Ross and Elva May Sherwin and they are shown living there in the 1972 voters lists. In 1989, Elva Sherwin sold it to Devany Ann Twiddy & Karen Lynn Wiginton. Today, in 2023, we see the Innovex Financial Services located in the house at 104 Main Street.
103 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 30
Next is the brick house at 103 Main Street. This property, along with the others we have discussed in lot 30, was in the hands of Edwin Nix in the 1850s. In 1880, Henry Nix sold 103 to William Andrew Bulkley, who, along with his father, Hiram Bulkley, was very active in real estate speculation in this area south of Main Street.
In 1883, he sold 103 to Thomas Webb who was also extremely active. In fact, Thomas Webb was married to William Bulkley’s sister, Charlotte. So, much in the family. The brick house on 103 Main Street was probably built by John Grems around this time.
This info from Benjamin Sutton came in an email from Ann Sutton:
"Note: John W. Grems (1824-1906) was born in New York State and married Catherine Valleau of Adolphustown Twp. in 1847. By 1871 he was in Brighton, described as a carpenter or “architect and builder”. He purchased the property in the middle of Village Lot 30 on the south side of Main Street, east of Centre St., in 1875, and that is probably when he built this house, and probably others in the area. He sold the property in 1885 to Thomas Webb, a very active developer and real estate operative in Brighton. Webb may have lived here as he did not sell this property until 1905 to William Charles Butler. Thus began a long period that defines this house as “The Butler House”. His father, William Butler, had become prosperous with his mills on Butler Creek in Gosport, and William C. Butler would extend and expand the family reach into industry and commerce in Brighton. He built the apple storage and grain elevator complex across from the railway station on Monk Street, which is mostly still there today. He and his son Malcolm would start the first garage on Main Street, later expanding to a more modern facility at 48 Main St. The house at 103 Main Street was home for William C. and his son Malcolm, and until Malcolm’s widow, Lillian Wilson, sold it in 1998."
Also ...
"In 1998 the home was purchased by Maurice Lubben, a resident from Port Hope. The property was run as a group home with various tenants in it till 2018. The property remained vacant for one year, causing damage to the interiors and exterior of the building. In 2019 the home was purchased by Benjamin and Debby Sutton. In that year, Covid began and it seemed like a good time to start a new project since communities were closed down. The plan was to complete an entire restoration and retire to the area. Benjamin’s family came from the area by the name of Whitehouse. His mother Charlotte Ann Renouf was married to David Sutton. David, Ben’s father came to this area often and stayed with Charlotte Renouf, Ann’s mother, while bird banding at Presqu'ile. Ann’s mother was Charlotte Whitehouse who married Edward Renouf. Charlotte was part of the Whitehouse family who farmed in the Smithfield area on Whites road. Partial remains of the the farm are still there at number , next to Randy Whitehouse, cousin to Ann Sutton."
Next is the brick house at 103 Main Street. This property, along with the others we have discussed in lot 30, was in the hands of Edwin Nix in the 1850s. In 1880, Henry Nix sold 103 to William Andrew Bulkley, who, along with his father, Hiram Bulkley, was very active in real estate speculation in this area south of Main Street.
In 1883, he sold 103 to Thomas Webb who was also extremely active. In fact, Thomas Webb was married to William Bulkley’s sister, Charlotte. So, much in the family. The brick house on 103 Main Street was probably built by John Grems around this time.
This info from Benjamin Sutton came in an email from Ann Sutton:
"Note: John W. Grems (1824-1906) was born in New York State and married Catherine Valleau of Adolphustown Twp. in 1847. By 1871 he was in Brighton, described as a carpenter or “architect and builder”. He purchased the property in the middle of Village Lot 30 on the south side of Main Street, east of Centre St., in 1875, and that is probably when he built this house, and probably others in the area. He sold the property in 1885 to Thomas Webb, a very active developer and real estate operative in Brighton. Webb may have lived here as he did not sell this property until 1905 to William Charles Butler. Thus began a long period that defines this house as “The Butler House”. His father, William Butler, had become prosperous with his mills on Butler Creek in Gosport, and William C. Butler would extend and expand the family reach into industry and commerce in Brighton. He built the apple storage and grain elevator complex across from the railway station on Monk Street, which is mostly still there today. He and his son Malcolm would start the first garage on Main Street, later expanding to a more modern facility at 48 Main St. The house at 103 Main Street was home for William C. and his son Malcolm, and until Malcolm’s widow, Lillian Wilson, sold it in 1998."
Also ...
"In 1998 the home was purchased by Maurice Lubben, a resident from Port Hope. The property was run as a group home with various tenants in it till 2018. The property remained vacant for one year, causing damage to the interiors and exterior of the building. In 2019 the home was purchased by Benjamin and Debby Sutton. In that year, Covid began and it seemed like a good time to start a new project since communities were closed down. The plan was to complete an entire restoration and retire to the area. Benjamin’s family came from the area by the name of Whitehouse. His mother Charlotte Ann Renouf was married to David Sutton. David, Ben’s father came to this area often and stayed with Charlotte Renouf, Ann’s mother, while bird banding at Presqu'ile. Ann’s mother was Charlotte Whitehouse who married Edward Renouf. Charlotte was part of the Whitehouse family who farmed in the Smithfield area on Whites road. Partial remains of the the farm are still there at number , next to Randy Whitehouse, cousin to Ann Sutton."
107 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 30
The property at 107 Main Street is the last of the four in village lot 30 and is on the corner of Main and Centre Street. The history of this property closely matches that of 103 and it could be that the Butler family built this house in the early 1900s in order to accommodate their growing family. This house is larger and newer than most of the brick houses on Main Street, so a later time for design and construction seems reasonable.
In the later 1960s, this house was owned by Lillian Wilson, second wife of Malcolm Butler. She appears to have lived in 103 and rented apartments in 107. All three years for which we have Canada Voters Lists, 1965, 1968 and 1972, shows various younger families or retirees living at this address.
Today, in 2013, much of the house at 107 is rental accommodation.
The property at 107 Main Street is the last of the four in village lot 30 and is on the corner of Main and Centre Street. The history of this property closely matches that of 103 and it could be that the Butler family built this house in the early 1900s in order to accommodate their growing family. This house is larger and newer than most of the brick houses on Main Street, so a later time for design and construction seems reasonable.
In the later 1960s, this house was owned by Lillian Wilson, second wife of Malcolm Butler. She appears to have lived in 103 and rented apartments in 107. All three years for which we have Canada Voters Lists, 1965, 1968 and 1972, shows various younger families or retirees living at this address.
Today, in 2013, much of the house at 107 is rental accommodation.
108 Main Street – Village Lot 1
The brick house at 108 Main Street is part of Village Lot 1, so its early history is the same as 104 Main Street and 20 Platt Street. The first land transaction that is unique to 108 Main Street occurred in 1894 when John and Mary Silcox sold this small part of Village Lot 1 to William W. Porte, a very active businessman in Brighton. William Wallace Porte was very commonly referred to as W. W. Porte, and was revered for his success in business and his community mindedness.
Mr. Porte had been born in Picton in 1859 and was in Brighton by 1881 when he was described as a watch maker. In 1882 he married Adelaide Phillips, a daughter of Beekman Phillips and Isabella Cumming, farmers from west of Brighton. W. W. and Adelaide had one daughter, Hattie, who married William Alexander Wright. W. W.’s second wife, was Hattie Maude Tait from Cobourg.
William W. Porte is shown in records to be a jeweler and optician and he was known for operating stores to that effect. However, the achievement he is best known for in Brighton is that he was the force behind the creation of the first telephone system in Brighton. After several revisions and improvements, his system, along with many others across the province, were amalgamated in the new Bell Telephone system.
The property at 108 Main Street was passed on from W. W. Porte to his second wife, Hattie, in 1836, although they are shown to be living on Division Street at that time. Mr. Porte passed away in 1937 and the executors made it official, granting the place to Hattie Porte and, when she died in 1941, the executors of her estate sold it to John H. Fife in 1946. John Henry Fife was a son of Amos Edward Fife and Sarah Burke. He had grown up in “The Fife House” at 200 Main Street which his father, a long-serving doctor, had built.
John H. Fife died in 1952 at age 87 and his estate passed the property to his sisters, Blanche and Sarah. In 1967 Blanche sold the property to Henry and Lillian Life – no, that is not Fife, it is Life, completely different name. They would sell the property to Robert & Patricia Hallworth in 1984. Brian and Isabel Gill obtained the house in 1988 and a trustee sold it to Ilse Johanna Schneider in 1996.
The author might note that his house has a new occupant as of the spring of 2023.
The brick house at 108 Main Street is part of Village Lot 1, so its early history is the same as 104 Main Street and 20 Platt Street. The first land transaction that is unique to 108 Main Street occurred in 1894 when John and Mary Silcox sold this small part of Village Lot 1 to William W. Porte, a very active businessman in Brighton. William Wallace Porte was very commonly referred to as W. W. Porte, and was revered for his success in business and his community mindedness.
Mr. Porte had been born in Picton in 1859 and was in Brighton by 1881 when he was described as a watch maker. In 1882 he married Adelaide Phillips, a daughter of Beekman Phillips and Isabella Cumming, farmers from west of Brighton. W. W. and Adelaide had one daughter, Hattie, who married William Alexander Wright. W. W.’s second wife, was Hattie Maude Tait from Cobourg.
William W. Porte is shown in records to be a jeweler and optician and he was known for operating stores to that effect. However, the achievement he is best known for in Brighton is that he was the force behind the creation of the first telephone system in Brighton. After several revisions and improvements, his system, along with many others across the province, were amalgamated in the new Bell Telephone system.
The property at 108 Main Street was passed on from W. W. Porte to his second wife, Hattie, in 1836, although they are shown to be living on Division Street at that time. Mr. Porte passed away in 1937 and the executors made it official, granting the place to Hattie Porte and, when she died in 1941, the executors of her estate sold it to John H. Fife in 1946. John Henry Fife was a son of Amos Edward Fife and Sarah Burke. He had grown up in “The Fife House” at 200 Main Street which his father, a long-serving doctor, had built.
John H. Fife died in 1952 at age 87 and his estate passed the property to his sisters, Blanche and Sarah. In 1967 Blanche sold the property to Henry and Lillian Life – no, that is not Fife, it is Life, completely different name. They would sell the property to Robert & Patricia Hallworth in 1984. Brian and Isabel Gill obtained the house in 1988 and a trustee sold it to Ilse Johanna Schneider in 1996.
The author might note that his house has a new occupant as of the spring of 2023.
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111 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 28
But first - The Little Red School House – Village Lot 29
A researcher will be hard pressed to find Village Lot 29 or the Little Red School House on any modern maps of Brighton. However, our local history tells us that one of two schools that were established later in the 1830s or early 1840s was located on the south side of Main Street, where Centre Street is today. The exact location is uncertain, but it was somewhere between the middle of today’s centre street and the Allen Insurance building at 111 Main Street. This was called the Little Red School House because of the red paint used to cover its walls. The second school was located on the east side of Prince Edward Street, a little south of where the railway runs today. This was called the Little Blue School House.
In the land registry records, there is, in fact, a page for Village Lot 29, in between 28 and 30. These last two are shown on the Brighton Plan of 1866 and the Belden Atlas of 1878, with Centre Street between them, but no lot 29. If we look at the four or five items on the page, we see that Josiah Proctor sold lot 29 to the school trustees in 1842. There is a By-Law in 1863 which changed the status of the lot, removing it from the maps, and even a By-Law in 1962 is added for good measure.
For our purposes, this is a curiosity more than anything else but, for those who like to imagine the people and places of earlier days, it is a fun exercise to visualize a small wooden building sitting almost on Centre Street, beside the Allen Insurance parking lot. Oh, yes, don’t forget to visualize the red walls.
111 & 115 Main Street - Village Lot 28
On the maps, Village Lot 28 is a sizeable lot on the west side of Centre Street. Today, it supports 111 Main Street, right at the corner, as well as 115 Main Steet, the brick house next to the west. Since we are now west of Centre Street, we need to identify that the land is part of lot 2, concession 1 of the original Cramahe Township. We should also be ready for confusion as properties pay little attention to village lot boundaries in many places along this stretch of Main Street. Oh, well, we will work our way through it.
Lot 2 is different because land at the north end, south of Main Street, was granted much later than lot 1. The first transaction for the village lots south of Main Street in lot 2 was in 1842 when the Patent was granted to Isaac C. Proctor, a son of Josiah Proctor, for all 100 acres of the north half of lot 2. One year later, Isaac Proctor sold one acre of village lot 28 to Hannah Storey.
Hannah was a daughter of John Drummond Smith and Mary McDowall, the founders of Smithfield. Earlier in her life she was married to a Mr. Storey but he died young and she was left a widow. Hannah Storey acquired village lot 28 from Isaac C. Proctor in 1843 and appears to have lived there, listed as a widow in Brighton in census reports for both 1851 and 1861.
Then, in 1868, Hannah married Benjamin Franklin Ewing, second marriage for both, he at the age of 65 and she at 60. Ben Ewing had been born in Haldimand Township, just east of Grafton, a son of Benjamin James Ewing and Eunice Doolittle. This Ewing family had been one of the earliest settlers in Haldimand Township, demonstrated by the fact that one sister of Benjamin James Ewing married Eliakim Barnum, whose house has become Barnum House Museum.
Benjamin Franklin Ewing had moved his family to Percy Township in the 1830s to found a homestead and farm north of present-day Warkworth, east of the town of Dartford. Now in his 60s, he was ready for a comfortable retirement and Widow Storey, along with her property on Main Street in Brighton, presented the perfect fit.
The Ewings would build the brick house that is now 115 Main Street and we can expect that the space between the house and Centre Street was used for barns and sheds and plenty of room for horses and carriages to turn around. The property would pass on to the children and a life lease was issued for Ben and Hannah in 1884, which made them welcome in their homestead for the rest of their lives.
In 1919 village lot 28 passed on to Mary White and Margret Frost, grandchildren of Ben Ewing, through his son James. This was after the wide laneway on the west side of lot 28, between 27 and 28, was acquired by the Ewing family to enhance their home with more space to the west side. Why there was a wide lane at that location is a good question.
Finally, in 1926, the Ewing family sold the property to Maurice Cheer who was a son of Samuel Cheer and Alice Towersey. His parents had performed with a travelling theatre troop which travelled around Ontario and New York State, giving live performances of well-known plays for enthusiastic crowds at places like the Opera House, upstairs in the Brighton Town Hall. Maurice and his siblings, Ralph and Ruby performed at the Opera House through their lives, and their children carried on the tradition. Maurice Cheer performed under the name of “Rube” and was commonly called by that name. He was also an avid horseman, making good use of the stables that were part of the old Ewing property.
In the early 1950s, Maurice Cheer sold the house and property in village lot 28. The buyers were several doctors who planned to set up a medical clinic at the corner of Main and Centre Streets. The house was included in this enterprise, at least initially, but the main objective was to build a building closer to the corner of Centre Street which could be used as a medical clinic. The medical clinic would be 111 Main Street.
Through the next three decades, a series of doctors practiced medicine at this clinic. The History Guy can recall his mother taking him and his siblings to see Dr. Persutti at the clinic in Brighton. This was a critical element in the delivery of health care for the community.
The early 1980s saw the medical clinic wind down and the property that made up 111 Main Street was sold to Bryce Allan and today Allan Insurance occupies the building on the corner.
But first - The Little Red School House – Village Lot 29
A researcher will be hard pressed to find Village Lot 29 or the Little Red School House on any modern maps of Brighton. However, our local history tells us that one of two schools that were established later in the 1830s or early 1840s was located on the south side of Main Street, where Centre Street is today. The exact location is uncertain, but it was somewhere between the middle of today’s centre street and the Allen Insurance building at 111 Main Street. This was called the Little Red School House because of the red paint used to cover its walls. The second school was located on the east side of Prince Edward Street, a little south of where the railway runs today. This was called the Little Blue School House.
In the land registry records, there is, in fact, a page for Village Lot 29, in between 28 and 30. These last two are shown on the Brighton Plan of 1866 and the Belden Atlas of 1878, with Centre Street between them, but no lot 29. If we look at the four or five items on the page, we see that Josiah Proctor sold lot 29 to the school trustees in 1842. There is a By-Law in 1863 which changed the status of the lot, removing it from the maps, and even a By-Law in 1962 is added for good measure.
For our purposes, this is a curiosity more than anything else but, for those who like to imagine the people and places of earlier days, it is a fun exercise to visualize a small wooden building sitting almost on Centre Street, beside the Allen Insurance parking lot. Oh, yes, don’t forget to visualize the red walls.
111 & 115 Main Street - Village Lot 28
On the maps, Village Lot 28 is a sizeable lot on the west side of Centre Street. Today, it supports 111 Main Street, right at the corner, as well as 115 Main Steet, the brick house next to the west. Since we are now west of Centre Street, we need to identify that the land is part of lot 2, concession 1 of the original Cramahe Township. We should also be ready for confusion as properties pay little attention to village lot boundaries in many places along this stretch of Main Street. Oh, well, we will work our way through it.
Lot 2 is different because land at the north end, south of Main Street, was granted much later than lot 1. The first transaction for the village lots south of Main Street in lot 2 was in 1842 when the Patent was granted to Isaac C. Proctor, a son of Josiah Proctor, for all 100 acres of the north half of lot 2. One year later, Isaac Proctor sold one acre of village lot 28 to Hannah Storey.
Hannah was a daughter of John Drummond Smith and Mary McDowall, the founders of Smithfield. Earlier in her life she was married to a Mr. Storey but he died young and she was left a widow. Hannah Storey acquired village lot 28 from Isaac C. Proctor in 1843 and appears to have lived there, listed as a widow in Brighton in census reports for both 1851 and 1861.
Then, in 1868, Hannah married Benjamin Franklin Ewing, second marriage for both, he at the age of 65 and she at 60. Ben Ewing had been born in Haldimand Township, just east of Grafton, a son of Benjamin James Ewing and Eunice Doolittle. This Ewing family had been one of the earliest settlers in Haldimand Township, demonstrated by the fact that one sister of Benjamin James Ewing married Eliakim Barnum, whose house has become Barnum House Museum.
Benjamin Franklin Ewing had moved his family to Percy Township in the 1830s to found a homestead and farm north of present-day Warkworth, east of the town of Dartford. Now in his 60s, he was ready for a comfortable retirement and Widow Storey, along with her property on Main Street in Brighton, presented the perfect fit.
The Ewings would build the brick house that is now 115 Main Street and we can expect that the space between the house and Centre Street was used for barns and sheds and plenty of room for horses and carriages to turn around. The property would pass on to the children and a life lease was issued for Ben and Hannah in 1884, which made them welcome in their homestead for the rest of their lives.
In 1919 village lot 28 passed on to Mary White and Margret Frost, grandchildren of Ben Ewing, through his son James. This was after the wide laneway on the west side of lot 28, between 27 and 28, was acquired by the Ewing family to enhance their home with more space to the west side. Why there was a wide lane at that location is a good question.
Finally, in 1926, the Ewing family sold the property to Maurice Cheer who was a son of Samuel Cheer and Alice Towersey. His parents had performed with a travelling theatre troop which travelled around Ontario and New York State, giving live performances of well-known plays for enthusiastic crowds at places like the Opera House, upstairs in the Brighton Town Hall. Maurice and his siblings, Ralph and Ruby performed at the Opera House through their lives, and their children carried on the tradition. Maurice Cheer performed under the name of “Rube” and was commonly called by that name. He was also an avid horseman, making good use of the stables that were part of the old Ewing property.
In the early 1950s, Maurice Cheer sold the house and property in village lot 28. The buyers were several doctors who planned to set up a medical clinic at the corner of Main and Centre Streets. The house was included in this enterprise, at least initially, but the main objective was to build a building closer to the corner of Centre Street which could be used as a medical clinic. The medical clinic would be 111 Main Street.
Through the next three decades, a series of doctors practiced medicine at this clinic. The History Guy can recall his mother taking him and his siblings to see Dr. Persutti at the clinic in Brighton. This was a critical element in the delivery of health care for the community.
The early 1980s saw the medical clinic wind down and the property that made up 111 Main Street was sold to Bryce Allan and today Allan Insurance occupies the building on the corner.
110 & 112 Main St. – Village lots 2 & 19
Next west of Village Lot 1 is Village lot 2, another larger lot that has Village Lot 19 on its west side, along Victoria Street. There are actually four current properties to consider when we look at the history of this part of Main Street. Number 110 and 112 are modern houses on Main Street, built in the 1980s or 1990s. Around the corner on Victoria Street, we see two more, numbers 7 and 15 Victoria Street.
However, before the 1980s, this area was part of one large holding and there was a very significant house in the middle. This was known around town as the Webb Place. The land records actually use the term “Webb Property” to refer to the area and the house.
Village Lot 2 was purchased from Josiah Proctor in 1839 by Hiram Bulkley, the same fellow we encountered at 100 Main Street engaged in the dry goods business. We must emphasize again, the name is spelled right here, it is not Buckley, in spite of what is shown in some records. It appears as if lot 2 was purchased in to make a home for the family and we can expect that a significant frame house was built there soon after the land was acquired. But, wait, that is not the house mentioned above.
Hiram Bulkley added to his property in 1850 when he purchased Village Lot 19, so now he had access to all of his property via Victoria Street. These two lots would be passed on to Hiram’s son, Stiles Bulkley and, in 1875, he sold them to Thomas Webb. Here was another very active businessman in Brighton, but he was also a relative. Thomas Webb had married Charlotte Bulkley, a sister of Stiles and a daughter of Hiram Bulkley. This is only one example of many property transactions between family members we can identify in the land records.
Thomas Webb is the one who built the large, two-story brick house in the middle of the land at the corner of Main and Victoria Streets. The house was set back from Main Street, although faced south onto the street. Records show that the large house straddled the boundary between Village Lots 2 and 19, which makes the land records very confusing. Adding to that confusion, Thomas Webb also acquired land in the west part of Village Lot 23, north of 19 and 2, which gave him better access to his property from Victoria Street. If we look at old aerial pictures of the area, we can see that the barn and sheds and a significant driveway to the north side of the property came off Victoria Street, more or less where 15 Victoria Street is today.
The house is said to have been built in 1880, so it can accurately be called “The Webb House”. It was designed to be very impressive, with extra tall rooms and the roof peaked in the middle. Far more noticeable for the passerby was the tall, heavy tower that dominated the front of the house and the streetscape. Even more remarkable were the two carved lions that sat on guard at the front door. To this day, some people around Brighton recall going on Sunday drives with the family and making a note to pass slowly down Main Street near Victoria Street, to see how the other half lives.
The Webb property would remain in the hands of Webb descendants until 1952. Four years later, it would be purchased by Aric and Niola Gerow. Aric had been born in Ameliasburgh Township and followed his father as a fisherman in his early life. By the 1940s, he was involved in the propane business, an area of growing demand. Gerow Propane is mentioned in 1954, being in partnership with George Murdoff of Brighton, in a new office on Ontario Street. Later, Gerow Propane would move to number 2 highway east of Brighton, and remains an excellent business today.
In 1956, the idea appears to have been that the big house might be made into a hotel. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the land records are confusing and not so positive regarding the Gerow ambitions about a hotel. By the late 1970s, it had failed and another force was in play. In 1981, the partnership of Al Zinck and Doug Haig acquired the Webb property under power of sale and they had development in mind. A new land-use plan was developed, dividing the large property into several smaller house lots. Over the next decade or so, several new houses would be built. That is why we have modern homes at 110 and 112 Main Street, as well as 7 and 15 Victoria Street.
While we can recall the Webb place based on a picture or two, let’s not forget the Bulkley family who got things started.
Next west of Village Lot 1 is Village lot 2, another larger lot that has Village Lot 19 on its west side, along Victoria Street. There are actually four current properties to consider when we look at the history of this part of Main Street. Number 110 and 112 are modern houses on Main Street, built in the 1980s or 1990s. Around the corner on Victoria Street, we see two more, numbers 7 and 15 Victoria Street.
However, before the 1980s, this area was part of one large holding and there was a very significant house in the middle. This was known around town as the Webb Place. The land records actually use the term “Webb Property” to refer to the area and the house.
Village Lot 2 was purchased from Josiah Proctor in 1839 by Hiram Bulkley, the same fellow we encountered at 100 Main Street engaged in the dry goods business. We must emphasize again, the name is spelled right here, it is not Buckley, in spite of what is shown in some records. It appears as if lot 2 was purchased in to make a home for the family and we can expect that a significant frame house was built there soon after the land was acquired. But, wait, that is not the house mentioned above.
Hiram Bulkley added to his property in 1850 when he purchased Village Lot 19, so now he had access to all of his property via Victoria Street. These two lots would be passed on to Hiram’s son, Stiles Bulkley and, in 1875, he sold them to Thomas Webb. Here was another very active businessman in Brighton, but he was also a relative. Thomas Webb had married Charlotte Bulkley, a sister of Stiles and a daughter of Hiram Bulkley. This is only one example of many property transactions between family members we can identify in the land records.
Thomas Webb is the one who built the large, two-story brick house in the middle of the land at the corner of Main and Victoria Streets. The house was set back from Main Street, although faced south onto the street. Records show that the large house straddled the boundary between Village Lots 2 and 19, which makes the land records very confusing. Adding to that confusion, Thomas Webb also acquired land in the west part of Village Lot 23, north of 19 and 2, which gave him better access to his property from Victoria Street. If we look at old aerial pictures of the area, we can see that the barn and sheds and a significant driveway to the north side of the property came off Victoria Street, more or less where 15 Victoria Street is today.
The house is said to have been built in 1880, so it can accurately be called “The Webb House”. It was designed to be very impressive, with extra tall rooms and the roof peaked in the middle. Far more noticeable for the passerby was the tall, heavy tower that dominated the front of the house and the streetscape. Even more remarkable were the two carved lions that sat on guard at the front door. To this day, some people around Brighton recall going on Sunday drives with the family and making a note to pass slowly down Main Street near Victoria Street, to see how the other half lives.
The Webb property would remain in the hands of Webb descendants until 1952. Four years later, it would be purchased by Aric and Niola Gerow. Aric had been born in Ameliasburgh Township and followed his father as a fisherman in his early life. By the 1940s, he was involved in the propane business, an area of growing demand. Gerow Propane is mentioned in 1954, being in partnership with George Murdoff of Brighton, in a new office on Ontario Street. Later, Gerow Propane would move to number 2 highway east of Brighton, and remains an excellent business today.
In 1956, the idea appears to have been that the big house might be made into a hotel. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the land records are confusing and not so positive regarding the Gerow ambitions about a hotel. By the late 1970s, it had failed and another force was in play. In 1981, the partnership of Al Zinck and Doug Haig acquired the Webb property under power of sale and they had development in mind. A new land-use plan was developed, dividing the large property into several smaller house lots. Over the next decade or so, several new houses would be built. That is why we have modern homes at 110 and 112 Main Street, as well as 7 and 15 Victoria Street.
While we can recall the Webb place based on a picture or two, let’s not forget the Bulkley family who got things started.
117 and 119 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 26 & 27
The next property to the west is a substantial brick house that has been divided into a duplex, hosting 117 Main Street on the east side and 119 Main Street on the west side. Also, this property is primarily in village lot 27, but also takes up part of lot 26 on the west side. This makes the land records very confusing. Since this property is mainly on lot 27, let’s deal with its history here.
Two years after the original Patent in 1842, Isaac C. Proctor sold village lot 27 to Willard Parker who sold it in 1853 to John Edward Proctor who was engaged in lots of wheeling-and-dealing in Brighton. He sold lot 27 in 1857 to Michael Gormley, and in 1866 the land was sold back to Mr. Proctor. He tried again in 1878 when he sold to John Allen, who sold in 1883 to Sarah Huyck. She was the wife of Selim Huyck and this couple sold lot 27 to Thomas Dickens in 1885.
Thomas Dickens was born in England but came to Canada in 1832 and established himself as a successful baker in Trenton where he raised a family of seven. In the 1870s, he saw opportunity in real estate in Brighton and he invested in several properties on Russell Street and a couple of places on Main Street. He also took over what was called “Wellington’s old stand” at Main and Division Street, to operate a bakery in Brighton.
Then, in 1894, Thomas Dickens sold land he had in both lot 26 and 27 to Frederick W. Auston, who was part of the family that operated the laces factory on Napier Street. The Auston family made many investments on Main Street and to the south, usually holding the land long enough to make a good profit on the transaction. It is not clear from records, but it could be that the Frederick Auston had the house built on lots 26 and 27 in the period 1894 to 1910 when he sold to James C. Phillips. From this point forward, there appears to be two streams of owners. It could be that Auston deliberately built a duplex or it was converted to a duplex sometime after that.
James Cumming Phillips was a grandson of Beekman Phillips, a very early settler in Cramahe Township west of Brighton. James appears to have purchased the east part of the property and his brother Harry B. Phillips, acquired the west side. James sold the east side to Harry in 1915. In 1920, Harry Phillips sold the west part to Frank Carr, a farmer from Cramahe Township and his estate sold both east and west sides to William J. Nesbitt in 1945. Bill Nesbitt had been seriously wounded at Passchendale in 1917 and, after returning home, worked at the post office for a time.
By the early 1970s, both sides of the property came into the ownership of Clarence Stansel, a federal civil servant who was still working for the Department of the Solicitor General and would retired in Brighton. The Stansel family had this property well into the 1990s, including both sides. At this time, in 2023, this building functions as a duplex with clear labels of 117 on the east and 119 on the west side.
The next property to the west is a substantial brick house that has been divided into a duplex, hosting 117 Main Street on the east side and 119 Main Street on the west side. Also, this property is primarily in village lot 27, but also takes up part of lot 26 on the west side. This makes the land records very confusing. Since this property is mainly on lot 27, let’s deal with its history here.
Two years after the original Patent in 1842, Isaac C. Proctor sold village lot 27 to Willard Parker who sold it in 1853 to John Edward Proctor who was engaged in lots of wheeling-and-dealing in Brighton. He sold lot 27 in 1857 to Michael Gormley, and in 1866 the land was sold back to Mr. Proctor. He tried again in 1878 when he sold to John Allen, who sold in 1883 to Sarah Huyck. She was the wife of Selim Huyck and this couple sold lot 27 to Thomas Dickens in 1885.
Thomas Dickens was born in England but came to Canada in 1832 and established himself as a successful baker in Trenton where he raised a family of seven. In the 1870s, he saw opportunity in real estate in Brighton and he invested in several properties on Russell Street and a couple of places on Main Street. He also took over what was called “Wellington’s old stand” at Main and Division Street, to operate a bakery in Brighton.
Then, in 1894, Thomas Dickens sold land he had in both lot 26 and 27 to Frederick W. Auston, who was part of the family that operated the laces factory on Napier Street. The Auston family made many investments on Main Street and to the south, usually holding the land long enough to make a good profit on the transaction. It is not clear from records, but it could be that the Frederick Auston had the house built on lots 26 and 27 in the period 1894 to 1910 when he sold to James C. Phillips. From this point forward, there appears to be two streams of owners. It could be that Auston deliberately built a duplex or it was converted to a duplex sometime after that.
James Cumming Phillips was a grandson of Beekman Phillips, a very early settler in Cramahe Township west of Brighton. James appears to have purchased the east part of the property and his brother Harry B. Phillips, acquired the west side. James sold the east side to Harry in 1915. In 1920, Harry Phillips sold the west part to Frank Carr, a farmer from Cramahe Township and his estate sold both east and west sides to William J. Nesbitt in 1945. Bill Nesbitt had been seriously wounded at Passchendale in 1917 and, after returning home, worked at the post office for a time.
By the early 1970s, both sides of the property came into the ownership of Clarence Stansel, a federal civil servant who was still working for the Department of the Solicitor General and would retired in Brighton. The Stansel family had this property well into the 1990s, including both sides. At this time, in 2023, this building functions as a duplex with clear labels of 117 on the east and 119 on the west side.
121 & 123 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 26
The next property is another duplex, this one hosting 121 and 123 Main Street. During later 2022 and through 2023, the unit on the west side of this house, 123 Main Street, has been occupied by a public office for Brighton Retirement Living, a new housing development out at the west end of town. In fact, The History Guy did his first history talk to the folks at the new facility on January 9, 2024, hopefully starting a tradition.
This property is mostly in village lot 26, but, like others in this area, borders are not important. The land records show us that Isaac C. Proctor sold lot 26 to John M. Grover of Grafton in 1848 and he quickly sold it to Sidney Jones, which led to his wife, Susan Jones, selling it to William W. Webb in 1856. We have seen that this family was very active at this time, including Thomas Webb building the large house on the north side of Main Street in 1880.
William Webb sold lot 26 in 1885 to Thomas Dickens, the baker we mentioned related to 117 and 119. In 1894, Dickens sold to Frederick W. Auston who had other pieces of land in the area. Lot 26 would be in the hands of the Auston family until 1964, when sold to William Lelliot who sold to Charles Stewart in 1968. This family lived in Belleville and the duplex at 121/123 Main Street was used for apartment rental.
In 1987, Clarence Stansel acquire this property as well as 117/119 and would pass it on to his children.
The next property is another duplex, this one hosting 121 and 123 Main Street. During later 2022 and through 2023, the unit on the west side of this house, 123 Main Street, has been occupied by a public office for Brighton Retirement Living, a new housing development out at the west end of town. In fact, The History Guy did his first history talk to the folks at the new facility on January 9, 2024, hopefully starting a tradition.
This property is mostly in village lot 26, but, like others in this area, borders are not important. The land records show us that Isaac C. Proctor sold lot 26 to John M. Grover of Grafton in 1848 and he quickly sold it to Sidney Jones, which led to his wife, Susan Jones, selling it to William W. Webb in 1856. We have seen that this family was very active at this time, including Thomas Webb building the large house on the north side of Main Street in 1880.
William Webb sold lot 26 in 1885 to Thomas Dickens, the baker we mentioned related to 117 and 119. In 1894, Dickens sold to Frederick W. Auston who had other pieces of land in the area. Lot 26 would be in the hands of the Auston family until 1964, when sold to William Lelliot who sold to Charles Stewart in 1968. This family lived in Belleville and the duplex at 121/123 Main Street was used for apartment rental.
In 1987, Clarence Stansel acquire this property as well as 117/119 and would pass it on to his children.
120 Main Street – Village Lots 3 & 4
The property on the north-west corner of Main and Victoria Streets is 120 Main Street, which occupies two narrow village lots, numbers 3 and 4. As we pass this classic, attractive brick house, we see a sign saying “The Valleau House”, and for good reason. This house was built by Cornelius Valleau in the 1860s. He was a member of a very large Huguenot family that were Loyalists in Prince Edward County before spreading into the townships to the north. In fact, several of his siblings would settle in the northern part of Brighton Township, to provide lots of cousins for folks in that region, including the History Guy who grew up at Codrington.
Cornelius Valleau was born in 1830 in Hillier Township and became a skilled carpenter as a young man. He married Mary Pearsall in 1854 and was established in Brighton by 1857. One daughter was born to Cornelius and Mary, but she passed away around 1861. Cornelius then married Miranda Potter, from back home in the county, and they would have three children.
Cornelius Valleau was described as carpenter or joiner, as was common in those days. Later, he would be known as a builder; today, we would call him a contractor. While he was mostly involved in construction, he did do some speculation in sub-divisions south of main street, which probably ended up in more houses built. We might expect that his own home was one of his earliest building projects.
The property at 120 Main Street is also interesting because it has been maintained in the family line. Cornelius Valleau’s daughter, Martha, married Burton Becker, a well-known merchant in Brighton. Remember Becker’s Bazaar? Their daughter, Marie, married Keith Roblin after he came back from harrowing service in WWI. Their daughter, Eleanor Roblin, married John Stephens in 1956 and that couple owns the property to this day. So, in terms of family connections, this is an historic house in Brighton.
The property on the north-west corner of Main and Victoria Streets is 120 Main Street, which occupies two narrow village lots, numbers 3 and 4. As we pass this classic, attractive brick house, we see a sign saying “The Valleau House”, and for good reason. This house was built by Cornelius Valleau in the 1860s. He was a member of a very large Huguenot family that were Loyalists in Prince Edward County before spreading into the townships to the north. In fact, several of his siblings would settle in the northern part of Brighton Township, to provide lots of cousins for folks in that region, including the History Guy who grew up at Codrington.
Cornelius Valleau was born in 1830 in Hillier Township and became a skilled carpenter as a young man. He married Mary Pearsall in 1854 and was established in Brighton by 1857. One daughter was born to Cornelius and Mary, but she passed away around 1861. Cornelius then married Miranda Potter, from back home in the county, and they would have three children.
Cornelius Valleau was described as carpenter or joiner, as was common in those days. Later, he would be known as a builder; today, we would call him a contractor. While he was mostly involved in construction, he did do some speculation in sub-divisions south of main street, which probably ended up in more houses built. We might expect that his own home was one of his earliest building projects.
The property at 120 Main Street is also interesting because it has been maintained in the family line. Cornelius Valleau’s daughter, Martha, married Burton Becker, a well-known merchant in Brighton. Remember Becker’s Bazaar? Their daughter, Marie, married Keith Roblin after he came back from harrowing service in WWI. Their daughter, Eleanor Roblin, married John Stephens in 1956 and that couple owns the property to this day. So, in terms of family connections, this is an historic house in Brighton.
127 Main Street South Side – No Village Lot Numbers
Look at the maps! There are no village lots west of lot 26 to Railroad Street. If we step back and look at the wider map of the area, we see that Mrs. Dowler is the name on most of the land south of Main Street and between Centre and Railroad Street, all the way down to Richardson Street. This was mostly undeveloped land in 1878, in effect, part of a farm. However, expansion of the village lots along Railroad, Russell and Chapel and other streets had begun and was on the verge of exploding. Demand was growing for homes in town.
The history of this part of the land on the south side of Main Street begins with the familiar Patent to Isaac C. Proctor in 1842 for the north half of lot 2, concession 1, Cramahe Township. In 1848, Isaac C. Proctor sold 48 acres of the north east part of lot 2, concession 1 to Abijah Squier. This was part of the land accumulated by Abijah Squier which was inherited by his two daughters, Edith and Agnes. Both married Dowler brothers, Edith to Joseph Dowler and Agnes to George Dowler. Both couples were very active in parleying their land holdings into smaller pieces that could be sold for development at a time of high demand for housing in town. It might be noted that George and Agnes Dowler retired to Toronto in the late 1880s, after disposing of their land in Brighton.
In 1878, Agnes and George Dowler sold the north part of this land, at the corner of Main and Railroad Streets, to Frederick W. Auston, who we have already seen was active in real estate and business in Brighton. He and his brother Lucien had started the laces factory of on Napier Street which was a major manufacturing site for the town. It is probably in this period that the house at 127 Main Street was built. It was a serious construction project because the full two-storied brick house may be one of the largest on Main Street. The front is similar to others along the street, but it extends a long way south. It’s a big house.
The Auston family sold to Frances M. Bullock in 1903. She was the wife of Clarence Christopher Bullock, who is shown to be a very active merchant and manufacturer in Brighton. The 1911 Census shows this couple living on Main Street in Brighton, which probably means 127. In 1920, the Bullocks sold to Frederick E. Marshall who operated drug stores at various locations in the immediate downtown area over several decades.
Fred Marshall was married to Frances L. Nesbitt, a daughter of Sam Nesbitt and Eleanor Bibby. The property was passed to Frances in 1921. Then, in 1946, Frances L. Marshall sold to the Nesbitt Canning Company. This turned around quicky and in 1951, the company sold 127 to Robert and Katherine Nesbitt. It would be in Nesbitt hands until 1964 when it was sold to Mary Elizabeth Smith, a single lady and a teacher. The Canada Voters Lists for 1965, 1968 show Miss Smith to be living on Main Street in Brighton, and in 1972, specifically, 127 Main.
In 1980, Mary E. Smith sold the property to Al and Wendy Zinck and in 1985 it went to Carolyn G. Simpson. In 1996 it was acquired by Mark Peter Sander who had it as late as 2008.
Look at the maps! There are no village lots west of lot 26 to Railroad Street. If we step back and look at the wider map of the area, we see that Mrs. Dowler is the name on most of the land south of Main Street and between Centre and Railroad Street, all the way down to Richardson Street. This was mostly undeveloped land in 1878, in effect, part of a farm. However, expansion of the village lots along Railroad, Russell and Chapel and other streets had begun and was on the verge of exploding. Demand was growing for homes in town.
The history of this part of the land on the south side of Main Street begins with the familiar Patent to Isaac C. Proctor in 1842 for the north half of lot 2, concession 1, Cramahe Township. In 1848, Isaac C. Proctor sold 48 acres of the north east part of lot 2, concession 1 to Abijah Squier. This was part of the land accumulated by Abijah Squier which was inherited by his two daughters, Edith and Agnes. Both married Dowler brothers, Edith to Joseph Dowler and Agnes to George Dowler. Both couples were very active in parleying their land holdings into smaller pieces that could be sold for development at a time of high demand for housing in town. It might be noted that George and Agnes Dowler retired to Toronto in the late 1880s, after disposing of their land in Brighton.
In 1878, Agnes and George Dowler sold the north part of this land, at the corner of Main and Railroad Streets, to Frederick W. Auston, who we have already seen was active in real estate and business in Brighton. He and his brother Lucien had started the laces factory of on Napier Street which was a major manufacturing site for the town. It is probably in this period that the house at 127 Main Street was built. It was a serious construction project because the full two-storied brick house may be one of the largest on Main Street. The front is similar to others along the street, but it extends a long way south. It’s a big house.
The Auston family sold to Frances M. Bullock in 1903. She was the wife of Clarence Christopher Bullock, who is shown to be a very active merchant and manufacturer in Brighton. The 1911 Census shows this couple living on Main Street in Brighton, which probably means 127. In 1920, the Bullocks sold to Frederick E. Marshall who operated drug stores at various locations in the immediate downtown area over several decades.
Fred Marshall was married to Frances L. Nesbitt, a daughter of Sam Nesbitt and Eleanor Bibby. The property was passed to Frances in 1921. Then, in 1946, Frances L. Marshall sold to the Nesbitt Canning Company. This turned around quicky and in 1951, the company sold 127 to Robert and Katherine Nesbitt. It would be in Nesbitt hands until 1964 when it was sold to Mary Elizabeth Smith, a single lady and a teacher. The Canada Voters Lists for 1965, 1968 show Miss Smith to be living on Main Street in Brighton, and in 1972, specifically, 127 Main.
In 1980, Mary E. Smith sold the property to Al and Wendy Zinck and in 1985 it went to Carolyn G. Simpson. In 1996 it was acquired by Mark Peter Sander who had it as late as 2008.
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124 & 128 Main Street – Village Lots 5 & 6 - Proctor Homestead
To the west of 120 Main Street, we see a lovely modern home that sits back from Main Street behind some trees. This home sits across Village Lots 5 and 6, with Village Lot 7 to the west containing the funeral home. This area is very significant in terms of early Brighton history, although the reality only comes through after digging into the historical records.
The story of John Edward Proctor and Proctor House Museum is well known around Brighton but, in order to understand the early history of this part of Main Street, we need to go back two generations. Josiah Proctor (1757-1850), John E.’s grandfather, came to Upper Canada from Vermont in 1810 and settled at the south end of Cramahe Township. He had been born in Massachusetts, was married in New Hampshire in 1785 and the family soon moved to Vermont. This path represents a very common story for many settlers who ended up in the Brighton area. Vermont was a safer stop-over place for many families who may not be considered Loyalists, per se, but found themselves on the wrong side of the patriot fervour around the War of Independence.
In 1814, Josiah Proctor was able to purchase all 200 acres of Cramahe Township lot 2, concession 2 from the original Patent holder, David M. Rogers. This is the block of land north of Main Street, between Platt and Princess Streets and all the way to the next concession line which is the Little Lake Road. Lot 2 was the Proctor farm. Over time, as the community grew and demand increased for small town lots, members of the Proctor family sold pieces of land from lot 2, mostly along the roads and streets. In particular, every village lot along the north side of Main Street between Platt and Princess Streets will show these first two land transactions in their history.
The family of Josiah Proctor included two girls and two boys. Sarah, the eldest, was married to a Mr. Russell in Vermont before the family left for Upper Canada and she remained there. The second daughter, Rebecca, married Smalley Spafford in Vermont before both families moved to Upper Canada. The young couple would live for a time in Vermont and New York State before following the rest of the family to Northumberland County.
Josiah’s eldest son was Isaac Chamberlain Proctor (1790-1866) who was married to Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of John Drummond Smith, the early settler at Smithfield, east of Brighton. Isaac had little interest in farming, and soon after arriving in Cramahe Township, he purchased land west of Brighton, right on the Danforth Highway (No. 2 today) and built a hotel and tavern, called for a couple of decades the Proctor Inn. The establishment was there during the War of 1812, providing accommodation for soldiers who managed a weapons cache in a small, thick building just to the south on Huff Road. He was also very active in real estate speculation in the area.
Josiah Proctor’s youngest son was Josiah Proctor Jr. (1796-1839) who was a farmer by nature and would take over the Proctor farm on lot 2. He married Almira Hodges, daughter of Sanders Hodges and sister of Ira Hodges who ran a hotel and tavern which is the property at 156 Main Street today. It would be Josiah Jr.’s son, Ira Russell Proctor who would sell many village lots from the original Proctor farm.
When we look at the land registry records for Village Lots 5 and 6 along the north side of Main Street, it becomes clear that this was the last of the original Proctor farm to be sold by Ira R. Proctor. This is a strong indication that this is where the original Proctor homestead must have been. In addition, there is a note in The Tobey Book about this. It says “Josiah Proctor settled on Lot 2 of Concession 2 in a house on what are now known as Village Lots 5 and 6 north of Main Street”.
This positioning of the family home, barns and sheds is also very logical in the circumstances. They owned lot 2 which fronted on the main road east and west along the shore of Lake Ontario. It would be the obvious place to build the homestead on that road for easy communications while they farmed the land to the north. Of course, nothing remains today of the original Proctor homestead, but we are lucky to have documents that allow us to develop a more complete picture of this family and their impact on the community.
It was not until 1886 that the estate of Harriet Eliza (Butler) Proctor, wife of Ira R. Proctor, sold Village Lots 5, 6 and 7 to Thomas G. Murphy. He was a prosperous farmer from Cramahe Township and would have a major impact on the west side of Brighton Village. Mr. Murphy was 71 years of age at this time, and was using his resources to arrange for a retirement home in the Village of Brighton and to set up his children for the future outside of the traditional farm inheritance.
Part of this process included selling Village Lots 5 and 6 to his daughter Lydia, who had married Robert Austin Brintnell in 1879. This couple probably built a two-storied frame house on the location of the original Proctor home, straddling the two village lots. In 1922, the two lots would be passed on to Lydia’s son, Burton E. Brintnell. Since this was the era of the automobile, Burton Brintnell set up a gas station and auto repair business right on the street in Village Lot 6, in front of the Brintnell house. This business was at 128 Main Street while the house was 124 Main Street.
Then, in 1933, James Hales moved his shoe repair shop from 13 Young Street to 128 Main Street, installing his small shop building right behind the gas pumps. Jimmie Hales rented space from Burton Brintnell and also took over the gas station and auto repair business. He was a very handy fellow and extremely social, so the Hales shoe repair shop became a popular meeting place at the west end of Brighton, the host always there with a smile and maybe a shoe tack in his mouth. People in the area would tell stories of their teenaged children being late for supper because they could not get away from Jimmie Hales and all his tall tales.
There is a picture of Jimmie Hales and his shoe repair shop taken in the late 1930s. He is standing on the roof of the shop, waving a British Ensign flag, with is son, Jack, in cadet uniform on the roof beside him. Two double-tank gas pumps are evident in front of the shop, right on the edge of the street. Behind, and to the right, we see the house which the Hales family called home at this point.
Jimmie Hales was a fixture on Main Street in Brighton until his death in 1966. Very soon after, the gas pumps were removed and the shoe repair shop found another home, behind Proctor House Museum. A look inside the shed reveals the tools of a shoe maker which now lay silent after some very busy decades at Jimmy Hales shop on Main Street.
Village Lots 5 and 6 remained in the Hales family until 1995, when they were sold to Walas Funeral Home. The new chapel of the funeral home was built into lot 6 and the Walas family built the modern home we now see east of the funeral home, straddling the two lots. Bill and Pauline York acquire 124 Main Street from Walas in 2004.
The address of 128 Main Street no longer exists.
To the west of 120 Main Street, we see a lovely modern home that sits back from Main Street behind some trees. This home sits across Village Lots 5 and 6, with Village Lot 7 to the west containing the funeral home. This area is very significant in terms of early Brighton history, although the reality only comes through after digging into the historical records.
The story of John Edward Proctor and Proctor House Museum is well known around Brighton but, in order to understand the early history of this part of Main Street, we need to go back two generations. Josiah Proctor (1757-1850), John E.’s grandfather, came to Upper Canada from Vermont in 1810 and settled at the south end of Cramahe Township. He had been born in Massachusetts, was married in New Hampshire in 1785 and the family soon moved to Vermont. This path represents a very common story for many settlers who ended up in the Brighton area. Vermont was a safer stop-over place for many families who may not be considered Loyalists, per se, but found themselves on the wrong side of the patriot fervour around the War of Independence.
In 1814, Josiah Proctor was able to purchase all 200 acres of Cramahe Township lot 2, concession 2 from the original Patent holder, David M. Rogers. This is the block of land north of Main Street, between Platt and Princess Streets and all the way to the next concession line which is the Little Lake Road. Lot 2 was the Proctor farm. Over time, as the community grew and demand increased for small town lots, members of the Proctor family sold pieces of land from lot 2, mostly along the roads and streets. In particular, every village lot along the north side of Main Street between Platt and Princess Streets will show these first two land transactions in their history.
The family of Josiah Proctor included two girls and two boys. Sarah, the eldest, was married to a Mr. Russell in Vermont before the family left for Upper Canada and she remained there. The second daughter, Rebecca, married Smalley Spafford in Vermont before both families moved to Upper Canada. The young couple would live for a time in Vermont and New York State before following the rest of the family to Northumberland County.
Josiah’s eldest son was Isaac Chamberlain Proctor (1790-1866) who was married to Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of John Drummond Smith, the early settler at Smithfield, east of Brighton. Isaac had little interest in farming, and soon after arriving in Cramahe Township, he purchased land west of Brighton, right on the Danforth Highway (No. 2 today) and built a hotel and tavern, called for a couple of decades the Proctor Inn. The establishment was there during the War of 1812, providing accommodation for soldiers who managed a weapons cache in a small, thick building just to the south on Huff Road. He was also very active in real estate speculation in the area.
Josiah Proctor’s youngest son was Josiah Proctor Jr. (1796-1839) who was a farmer by nature and would take over the Proctor farm on lot 2. He married Almira Hodges, daughter of Sanders Hodges and sister of Ira Hodges who ran a hotel and tavern which is the property at 156 Main Street today. It would be Josiah Jr.’s son, Ira Russell Proctor who would sell many village lots from the original Proctor farm.
When we look at the land registry records for Village Lots 5 and 6 along the north side of Main Street, it becomes clear that this was the last of the original Proctor farm to be sold by Ira R. Proctor. This is a strong indication that this is where the original Proctor homestead must have been. In addition, there is a note in The Tobey Book about this. It says “Josiah Proctor settled on Lot 2 of Concession 2 in a house on what are now known as Village Lots 5 and 6 north of Main Street”.
This positioning of the family home, barns and sheds is also very logical in the circumstances. They owned lot 2 which fronted on the main road east and west along the shore of Lake Ontario. It would be the obvious place to build the homestead on that road for easy communications while they farmed the land to the north. Of course, nothing remains today of the original Proctor homestead, but we are lucky to have documents that allow us to develop a more complete picture of this family and their impact on the community.
It was not until 1886 that the estate of Harriet Eliza (Butler) Proctor, wife of Ira R. Proctor, sold Village Lots 5, 6 and 7 to Thomas G. Murphy. He was a prosperous farmer from Cramahe Township and would have a major impact on the west side of Brighton Village. Mr. Murphy was 71 years of age at this time, and was using his resources to arrange for a retirement home in the Village of Brighton and to set up his children for the future outside of the traditional farm inheritance.
Part of this process included selling Village Lots 5 and 6 to his daughter Lydia, who had married Robert Austin Brintnell in 1879. This couple probably built a two-storied frame house on the location of the original Proctor home, straddling the two village lots. In 1922, the two lots would be passed on to Lydia’s son, Burton E. Brintnell. Since this was the era of the automobile, Burton Brintnell set up a gas station and auto repair business right on the street in Village Lot 6, in front of the Brintnell house. This business was at 128 Main Street while the house was 124 Main Street.
Then, in 1933, James Hales moved his shoe repair shop from 13 Young Street to 128 Main Street, installing his small shop building right behind the gas pumps. Jimmie Hales rented space from Burton Brintnell and also took over the gas station and auto repair business. He was a very handy fellow and extremely social, so the Hales shoe repair shop became a popular meeting place at the west end of Brighton, the host always there with a smile and maybe a shoe tack in his mouth. People in the area would tell stories of their teenaged children being late for supper because they could not get away from Jimmie Hales and all his tall tales.
There is a picture of Jimmie Hales and his shoe repair shop taken in the late 1930s. He is standing on the roof of the shop, waving a British Ensign flag, with is son, Jack, in cadet uniform on the roof beside him. Two double-tank gas pumps are evident in front of the shop, right on the edge of the street. Behind, and to the right, we see the house which the Hales family called home at this point.
Jimmie Hales was a fixture on Main Street in Brighton until his death in 1966. Very soon after, the gas pumps were removed and the shoe repair shop found another home, behind Proctor House Museum. A look inside the shed reveals the tools of a shoe maker which now lay silent after some very busy decades at Jimmy Hales shop on Main Street.
Village Lots 5 and 6 remained in the Hales family until 1995, when they were sold to Walas Funeral Home. The new chapel of the funeral home was built into lot 6 and the Walas family built the modern home we now see east of the funeral home, straddling the two lots. Bill and Pauline York acquire 124 Main Street from Walas in 2004.
The address of 128 Main Street no longer exists.
131 Main Street South Side – No Village Lot No.
The house at 131 Main Street is not so large as its neighbor at 127, but it is a lot older. The location as well as the design of this house suggests that this was a farm house built in the 1860s, by a prosperous family who owned considerable land in the area. It was situated to face onto Main Street, on a piece of their land that fronted on the main road, and stretched south from there. More specific evidence of the date of construction would be welcome, but these assumptions seem sound with the information at hand.
The history of 131 Main Street starts with the original Patent in 1842 for 100 acres in the north half of lot 2, concession 1, Cramahe Township which was given to Isaac C. Proctor. In 1850, he sold 48 acres on the north east part of lot 2 to Abijah Squier. The Squier family were very early settlers in the Smithfield area, then spread out into Cramahe Township, specifically around what would become the village of Brighton.
Abijah Squier (1817-1855) and his wife Sarah Ann Cryderman had only two children, daughters Agnes and Alice. When he died in 1855, the land was inherited by his daughters. In 1869, Agnes married George Dowler and a few years later, Alice married Joseph Dowler, George’s brother. The Dowler family had come from Ireland to Canada in the 1840s, living in Lower Canada until the two brothers came to the Brighton area in the 1860s.
Over the next two decades, these two Dowler families would be active in the development of the land south of Main Street between Railroad Street and Centre Street, and even south of the railway tracks. Mrs. George Dowler is the name we see on most of the land south of Main and east of Railroad Street on the 1878 Belden map. The larger lots would be broken down into small village lots which were in demand by the public for homes in the growing town.
One of these transactions occurred in 1878 when Agnes and George Dowler sold land east of Railroad Street to Frederick William Auston (1847-1923). He and brothers, James and Lucien, came to Brighton from Cobourg where their father had been a doctor. Frederick and Lucien set up a factory on Napier Street north of Russell to manufacture laces that were in high demand for boots and corsets. This factory sent product all over the province for about a decade before it was absorbed into a larger corporation and moved to Toronto. In the meantime, the Auston family had a major impact on the town. Besides employment and business activity due to the laces factory, they engaged in aggressive real estate speculation in a time of growth in the housing needs of the town.
We can assume that the Auston family moved into the old Dowler farm house that would become 131 Main Street. It might also be suggested that they built the big brick house immediately east of their home, on the property that would become 127 Main Street.
In 1903, Frederick W. Auston sold land East of Railroad Street to Frances M. Bullock, the wife of Clarence Christopher Bullock who was a very active merchant and manufacturer in Brighton. Then, in 1920, the Bullock family sold what would become 131 Main Street and a bunch of other land to Robert A. Hamilton for a considerable $5,900. In this transaction, we can see that there is quite a collection of land involved. It is described in the land records as “part south of Main Street marked name Abijah Squier” which established the link back to the earlier owner. It also includes Lot 6 on the north side of Addison Street and goes on to list "lots 9, 10, 11 and 12 East of Railroad Street”.
A new plan had been established to organize the properties along the east side of Railroad Street and this resulted in lot 12 at the corner of Main and Railroad, then lot 11 south of there along Railroad and so forth, down to Addison St. Lot 12 would later be the home of 133 Main Street.
Robert Andrew Hamilton (1859-1930) had been born in Hope Township, where his parents, George Hamilton and Isabella Dixon, had settled after coming from Scotland around 1857. In 1887, Robert married Mary Florence Cooley who had grown up in Murray Township. The young couple would head out to Manitoba with members of Mary’s family and two daughters, Isabella and Florence Vivian were born there. Mary Florence died in 1898 in Manitoba and Robert married Jane Maria “Jennie” Abbott in 1901, another native of Murray Township, being a daughter of Lewis Abbott and Anna Weaver. They came back to Ontario in the later 19-teens and Robert A. Hamilton purchases the land in 1920, as mentioned above.
Robert Hamilton had sold the Addison Street lot in 1920, but his wife, Jennie, would have to deal with the rest after he died in 1930. In 1946, she sold part of the land on Addison Street as well as lots 9, 10 and part of 11 that were south of lot 12 along the east side of Railroad Street. Then, in 1952, Jennie and her daughter Florence sold the remaining property to The Nesbitt Canning Company for $6,750. This company was controlled by the Nesbitt family, and would be involved in real estate speculation along with various members of the family.
In 1955, the Nesbitt Canning Company Ltd. sold lot 12 and part of lot 11 on the east side of Railroad Street to Elva L. P. Thompson, who was a daughter of Edwin Nesbitt and Nellie Jones. She had married Benjamin Cope Thompson, a lawyer in Brighton. Then, in 1962, Elva Thompson sold the land to Harold and Mary Stinson. Two years later, they sold it to James and Mary Scott.
James Scott was a salesman for Ontario Hydro and had lived in Wooler before moving to Brighton. He is called a Foreman in the Voters Lists for 1965 and 1968, then the 1972 Voters List shows James & Mary Scott as occupants of 131 Main Street.
This property has changed hands several times since then.
The house at 131 Main Street is not so large as its neighbor at 127, but it is a lot older. The location as well as the design of this house suggests that this was a farm house built in the 1860s, by a prosperous family who owned considerable land in the area. It was situated to face onto Main Street, on a piece of their land that fronted on the main road, and stretched south from there. More specific evidence of the date of construction would be welcome, but these assumptions seem sound with the information at hand.
The history of 131 Main Street starts with the original Patent in 1842 for 100 acres in the north half of lot 2, concession 1, Cramahe Township which was given to Isaac C. Proctor. In 1850, he sold 48 acres on the north east part of lot 2 to Abijah Squier. The Squier family were very early settlers in the Smithfield area, then spread out into Cramahe Township, specifically around what would become the village of Brighton.
Abijah Squier (1817-1855) and his wife Sarah Ann Cryderman had only two children, daughters Agnes and Alice. When he died in 1855, the land was inherited by his daughters. In 1869, Agnes married George Dowler and a few years later, Alice married Joseph Dowler, George’s brother. The Dowler family had come from Ireland to Canada in the 1840s, living in Lower Canada until the two brothers came to the Brighton area in the 1860s.
Over the next two decades, these two Dowler families would be active in the development of the land south of Main Street between Railroad Street and Centre Street, and even south of the railway tracks. Mrs. George Dowler is the name we see on most of the land south of Main and east of Railroad Street on the 1878 Belden map. The larger lots would be broken down into small village lots which were in demand by the public for homes in the growing town.
One of these transactions occurred in 1878 when Agnes and George Dowler sold land east of Railroad Street to Frederick William Auston (1847-1923). He and brothers, James and Lucien, came to Brighton from Cobourg where their father had been a doctor. Frederick and Lucien set up a factory on Napier Street north of Russell to manufacture laces that were in high demand for boots and corsets. This factory sent product all over the province for about a decade before it was absorbed into a larger corporation and moved to Toronto. In the meantime, the Auston family had a major impact on the town. Besides employment and business activity due to the laces factory, they engaged in aggressive real estate speculation in a time of growth in the housing needs of the town.
We can assume that the Auston family moved into the old Dowler farm house that would become 131 Main Street. It might also be suggested that they built the big brick house immediately east of their home, on the property that would become 127 Main Street.
In 1903, Frederick W. Auston sold land East of Railroad Street to Frances M. Bullock, the wife of Clarence Christopher Bullock who was a very active merchant and manufacturer in Brighton. Then, in 1920, the Bullock family sold what would become 131 Main Street and a bunch of other land to Robert A. Hamilton for a considerable $5,900. In this transaction, we can see that there is quite a collection of land involved. It is described in the land records as “part south of Main Street marked name Abijah Squier” which established the link back to the earlier owner. It also includes Lot 6 on the north side of Addison Street and goes on to list "lots 9, 10, 11 and 12 East of Railroad Street”.
A new plan had been established to organize the properties along the east side of Railroad Street and this resulted in lot 12 at the corner of Main and Railroad, then lot 11 south of there along Railroad and so forth, down to Addison St. Lot 12 would later be the home of 133 Main Street.
Robert Andrew Hamilton (1859-1930) had been born in Hope Township, where his parents, George Hamilton and Isabella Dixon, had settled after coming from Scotland around 1857. In 1887, Robert married Mary Florence Cooley who had grown up in Murray Township. The young couple would head out to Manitoba with members of Mary’s family and two daughters, Isabella and Florence Vivian were born there. Mary Florence died in 1898 in Manitoba and Robert married Jane Maria “Jennie” Abbott in 1901, another native of Murray Township, being a daughter of Lewis Abbott and Anna Weaver. They came back to Ontario in the later 19-teens and Robert A. Hamilton purchases the land in 1920, as mentioned above.
Robert Hamilton had sold the Addison Street lot in 1920, but his wife, Jennie, would have to deal with the rest after he died in 1930. In 1946, she sold part of the land on Addison Street as well as lots 9, 10 and part of 11 that were south of lot 12 along the east side of Railroad Street. Then, in 1952, Jennie and her daughter Florence sold the remaining property to The Nesbitt Canning Company for $6,750. This company was controlled by the Nesbitt family, and would be involved in real estate speculation along with various members of the family.
In 1955, the Nesbitt Canning Company Ltd. sold lot 12 and part of lot 11 on the east side of Railroad Street to Elva L. P. Thompson, who was a daughter of Edwin Nesbitt and Nellie Jones. She had married Benjamin Cope Thompson, a lawyer in Brighton. Then, in 1962, Elva Thompson sold the land to Harold and Mary Stinson. Two years later, they sold it to James and Mary Scott.
James Scott was a salesman for Ontario Hydro and had lived in Wooler before moving to Brighton. He is called a Foreman in the Voters Lists for 1965 and 1968, then the 1972 Voters List shows James & Mary Scott as occupants of 131 Main Street.
This property has changed hands several times since then.
133 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 12 East Side of Railroad St.
The history of 133 Main Street is the same as 131 up until the 1960s when a house was built on the corner of Main and Maplewood Avenue. The name Railroad Street was changed to Maplewood Avenue around this time in relation to the senior’s residence on the west side of the street.
In 1962, Elva Thompson sold lot 12 and part of lot 11 east of Railroad Street to Harold and Mary Stinson. They sold in 1968 to Leila Woodward who turned it round quickly to Arden Harren.
In 1970, Arden Harren sold lot 12 to Ervan and Jessie Scott. These two were the parents of James Warrington Scott who owned 131 at this time. Ervan had been a farmer near Wooler and it was time to retire. Right beside the son’s home was a convenient location for the grandparents. The 1972 Canada Voters Lists show James Warrington Scott and his wife Mary living in 131 Main Street and Ervan Scott with wife Jessie, living at 133 Main St.
Ervan Scott passed away in 1981 and Jessie in 1990, at which time, the estate of Jessie Eliza Scott passed the property of 133 Main Street to son James Warrington Scott. Two years later, he sold it to Harvey and Marlene Evans, but they turned it around the next year to Charles and Janet Webb and they sold to Lois Jane Haire in 1997.
In 2003, Drew and Anja Macdonald acquire 133 Main Street and are there in 2023.
The history of 133 Main Street is the same as 131 up until the 1960s when a house was built on the corner of Main and Maplewood Avenue. The name Railroad Street was changed to Maplewood Avenue around this time in relation to the senior’s residence on the west side of the street.
In 1962, Elva Thompson sold lot 12 and part of lot 11 east of Railroad Street to Harold and Mary Stinson. They sold in 1968 to Leila Woodward who turned it round quickly to Arden Harren.
In 1970, Arden Harren sold lot 12 to Ervan and Jessie Scott. These two were the parents of James Warrington Scott who owned 131 at this time. Ervan had been a farmer near Wooler and it was time to retire. Right beside the son’s home was a convenient location for the grandparents. The 1972 Canada Voters Lists show James Warrington Scott and his wife Mary living in 131 Main Street and Ervan Scott with wife Jessie, living at 133 Main St.
Ervan Scott passed away in 1981 and Jessie in 1990, at which time, the estate of Jessie Eliza Scott passed the property of 133 Main Street to son James Warrington Scott. Two years later, he sold it to Harvey and Marlene Evans, but they turned it around the next year to Charles and Janet Webb and they sold to Lois Jane Haire in 1997.
In 2003, Drew and Anja Macdonald acquire 133 Main Street and are there in 2023.
130 Main Street – Village Lot 7
Village Lot 7 is a larger size, but its early history follows that of lots 5 and 6 to the east. However, they diverged in 1897 when Thomas G. Murphy sold lot 7 to another of his daughters, Deborah, who had married James Walker. The house on lot 7 had probably been built by Mr. Murphy, although it has been renovated and added to often over the years. It is hard to nail down who built a house and when.
In 1904, Village Lot 7 was sold to Eva P. Bullock, wife of Arthur David Bullock, a very active businessman in Brighton. This family, including two children, would live in the house well after Mr. Bullock died in 1931. Eva Bullock was living in the upper floor of the house in 1934 when lot 7 was purchased by Burton E. Brintnell, who already owned lots 5 and 6 to the east.
There was a distinct purpose for this transaction. For several years before this, Burton Brintnell had operated an undertaking business at 20 Main Street and now that business would be moved to the large house at 130 Main Street. The Brintnell family would move into 130 Main Street, leaving the house at 124 Main Street for the Hales family.
The Brintnell funeral home established itself as a major feature on Main Street and they would even establish an ambulance service from that site for a time. In 1945, Brintnell sold to Arthur Ridley. Only two years later Harold K. Cummings acquired the property, providing the same service until 1956 when Kenneth F. Snider became the owner. Robert Mackey took over in 1967 and the property was sold in 1987 to Anthony and Mark Walas. In 2007 it became the Rushnell Funeral Home.
Village Lot 7 is a larger size, but its early history follows that of lots 5 and 6 to the east. However, they diverged in 1897 when Thomas G. Murphy sold lot 7 to another of his daughters, Deborah, who had married James Walker. The house on lot 7 had probably been built by Mr. Murphy, although it has been renovated and added to often over the years. It is hard to nail down who built a house and when.
In 1904, Village Lot 7 was sold to Eva P. Bullock, wife of Arthur David Bullock, a very active businessman in Brighton. This family, including two children, would live in the house well after Mr. Bullock died in 1931. Eva Bullock was living in the upper floor of the house in 1934 when lot 7 was purchased by Burton E. Brintnell, who already owned lots 5 and 6 to the east.
There was a distinct purpose for this transaction. For several years before this, Burton Brintnell had operated an undertaking business at 20 Main Street and now that business would be moved to the large house at 130 Main Street. The Brintnell family would move into 130 Main Street, leaving the house at 124 Main Street for the Hales family.
The Brintnell funeral home established itself as a major feature on Main Street and they would even establish an ambulance service from that site for a time. In 1945, Brintnell sold to Arthur Ridley. Only two years later Harold K. Cummings acquired the property, providing the same service until 1956 when Kenneth F. Snider became the owner. Robert Mackey took over in 1967 and the property was sold in 1987 to Anthony and Mark Walas. In 2007 it became the Rushnell Funeral Home.
135, 137 and 139 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 25
When we cross Maplewood Avenue, we can see by the maps that we are back into village lots. The first one is village lot 25, which fronts on Main Street, goes down the west side of Railroad Street some distance and gets much wider in its southern part. The 1866 Plan shows that this lot was owned by "W. W. Webb", William Wilson Webb, who was a brother of Thomas Webb, the fellow who built the impressive house at 116 Main Street in 1880.
William Wilson Webb (1827-1894) had the advantage of being born into a family of merchants and entrepreneurs. His father, Thomas Webb, had come from Ireland and would be recorded for the first time in Cramahe Township census records in 1820. The family farmed for the most part in the early days, but there were various land transactions showing a willingness to see an opportunity and use some resources to turn a profit. The sons were watching.
We have talked about Thomas Webb, Jr. who was very active in merchandizing and real estate in Brighton village. Another son, Adam Clarke Webb, became a surveyor and was the author of the Brighton Plan for 1866. He also led a survey crew to Saskatchewan to lay out sections for homesteaders. Back home, he was one of many surveyors who worked to define the route of the Murray Canal in 1882.
Young William Webb was only 24 when he leased space at 1 Main Street to operate a store and this would be the base of his business activity for several decades. He was Reeve of Brighton Village in 1864 and would become M.P.P. for the riding of Northumberland East from 1871 to 1875.
When we cross Maplewood Avenue, we can see by the maps that we are back into village lots. The first one is village lot 25, which fronts on Main Street, goes down the west side of Railroad Street some distance and gets much wider in its southern part. The 1866 Plan shows that this lot was owned by "W. W. Webb", William Wilson Webb, who was a brother of Thomas Webb, the fellow who built the impressive house at 116 Main Street in 1880.
William Wilson Webb (1827-1894) had the advantage of being born into a family of merchants and entrepreneurs. His father, Thomas Webb, had come from Ireland and would be recorded for the first time in Cramahe Township census records in 1820. The family farmed for the most part in the early days, but there were various land transactions showing a willingness to see an opportunity and use some resources to turn a profit. The sons were watching.
We have talked about Thomas Webb, Jr. who was very active in merchandizing and real estate in Brighton village. Another son, Adam Clarke Webb, became a surveyor and was the author of the Brighton Plan for 1866. He also led a survey crew to Saskatchewan to lay out sections for homesteaders. Back home, he was one of many surveyors who worked to define the route of the Murray Canal in 1882.
Young William Webb was only 24 when he leased space at 1 Main Street to operate a store and this would be the base of his business activity for several decades. He was Reeve of Brighton Village in 1864 and would become M.P.P. for the riding of Northumberland East from 1871 to 1875.
The history of village lot 25 begins with the original Patent for the north half of lot 2, concession 1 in 1842 to Isaac C. Proctor. Then, in 1850, Harrison C. Bettes purchased part of the north end of that land, along the south side of Main Street. If we step back and look at the businesses in this area we will see that Ira Hodges ran his popular hotel and tavern on the north side of Main Street, at the corner of Princess Street. Bidald Franklin operated his tannery to the east of Hodges Inn.
Baring M. Bettes, most often called Barnabus, operated a store at the corner of Ontario Steet, called Sand Street at the time. Harrison C. Bettes operated a store on the south side of Main Street on the western corner of Railroad Street, which may not have had a name before the railway. Also, William Wilson Webb had purchased Village Lot 8 on the north side of Main Street and ran a store there from 1852.
Then the Grant Trunk Railway was built through the south side of the village of Brighton. It took three years to complete construction, between 1853 and 1856. During that time, another important project increased employment in the area even more. The Brighton and Seymour Gravel Road was built from Harbour Street up through Brighton Township to the Warkworth Road north of Codrington.
In this situation, merchants like William Webb could see lots of potential for the intersection of Main and Railroad Streets. This would be a popular path for traffic going to and from the railway station and the corner was an obvious place to establish stores to take advantage of that traffic. As a result, in 1863, William Webb sold village lot 8 on the north side of Main Street and purchased village lot 25 from Harrison C. Bettes.
William W. Webb would build a substantial brick store right at the corner of Main and Railroad Street, and would also build a home a bit back off Main Street, at the corner of the store. Over the next three decades, he would become very active in local government as well as well as participating in land speculation in Brighton during a very strong period of growth in the town.
In 1893, the Estate of William W. Webb passed the properties on village lot 25 to his wife, Margaret. In 1898, the family sold the property to Lille Wade, who was a daughter of William and Margaret, married to Dr. Robert James Wade who had his medical practice in downtown Brighton, where Dan Thompson’s law firm is located today. The Wade family would live in a substantial brick house south of the store on the west side of Railroad Street.
The Brighton Fire Map for 1911 shows the two buildings at the corner of Main and Railroad Streets. The store is closer to the corner, with the house immediately to the south-west. Both are shown in red here, meaning they were both brick buildings.
Baring M. Bettes, most often called Barnabus, operated a store at the corner of Ontario Steet, called Sand Street at the time. Harrison C. Bettes operated a store on the south side of Main Street on the western corner of Railroad Street, which may not have had a name before the railway. Also, William Wilson Webb had purchased Village Lot 8 on the north side of Main Street and ran a store there from 1852.
Then the Grant Trunk Railway was built through the south side of the village of Brighton. It took three years to complete construction, between 1853 and 1856. During that time, another important project increased employment in the area even more. The Brighton and Seymour Gravel Road was built from Harbour Street up through Brighton Township to the Warkworth Road north of Codrington.
In this situation, merchants like William Webb could see lots of potential for the intersection of Main and Railroad Streets. This would be a popular path for traffic going to and from the railway station and the corner was an obvious place to establish stores to take advantage of that traffic. As a result, in 1863, William Webb sold village lot 8 on the north side of Main Street and purchased village lot 25 from Harrison C. Bettes.
William W. Webb would build a substantial brick store right at the corner of Main and Railroad Street, and would also build a home a bit back off Main Street, at the corner of the store. Over the next three decades, he would become very active in local government as well as well as participating in land speculation in Brighton during a very strong period of growth in the town.
In 1893, the Estate of William W. Webb passed the properties on village lot 25 to his wife, Margaret. In 1898, the family sold the property to Lille Wade, who was a daughter of William and Margaret, married to Dr. Robert James Wade who had his medical practice in downtown Brighton, where Dan Thompson’s law firm is located today. The Wade family would live in a substantial brick house south of the store on the west side of Railroad Street.
The Brighton Fire Map for 1911 shows the two buildings at the corner of Main and Railroad Streets. The store is closer to the corner, with the house immediately to the south-west. Both are shown in red here, meaning they were both brick buildings.
There may have been periods of time when the store at the corner was leased to other operators, and there is evidence that it remained a store. Then, in 1930, the store, which had been designated 135 Man Street, was sold to Harry and Beatrice Snider. At the same time, the house, which was 137 Main Street, was sold to George and Edith Seaborn. Harry Snider operated the store and George Seaborn built a garage and gas station in front and to the west corner of the house in order to take advantage of the growing traffic of automobiles that drove by on Main Street, headed down Railroad Street and maybe stopped at Harry Snider’s store. This new business was designated 139 Main Street.
Below are before and after pictures, with Edith Seaborn on the left in front of Seaborn's Service Station and Rene's Total Home Comfort on the right.
Below are before and after pictures, with Edith Seaborn on the left in front of Seaborn's Service Station and Rene's Total Home Comfort on the right.
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A few years later, the house and store were sold to William Gilpin, who had married Edith Snider, a daughter Harry and Beatrice Snider. At this point, all three properties were in the same family. Then, in 1946, the properties were sold to Gerald and Marjorie Langdon and they would operate the store and gas station until 1973 when they were sold to Edwin and Bessie Nicholls, who then sold to John and Karen Balfour in 1980. In 2007 the Balfours sold to a numbered company.
One more thought. Maplewood Retirement Home is at 12 Maplewood Avenue, just south of the properties we have just dealt with. It is important to highlight that this facility is located on land at the south end of Village Lots 24 and 25. Starting in the 1970s, the land records for these lots are crowded with transactions about the retirement home. Part of the challenge of developing information for Main Street properties is to weed out and avoid those related to the south parts of the lot. That is true of many of the longer lots on any street, but it was particular difficult in this area.
Of course, when “Around Town” develops to the point of dealing with Railroad Street and Maplewood Avenue, the history of this facility will be clarified.
One more thought. Maplewood Retirement Home is at 12 Maplewood Avenue, just south of the properties we have just dealt with. It is important to highlight that this facility is located on land at the south end of Village Lots 24 and 25. Starting in the 1970s, the land records for these lots are crowded with transactions about the retirement home. Part of the challenge of developing information for Main Street properties is to weed out and avoid those related to the south parts of the lot. That is true of many of the longer lots on any street, but it was particular difficult in this area.
Of course, when “Around Town” develops to the point of dealing with Railroad Street and Maplewood Avenue, the history of this facility will be clarified.
134 Main Street – Village Lot 8
To the west of the funeral home on Main Street there are several smaller, long, narrow lots which each contain a modest house. The first one is 134 Main Street which is on Village Lot 8. From 1852 through to 1881, this property was owned by William Wilson Webb (1827-1894) who was a brother of Thomas Webb, the developer of 116 Main Street. The Webb family was very active around Brighton, in both commercial businesses and real estate development. William W. Webb was particular interested and engaged in the businesses and property around the intersection of Main Street and Railroad Street, later to be called Maplewood Avenue. We will learn much more about this when we look at the south side of Main Street.
Village lot 8 was sold to Stephen Chase in 1881 and then to Thomas G. Murphy in 1890. Here is an example of Mr. Murphy extending his reach to the west of his other holdings of Village Lots 5, 6 and 7. However, in 1891, Mr. Murphy issues a quit claim to Matilda Chase, wife of Stephen Chase, for Village Lot 8. Then, in 1898, it would go to Smith Bonter and wife, Annie, who was a daughter of Stephen and Matilda Chase. In turn, Smith Bonter provided a life lease to Matilda on this property.
In 1914, Smith and Annie Bonter sold lot 8 to Peter Covell who held it until 1920 when he sold it to Beatrice Snider, wife of Harry Snider, a very active merchant at the south-west corner of Main and Railroad Streets. This means that the Snider family would live in a house almost across the road from their store at the corner of Railroad Street. This intersection was an extremely busy business area during the decades of train travel because it was the route off Main Street to the train station.
Harry and Beatrice Snider had a daughter, Edith, who married William Herbert Gilpin. Several land records show Harry Snider and Edith Gilpin working together, even establishing themselves as Joint Tenants of 134 Main Street in 1940. It was sold in 1946 to Mabel B. Smith and turned around quickly the next year to Oscar E. and Flossie M. Dingman. They been married in 1926, his third and her first.
Flossie was Flossie May Town, from the Orland and Codrington area. She had been the last of three generations of young women in her family who worked as maids for the Proctor family. In those days, this might be considered a career. Proctor family history says she went with the family when they moved to Alberta early in the 1900s and then came back to Brighton in 1926. The home at 134 Main Street would have been much more modest than Proctor House, but probably a lot less demanding.
Flossie Dingman would live at 134 Main Street until the property was sold to Dora Joanna Campbell in 1965. Lot 8 would change hands many times in the next several decades.
To the west of the funeral home on Main Street there are several smaller, long, narrow lots which each contain a modest house. The first one is 134 Main Street which is on Village Lot 8. From 1852 through to 1881, this property was owned by William Wilson Webb (1827-1894) who was a brother of Thomas Webb, the developer of 116 Main Street. The Webb family was very active around Brighton, in both commercial businesses and real estate development. William W. Webb was particular interested and engaged in the businesses and property around the intersection of Main Street and Railroad Street, later to be called Maplewood Avenue. We will learn much more about this when we look at the south side of Main Street.
Village lot 8 was sold to Stephen Chase in 1881 and then to Thomas G. Murphy in 1890. Here is an example of Mr. Murphy extending his reach to the west of his other holdings of Village Lots 5, 6 and 7. However, in 1891, Mr. Murphy issues a quit claim to Matilda Chase, wife of Stephen Chase, for Village Lot 8. Then, in 1898, it would go to Smith Bonter and wife, Annie, who was a daughter of Stephen and Matilda Chase. In turn, Smith Bonter provided a life lease to Matilda on this property.
In 1914, Smith and Annie Bonter sold lot 8 to Peter Covell who held it until 1920 when he sold it to Beatrice Snider, wife of Harry Snider, a very active merchant at the south-west corner of Main and Railroad Streets. This means that the Snider family would live in a house almost across the road from their store at the corner of Railroad Street. This intersection was an extremely busy business area during the decades of train travel because it was the route off Main Street to the train station.
Harry and Beatrice Snider had a daughter, Edith, who married William Herbert Gilpin. Several land records show Harry Snider and Edith Gilpin working together, even establishing themselves as Joint Tenants of 134 Main Street in 1940. It was sold in 1946 to Mabel B. Smith and turned around quickly the next year to Oscar E. and Flossie M. Dingman. They been married in 1926, his third and her first.
Flossie was Flossie May Town, from the Orland and Codrington area. She had been the last of three generations of young women in her family who worked as maids for the Proctor family. In those days, this might be considered a career. Proctor family history says she went with the family when they moved to Alberta early in the 1900s and then came back to Brighton in 1926. The home at 134 Main Street would have been much more modest than Proctor House, but probably a lot less demanding.
Flossie Dingman would live at 134 Main Street until the property was sold to Dora Joanna Campbell in 1965. Lot 8 would change hands many times in the next several decades.
136 Main Street – Village Lot 9
Village Lot 9, like all the others along the north side of Main Street in this area, was part of the Proctor farm from 1814. The first transaction for lot 9 was in 1869, when John B. R. Deacon and his wife Flavia sold the lot to Clarinda Squier. John Deacon was a merchant in Brighton and his wife was Flavia Almira Proctor, a daughter of Josiah Proctor Jr. and Almira Hodges. Very soon after making this sale, the Deacon family moved to Harrisonville, Missouri, where Mr. Deacon continued as a merchant.
Then, in July of 1876, Clarinda Squier, now a widow, sold the property to Elizabeth Purdy. Clarinda would be married a few months later Hiram D. Jacobs who died very soon afterward. Elizabeth Purdy was the second wife of Hiram Purdy who was a tinsmith on the south side of Main Street in Brighton. The Purdy’s sold the property in 1884 to Jay Ketchum, who turned it around quickly with a sale to Olive Harris.
This began the association of this property with the churches of Brighton. Olive Harris was the wife of Rev. Richard Harris. In 1893 the property was sold to the trustees of St. Paul’s Anglican Church. In 1927 the records show that the trustees sold the property to Adelaide E. Pickford, who was the widow of the late Rev. William Edgar Pickford. Mrs. Pickford they passed it to her son, Charles Pickford, in 1935.
It was not until 1968 that the Pickford estate sold the 136 Main Street to Gordon and Joan Gordon, who sold it the next year to Raymond & Elizabeth Kaduck. In 1973 it went to Brian and Dorothy Edmond, then in 1979 to Gavin and Crystal Hussey.
Village Lot 9, like all the others along the north side of Main Street in this area, was part of the Proctor farm from 1814. The first transaction for lot 9 was in 1869, when John B. R. Deacon and his wife Flavia sold the lot to Clarinda Squier. John Deacon was a merchant in Brighton and his wife was Flavia Almira Proctor, a daughter of Josiah Proctor Jr. and Almira Hodges. Very soon after making this sale, the Deacon family moved to Harrisonville, Missouri, where Mr. Deacon continued as a merchant.
Then, in July of 1876, Clarinda Squier, now a widow, sold the property to Elizabeth Purdy. Clarinda would be married a few months later Hiram D. Jacobs who died very soon afterward. Elizabeth Purdy was the second wife of Hiram Purdy who was a tinsmith on the south side of Main Street in Brighton. The Purdy’s sold the property in 1884 to Jay Ketchum, who turned it around quickly with a sale to Olive Harris.
This began the association of this property with the churches of Brighton. Olive Harris was the wife of Rev. Richard Harris. In 1893 the property was sold to the trustees of St. Paul’s Anglican Church. In 1927 the records show that the trustees sold the property to Adelaide E. Pickford, who was the widow of the late Rev. William Edgar Pickford. Mrs. Pickford they passed it to her son, Charles Pickford, in 1935.
It was not until 1968 that the Pickford estate sold the 136 Main Street to Gordon and Joan Gordon, who sold it the next year to Raymond & Elizabeth Kaduck. In 1973 it went to Brian and Dorothy Edmond, then in 1979 to Gavin and Crystal Hussey.
140 Main Street – Village Lot 10
The brick house at 140 Main Street has the appearance of much larger house that has been reduced due to a fire or some serious event. It appears as if there used to be a structure on the front and one has to think there was a full second floor at one time. More information about the history of this house would be useful in understanding what we see today.
Ira R. Proctor sold Village Lot 10 to Henry and Frederick W. Auston, members of the family that ran the laces factory at the corner of Russell and Napier Streets. The Auston’s had come from Cobourg, where Dr. James Auston had been a well-known medical doctor for many years before his death in 1862. The Auston brothers were very active in real estate development south of Main Street, around the area of their factory.
It is interesting to note that the Auston brothers sold the lot to Thomas and Mary Dickens in 1881 and bought it back in 1884. One has to wonder if this was for the purpose of building a house on the lot. Thomas Dickens was an Englishman and a brick mason, so he may have built the brick house on this lot at that time. It is speculation, but, until we have been information, it is what we will use.
The Auston family sold Village Lot 10 to Albert E. Webb in 1898. He was a son of William Wilson Webb, and this was probably an investment, since it was sold in 1901 to Jessie G. Weller, a daughter of Thomas Dorman Weller and Elizabeth Atchison. Jessie would marry Edward English Wilson Bullock, in 1903 and, in 1915, as Jessie G. Bullock, sold lot 10 to Emma & Norman McNeill. Emma was the widow of Malcolm McNeill and Norman was her son. They would live at 140 Main Street until 1946 when the property was sold to Morley Simpson, a well-known apple farmer who engaged in the apple storage business. In 1967, 140 Main Street was acquired by Verna J. Sinclair.
The brick house at 140 Main Street has the appearance of much larger house that has been reduced due to a fire or some serious event. It appears as if there used to be a structure on the front and one has to think there was a full second floor at one time. More information about the history of this house would be useful in understanding what we see today.
Ira R. Proctor sold Village Lot 10 to Henry and Frederick W. Auston, members of the family that ran the laces factory at the corner of Russell and Napier Streets. The Auston’s had come from Cobourg, where Dr. James Auston had been a well-known medical doctor for many years before his death in 1862. The Auston brothers were very active in real estate development south of Main Street, around the area of their factory.
It is interesting to note that the Auston brothers sold the lot to Thomas and Mary Dickens in 1881 and bought it back in 1884. One has to wonder if this was for the purpose of building a house on the lot. Thomas Dickens was an Englishman and a brick mason, so he may have built the brick house on this lot at that time. It is speculation, but, until we have been information, it is what we will use.
The Auston family sold Village Lot 10 to Albert E. Webb in 1898. He was a son of William Wilson Webb, and this was probably an investment, since it was sold in 1901 to Jessie G. Weller, a daughter of Thomas Dorman Weller and Elizabeth Atchison. Jessie would marry Edward English Wilson Bullock, in 1903 and, in 1915, as Jessie G. Bullock, sold lot 10 to Emma & Norman McNeill. Emma was the widow of Malcolm McNeill and Norman was her son. They would live at 140 Main Street until 1946 when the property was sold to Morley Simpson, a well-known apple farmer who engaged in the apple storage business. In 1967, 140 Main Street was acquired by Verna J. Sinclair.
141 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 24
The next property is 141 Main Street which occupies village lot 24. As we have seen when dealing with lot 25, lot 24 is the smaller lot located at the north west corner of lot 25. Today, a lovely frame house is 141 Main Street, sitting snuggly between Rene’s Home Comfort and the Lighthouse Professional Centre.
Closer examination of the maps tells us that the house at 141 Main Street occupies the north east corner of lot 24. Land records are a bit confused in the early years for lots in this aera, but it is clear that lot 24 was closely related to lot 23, next to the west, which was the location of the church. It appears that lot 24 was used as a home for the minister and family over many decades and over many different ministers.
In 1852, Joseph Bettes, Sr. sold village lot 23 to trustees of the Methodist church, noting Bidald Franklin, the tannery man across the street, as the contact. At the same time, Joseph Bettes, Sr. also sold part of village lot 24 to trustees of the Methodist church. They many have needed parking space east of the church.
We have seen that Harrison C. owned lot 25 and he also acquired lot 24. Then he sold both lots to William W. Webb in 1863. In the 1870s we begin to see Methodist ministers involved with lot 24. The first was Rev. William Lacey who acquired part of lot 24 in 1872. He was a very active Baptist minister who came to Canada from England, via New York State. We see him in churches in Sidney Township, Percy Township and then Cramahe Township in the 1870s. He is clearly shown to be a Baptist minister, although he appears to have been involved with the Methodist church here in Brighton.
Land records show a series of mortgages in the 1880s, some that appear to be unresolved. In the meantime, in 1890, the Methodist church sold the church to the Baptist congregation in Brighton, which is why it was known mostly as a Baptist in Brighton history. In 1892, village lot 24 was sold to James Ross under Power of Sale. He sold to Lillie Wade in 1901 and she sold to Minnie M. Fletcher in 1904. This lasted until 1920 when she sold to Thomas D. Wannamaker, but he turned it around quickly and sold to trustees of the Baptist Church.
The trustees of the Baptist church sold lot 24 to Dollie Bulkley in 1934 and she sold to George and Edith Seaborn in 1941. These folks also had the property to the east at this time. George Seaborne died in 1946, but it was not until 1964 that Edith Seaborn sold lot 24 to Clayton and Naomia Baldwin who would, in turn, sell to the Baptist Church in 1977. Then, in 1986, the Trustees of the Baptist Church sold lot 24 to Ron and Karen Sparks who sold to Marilyn Lockman in 1988.
There are some mortgage transactions for a while and eventually, lot 24 is transferred to James Evans Colling in 1991. In 2005 the property went to Laura Bunton.
The next property is 141 Main Street which occupies village lot 24. As we have seen when dealing with lot 25, lot 24 is the smaller lot located at the north west corner of lot 25. Today, a lovely frame house is 141 Main Street, sitting snuggly between Rene’s Home Comfort and the Lighthouse Professional Centre.
Closer examination of the maps tells us that the house at 141 Main Street occupies the north east corner of lot 24. Land records are a bit confused in the early years for lots in this aera, but it is clear that lot 24 was closely related to lot 23, next to the west, which was the location of the church. It appears that lot 24 was used as a home for the minister and family over many decades and over many different ministers.
In 1852, Joseph Bettes, Sr. sold village lot 23 to trustees of the Methodist church, noting Bidald Franklin, the tannery man across the street, as the contact. At the same time, Joseph Bettes, Sr. also sold part of village lot 24 to trustees of the Methodist church. They many have needed parking space east of the church.
We have seen that Harrison C. owned lot 25 and he also acquired lot 24. Then he sold both lots to William W. Webb in 1863. In the 1870s we begin to see Methodist ministers involved with lot 24. The first was Rev. William Lacey who acquired part of lot 24 in 1872. He was a very active Baptist minister who came to Canada from England, via New York State. We see him in churches in Sidney Township, Percy Township and then Cramahe Township in the 1870s. He is clearly shown to be a Baptist minister, although he appears to have been involved with the Methodist church here in Brighton.
Land records show a series of mortgages in the 1880s, some that appear to be unresolved. In the meantime, in 1890, the Methodist church sold the church to the Baptist congregation in Brighton, which is why it was known mostly as a Baptist in Brighton history. In 1892, village lot 24 was sold to James Ross under Power of Sale. He sold to Lillie Wade in 1901 and she sold to Minnie M. Fletcher in 1904. This lasted until 1920 when she sold to Thomas D. Wannamaker, but he turned it around quickly and sold to trustees of the Baptist Church.
The trustees of the Baptist church sold lot 24 to Dollie Bulkley in 1934 and she sold to George and Edith Seaborn in 1941. These folks also had the property to the east at this time. George Seaborne died in 1946, but it was not until 1964 that Edith Seaborn sold lot 24 to Clayton and Naomia Baldwin who would, in turn, sell to the Baptist Church in 1977. Then, in 1986, the Trustees of the Baptist Church sold lot 24 to Ron and Karen Sparks who sold to Marilyn Lockman in 1988.
There are some mortgage transactions for a while and eventually, lot 24 is transferred to James Evans Colling in 1991. In 2005 the property went to Laura Bunton.
143 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 23
The records for Village lot 23 are much simpler than most because it hosted a church. Joseph Bettes, Sr. had acquired the smaller lot 23, along with 24 to the east, in 1849. Then, in 1852, “24 square rods” were sold to the trustees of the Methodist congregation, referred to as “Bidald Franklin and others”.
The Methodist church operated here until January 1, 1890, when village lot 23, including the church building, was sold to the Baptist congregation of Brighton. The choir and Baptistry were added in 1897 and the Sunday School hall, to the south end, was added in 1954. Renovations were done to the interior in 1955 including new pews. An electronic organ was donated in 1962 by James Simpson, in memory of his wife, Dorothea (Chatten) Simpson who had recently passed.
Susan Brose says, in her book about Brighton churches, “In 1985, Brighton Baptist joined the Associated Gospel Churches of Canada and changed its name to Brighton Bible Church.”
This change is reflected in a land transaction in 2001 where “Lakeshore Harvest Fellowship Inc.” sold village lot 23 and the church building to a numbered company. This would lead to Dave Sharp repurposing the old church building into the Lighthouse Professional Centre.
The records for Village lot 23 are much simpler than most because it hosted a church. Joseph Bettes, Sr. had acquired the smaller lot 23, along with 24 to the east, in 1849. Then, in 1852, “24 square rods” were sold to the trustees of the Methodist congregation, referred to as “Bidald Franklin and others”.
The Methodist church operated here until January 1, 1890, when village lot 23, including the church building, was sold to the Baptist congregation of Brighton. The choir and Baptistry were added in 1897 and the Sunday School hall, to the south end, was added in 1954. Renovations were done to the interior in 1955 including new pews. An electronic organ was donated in 1962 by James Simpson, in memory of his wife, Dorothea (Chatten) Simpson who had recently passed.
Susan Brose says, in her book about Brighton churches, “In 1985, Brighton Baptist joined the Associated Gospel Churches of Canada and changed its name to Brighton Bible Church.”
This change is reflected in a land transaction in 2001 where “Lakeshore Harvest Fellowship Inc.” sold village lot 23 and the church building to a numbered company. This would lead to Dave Sharp repurposing the old church building into the Lighthouse Professional Centre.
144 Main Street – Village Lot 11
The house at 144 Main Street may have been built by John Lear, a prosperous farmer from Hillier Twp. He purchased the property and moved here in 1877 after the death of his wife, Rhoda Slight. He lived alone except for Mary Slight, Rhoda’s sister, who was there to “look after the house”. In his will, in 1889, the property was left to Mary and Nancy Slight, sisters of Rhoda, for their natural lives.
The will also stipulated that the property would go to the Presbyterian Church. Later it went to St. Andrew’s United Church who sold it in 1931.
Frank and Edith Dunnett would live here from 1964 to 1975. Today, this nicely tended traditional home has solar panels on the roof.
The house at 144 Main Street may have been built by John Lear, a prosperous farmer from Hillier Twp. He purchased the property and moved here in 1877 after the death of his wife, Rhoda Slight. He lived alone except for Mary Slight, Rhoda’s sister, who was there to “look after the house”. In his will, in 1889, the property was left to Mary and Nancy Slight, sisters of Rhoda, for their natural lives.
The will also stipulated that the property would go to the Presbyterian Church. Later it went to St. Andrew’s United Church who sold it in 1931.
Frank and Edith Dunnett would live here from 1964 to 1975. Today, this nicely tended traditional home has solar panels on the roof.
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147 & 149 & 151 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 22
Next to the west is Village Lot 22. Today, this lot contains three properties, 147, 149 and 151 Main Street. The aerial photo from the 1960s shows the Baptist Church at 143. Down the driveway on the west side of the church is number 147, a house well to the south end of lot 22. To the west of the church is a house that has been turned into a duplex, with 149 on the east side and 151 on the west side.
Village Lot 22 began in the same way as others in this immediate are, with the Patent to Isaac C. Proctor in 1842 and then a sale to Harrison C. Bettes in 1850. In 1860, lot 22 was sold to Calista Eyre, the wife of John Eyre, a very prosperous lawyer in Brighton. This couple was very active in buying and selling properties in the east end of Brighton and sometimes acquired properties with defaulted mortgages. In fact, there is a very large gap in the land records after Calista Eyre acquired lot 22 in 1860. There are no more transactions until 1907. It is anyone’s guess what happened.
Finally, in 1907, village lot 22 was sold by Toronto General Trust Corporation to Thomas W. Solomon. An identical transaction took place related village lot 21, next to the west. Thomas Whitford Solomon (1839-1916) was a single man, a son of Thomas Solomon and Fedelia Elizabeth Ewing. Thomas Solomon Sr. had come to Canada from Cornwall, England in the 1820s, to take up farming in Alnwick Township. He married Fedelia Ewing, a daughter of James Ewing who had settled in Haldimand Township, east of Grafton. James Ewing was an uncle of Benjamin Franklin Ewing who we saw established at Village Lot 28, farther east on the south side of Main Street in Brighton.
Thomas W. Solomon died in 1916, and his estate sold lot 22 in 1922 to George T. Goheen. George Thomas Goheen (1856-1941) was born in Percy Township, a son of Jesse Goheen and Martha Snider. His grandfather, Thomas Goheen, had come from Pennsylvania in the 1790s to settle in Hamilton Township and begin a very large family tree. Thomas T. Goheen had been around the countryside looking for employment, like many men of his time. He followed his brothers to Rochester like many Brighton and area residents did, to take advantage of the growing industrial base around a close neighbour across Lake Ontario.
George came back to Ontario and worked as a livery stable operator in Campbellford, them came to Brighton and operating the Clarendon Hotel for a time. That business was sold in 1922 and Mr. Goheen looked for a comfortable retirement location as well as an opportunity to make an investment in real estate. Land records show that he was involved in village lots 22 and 21 over the next few years.
George T. Goheen died in 1941 and his estate released village lot 22 to the Hospital for Sick Children in 1942. This institution in Toronto was active on the real estate market, making investments in property that could be obtained at minimal cost and sold at a profit. The next year, they sold to Clayton Darrah, which started a series of sales, none that lasted very long.
Finally, 1952, stability came lot 22 when George Wallace Reddom and his wife Ida acquired the property. George Wallace Reddom (1886-1958) grew up on a farm south of Orland and married Ida Rose Rittwage in 1906. They proceeded to populate their farm with eleven children who all reached adulthood, got married and had families. George’s brother, Harry Reddom and his wife. Flossie, were well know in Codrington circles while the History Guy was growing up. By 1952, George was 65 and it was time to look for a retirement home. The property at village lot 22 would do the trick.
It would be useful to know if the house we see there now was built by the Goheen family or later by the Reddom family. In any case, it is a slightly more modern frame house in contrast to many of the older brick house on Main Street. After George W. Reddom died in 1958, Ida Reddom and her youngest son Hugh sold part of village lot 22 in 1963 to Robert and Norma Reddom. Robert was a grandson of George and Ida, a son of Harold Ernest Reddom and Nora Joan Peister.
The part of lot 22 that Robert and Norma Reddom purchased was the southern part, down the long driveway from Main Street which went down the east side of the main house. A new house was built there to the south, and it would be designated 147 Main Street. The main house would be 149 Main Street.
A snip from an aerial photo of Brighton later in the 1960s provides another view of these houses in relation to the larger Masonic Temple to the west.
At some point, the main house at 149 Main Street was turned into a duplex, with 149 Main Street on the east side and 151 on the west side. The Canada Voters Lists show that Mrs. Barbara Phillips was living at 151 Main Street, Brighton in both 1965 and 1968.
In 1966, Ida Reddom’s estate sold the main part of village lot 22 to Hugh W. Reddom, her youngest child. Hugh and his wife, Lois Rusaw would live in the main house. The Canada Voters Lists for 1972 show that Robert Reddom was living at 147 Main Street and Hugh Reddom in 149 Main Street.
In 1986, Hugh and Lois Reddom sold 149 Main Street to Norma Joan Reddom, Robert’s wife. In 2003 Robert and Norma Reddom sold 147 Main Street to William and Donna Finley and then sold 149 in 2004 to David Allan Hogue and Edward Wesley Down.
Next to the west is Village Lot 22. Today, this lot contains three properties, 147, 149 and 151 Main Street. The aerial photo from the 1960s shows the Baptist Church at 143. Down the driveway on the west side of the church is number 147, a house well to the south end of lot 22. To the west of the church is a house that has been turned into a duplex, with 149 on the east side and 151 on the west side.
Village Lot 22 began in the same way as others in this immediate are, with the Patent to Isaac C. Proctor in 1842 and then a sale to Harrison C. Bettes in 1850. In 1860, lot 22 was sold to Calista Eyre, the wife of John Eyre, a very prosperous lawyer in Brighton. This couple was very active in buying and selling properties in the east end of Brighton and sometimes acquired properties with defaulted mortgages. In fact, there is a very large gap in the land records after Calista Eyre acquired lot 22 in 1860. There are no more transactions until 1907. It is anyone’s guess what happened.
Finally, in 1907, village lot 22 was sold by Toronto General Trust Corporation to Thomas W. Solomon. An identical transaction took place related village lot 21, next to the west. Thomas Whitford Solomon (1839-1916) was a single man, a son of Thomas Solomon and Fedelia Elizabeth Ewing. Thomas Solomon Sr. had come to Canada from Cornwall, England in the 1820s, to take up farming in Alnwick Township. He married Fedelia Ewing, a daughter of James Ewing who had settled in Haldimand Township, east of Grafton. James Ewing was an uncle of Benjamin Franklin Ewing who we saw established at Village Lot 28, farther east on the south side of Main Street in Brighton.
Thomas W. Solomon died in 1916, and his estate sold lot 22 in 1922 to George T. Goheen. George Thomas Goheen (1856-1941) was born in Percy Township, a son of Jesse Goheen and Martha Snider. His grandfather, Thomas Goheen, had come from Pennsylvania in the 1790s to settle in Hamilton Township and begin a very large family tree. Thomas T. Goheen had been around the countryside looking for employment, like many men of his time. He followed his brothers to Rochester like many Brighton and area residents did, to take advantage of the growing industrial base around a close neighbour across Lake Ontario.
George came back to Ontario and worked as a livery stable operator in Campbellford, them came to Brighton and operating the Clarendon Hotel for a time. That business was sold in 1922 and Mr. Goheen looked for a comfortable retirement location as well as an opportunity to make an investment in real estate. Land records show that he was involved in village lots 22 and 21 over the next few years.
George T. Goheen died in 1941 and his estate released village lot 22 to the Hospital for Sick Children in 1942. This institution in Toronto was active on the real estate market, making investments in property that could be obtained at minimal cost and sold at a profit. The next year, they sold to Clayton Darrah, which started a series of sales, none that lasted very long.
Finally, 1952, stability came lot 22 when George Wallace Reddom and his wife Ida acquired the property. George Wallace Reddom (1886-1958) grew up on a farm south of Orland and married Ida Rose Rittwage in 1906. They proceeded to populate their farm with eleven children who all reached adulthood, got married and had families. George’s brother, Harry Reddom and his wife. Flossie, were well know in Codrington circles while the History Guy was growing up. By 1952, George was 65 and it was time to look for a retirement home. The property at village lot 22 would do the trick.
It would be useful to know if the house we see there now was built by the Goheen family or later by the Reddom family. In any case, it is a slightly more modern frame house in contrast to many of the older brick house on Main Street. After George W. Reddom died in 1958, Ida Reddom and her youngest son Hugh sold part of village lot 22 in 1963 to Robert and Norma Reddom. Robert was a grandson of George and Ida, a son of Harold Ernest Reddom and Nora Joan Peister.
The part of lot 22 that Robert and Norma Reddom purchased was the southern part, down the long driveway from Main Street which went down the east side of the main house. A new house was built there to the south, and it would be designated 147 Main Street. The main house would be 149 Main Street.
A snip from an aerial photo of Brighton later in the 1960s provides another view of these houses in relation to the larger Masonic Temple to the west.
At some point, the main house at 149 Main Street was turned into a duplex, with 149 Main Street on the east side and 151 on the west side. The Canada Voters Lists show that Mrs. Barbara Phillips was living at 151 Main Street, Brighton in both 1965 and 1968.
In 1966, Ida Reddom’s estate sold the main part of village lot 22 to Hugh W. Reddom, her youngest child. Hugh and his wife, Lois Rusaw would live in the main house. The Canada Voters Lists for 1972 show that Robert Reddom was living at 147 Main Street and Hugh Reddom in 149 Main Street.
In 1986, Hugh and Lois Reddom sold 149 Main Street to Norma Joan Reddom, Robert’s wife. In 2003 Robert and Norma Reddom sold 147 Main Street to William and Donna Finley and then sold 149 in 2004 to David Allan Hogue and Edward Wesley Down.
148 Main Street – Village Lot 12
The small brick house at 148 Main Street is on the west side of what was Factory Street and is now Francis Street. It is in Village lot 12. In 1890, this property came into the hands of Samuel and Sophia Tackaberry. This family was best know for the farm they had on the north-east part of Brighton. Part of that land is where the high school is today. Recently, a housing development at the east end of Singleton Street is called Tackaberry Ridge.
This house remained in the hands of Samuel’s descendants, Willard and then Harry Tackaberry. Willard Tackaberry was in Public Works for a long time and belonged to the fire department. His son Harry was fire chief for 25 years, recently retired.
In 2001, the Ontario Housing Corporation acquired some land on the west side of Village Lot 12 for the large multi-unit housing development.
The small brick house at 148 Main Street is on the west side of what was Factory Street and is now Francis Street. It is in Village lot 12. In 1890, this property came into the hands of Samuel and Sophia Tackaberry. This family was best know for the farm they had on the north-east part of Brighton. Part of that land is where the high school is today. Recently, a housing development at the east end of Singleton Street is called Tackaberry Ridge.
This house remained in the hands of Samuel’s descendants, Willard and then Harry Tackaberry. Willard Tackaberry was in Public Works for a long time and belonged to the fire department. His son Harry was fire chief for 25 years, recently retired.
In 2001, the Ontario Housing Corporation acquired some land on the west side of Village Lot 12 for the large multi-unit housing development.
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153 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 21
As of this writing in late 2023, 153 Main Street is Mason Flats, a structure that contains multiple apartment residences. This is the old Masonic Temple, which is on village lot 21. The history of village lot 21 is the same as lot 22 up to the 1950s. After the Hospital for Sick Children sold lot 21 to Clayton Darrah in 1943, he sold to Clarence Harrison in 1947 and he sold to Fred Hooney in 1950. The next transaction was to William H. Conn in 1953, a name we see in land records for many lots on this area around this time. He also owned and operated Maple Grove Cabins and restaurant as well as a gas station on Elizabeth Street.
Everything changed in 1955 when William H. Conn sold part of village lot 21 to the Brighton Masonic Temple Association. He had sold two small parts of lot 21, one to the George and Ida Reddom to the east and one to Lawrence and Edith Patterson who owned lot 20, to the west. However, the main part of lot 21 would support the Masonic Temple.
At a meeting in January 1953, members of United Lodge No. 29 in Brighton began to talk about building a facility for themselves. The lodge had met at many different places up and down Main Street in Brighton since it was formed here in 1855. Their interest was in having a permanent meeting place and they thought it might be good to open the new Masonic Temple in 1955, their centennial year. Talk quickly turned into study and a year later, a report suggested that construction of a building was feasible. The lodge members got busy.
Committees were formed for building and finance, including prominent members of the lodge. The purchase of land would not be recorded until July 1955, one of several transactions where Mr. Conn was disposing of his investments.
"Family Alert" here from The History Guy! The fellow who was assigned the position of head of the Building Committee was Lloyd Ames of Codrington. His name is on the plaque at the front of the building as C. L. Ames. He was my maternal grandfather. I was four years old at this time. I heard many stories about how Lloyd Ames and others travelled around the countryside finding the right materials and furnishings for their Masonic Temple. Many old markers were called in from friends and associates everyone tried to keep the costs down and make a great building. Lumber and lots of building supplies were acquired and even theatre seats were obtained from Toronto.
Here is a quote from the History of the Brighton Masonic Lodge that is available on the Brighton Digital Archives web site. “At the banquet prior to the dedication, W. M. Morrow reiterated that Bro. Lloyd Ames deserved full credit for the building project. He drew up the plans, sponsored and engineered the whole idea, ordered the material and supervised the work. Practically all labour was volunteer with so many helping that it is impossible to name them all. But without exaggeration, were it not for Bro. Ames this temple would not have been built.”
As of this writing in late 2023, 153 Main Street is Mason Flats, a structure that contains multiple apartment residences. This is the old Masonic Temple, which is on village lot 21. The history of village lot 21 is the same as lot 22 up to the 1950s. After the Hospital for Sick Children sold lot 21 to Clayton Darrah in 1943, he sold to Clarence Harrison in 1947 and he sold to Fred Hooney in 1950. The next transaction was to William H. Conn in 1953, a name we see in land records for many lots on this area around this time. He also owned and operated Maple Grove Cabins and restaurant as well as a gas station on Elizabeth Street.
Everything changed in 1955 when William H. Conn sold part of village lot 21 to the Brighton Masonic Temple Association. He had sold two small parts of lot 21, one to the George and Ida Reddom to the east and one to Lawrence and Edith Patterson who owned lot 20, to the west. However, the main part of lot 21 would support the Masonic Temple.
At a meeting in January 1953, members of United Lodge No. 29 in Brighton began to talk about building a facility for themselves. The lodge had met at many different places up and down Main Street in Brighton since it was formed here in 1855. Their interest was in having a permanent meeting place and they thought it might be good to open the new Masonic Temple in 1955, their centennial year. Talk quickly turned into study and a year later, a report suggested that construction of a building was feasible. The lodge members got busy.
Committees were formed for building and finance, including prominent members of the lodge. The purchase of land would not be recorded until July 1955, one of several transactions where Mr. Conn was disposing of his investments.
"Family Alert" here from The History Guy! The fellow who was assigned the position of head of the Building Committee was Lloyd Ames of Codrington. His name is on the plaque at the front of the building as C. L. Ames. He was my maternal grandfather. I was four years old at this time. I heard many stories about how Lloyd Ames and others travelled around the countryside finding the right materials and furnishings for their Masonic Temple. Many old markers were called in from friends and associates everyone tried to keep the costs down and make a great building. Lumber and lots of building supplies were acquired and even theatre seats were obtained from Toronto.
Here is a quote from the History of the Brighton Masonic Lodge that is available on the Brighton Digital Archives web site. “At the banquet prior to the dedication, W. M. Morrow reiterated that Bro. Lloyd Ames deserved full credit for the building project. He drew up the plans, sponsored and engineered the whole idea, ordered the material and supervised the work. Practically all labour was volunteer with so many helping that it is impossible to name them all. But without exaggeration, were it not for Bro. Ames this temple would not have been built.”
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The new Masonic Temple was dedicated at a meeting on April 22, 1955.
Of course, Lloyd Ames was very proud of the new Masonic Temple. Besides being the meeting place for the lodge, it became an important event venue in the area. It had excellent kitchen facilities and the Eastern Star ladies provided wonderful meals for banquets, weddings and even funerals. Lloyd Ames had his funeral service in this place. He had been a mason since the moment he could join as an eighteen-year-old farmer at Codrington, and the construction of this building was his crowning achievement. One thing he always crowed about was that, when the tornado roared down Main Street in 1973, not so much as a shingle came off the Masonic Temple. It was a fine building, to be sure.
Sadly, time moves on. By 2018, members of the lodge realized that they could no longer maintain the building. Preparations were put in place to sell the property. Lodge members contacted the History Guy and voiced concern about what they could do with the content of the vault as well as all those portraits of members hanging on the walls. The Northumberland County Archives set to work evaluating the collection and some items went to the archives in Cobourg.
The Brighton Digital Archives worked for several days to take pictures of all the portraits on the walls in order to have a permanent digital record and these images are now on the BDA web site with associated information for the subjects of the portraits. Many of the original portraits, including this one of Lloyd Ames, ended up with the families of original lodge members.
In addition, the History Guy was able to identify two documents that were histories of the lodge from different time periods. These documents were scanned and are now available on the BDA web site.
The big news came later when it was announced that the Brighton Masonic Lodge had donated $300,000 to the Brian Todd Community Fund.
The old Masonic Temple was renovated and repurposed to become Mason Flats, a multi-unit residence.
Of course, Lloyd Ames was very proud of the new Masonic Temple. Besides being the meeting place for the lodge, it became an important event venue in the area. It had excellent kitchen facilities and the Eastern Star ladies provided wonderful meals for banquets, weddings and even funerals. Lloyd Ames had his funeral service in this place. He had been a mason since the moment he could join as an eighteen-year-old farmer at Codrington, and the construction of this building was his crowning achievement. One thing he always crowed about was that, when the tornado roared down Main Street in 1973, not so much as a shingle came off the Masonic Temple. It was a fine building, to be sure.
Sadly, time moves on. By 2018, members of the lodge realized that they could no longer maintain the building. Preparations were put in place to sell the property. Lodge members contacted the History Guy and voiced concern about what they could do with the content of the vault as well as all those portraits of members hanging on the walls. The Northumberland County Archives set to work evaluating the collection and some items went to the archives in Cobourg.
The Brighton Digital Archives worked for several days to take pictures of all the portraits on the walls in order to have a permanent digital record and these images are now on the BDA web site with associated information for the subjects of the portraits. Many of the original portraits, including this one of Lloyd Ames, ended up with the families of original lodge members.
In addition, the History Guy was able to identify two documents that were histories of the lodge from different time periods. These documents were scanned and are now available on the BDA web site.
The big news came later when it was announced that the Brighton Masonic Lodge had donated $300,000 to the Brian Todd Community Fund.
The old Masonic Temple was renovated and repurposed to become Mason Flats, a multi-unit residence.
154 Main Street – Village Lot 13
In 1832, Josiah Proctor sold small pieces of land on the north side of the Kingston Road (Main Street) to Bidald Franklin, who had recently come to Upper Canada from Watertown, New York. Mr. Franklin had married Catherine Spafford, a daughter of Smalley Spafford and Rebecca Proctor, which established him among the elite families of the community. He quickly established himself on the land that would be identified as Village Lot 13, just a bit east of Princess Street.
In all the related records, Mr. Franklin is referred to as a “tanner”, which means he processed animal hides into leather products such as harnesses, shoes and lots of useful items for home and work. Every community in the middle of the 1800s needed a tanner. However, there was a downside. The processing of tanning produced a lot of bad smells. That is why the tannery was most often well away from commercial or residential areas of a town. People just would not stand for the smell.
Bidald Franklin raised a family while running his tannery. There were five children with Catherine Spafford and then , after she died in 1841, there were two more with second wife, Mary Jane Young.
Bidald Franklin conducted business as a tanner, right here on Main Street in Brighton for about three decades. It should also be noted that he was just east of Ira Hodge’s Inn, which was a very active stage stop on the main road.
Records show that Mr. Franklin ran into mortgage problems in the 1860s and, by late in that decade, we find him living with one of his sons in Iowa. The neighbors must have been happy to see the tannery no longer active on Main Street.
Even though Bidald Franklin was not living on Village Lot 13 any more, it appears as if members of the family maintained ownership. Part of the solution to the mortgage problems came from Rev. William A. Sills, who had married Eliza Franklin, Bidald’s oldest child. The property was sold to Silas Cook, the husband of Adelia Franklin, another daughter.
There would be many mortgages and discharges in the land records related to this land and Silas Cook, until in 1905, when part of the land was sold to Samuel Tackaberry who owned the house to the east, on the corner of Main and Factory Street. In 1954, Willard Tackaberry sold this part of lot 13 to Gladys M. West, his sister, and Gladys sold it back to Willard and Muriel Tackaberry in 1969. Harrison W. Tackaberry gave up his 1/3 interest in the property to Willard in 1972 and, then, in 1975, the property was sold to the Ontario Housing Corporation, which led to the construction of the large residential facility we see at 154 Main Street.
In 2001, ownership went to the Northumberland County Housing Corporation.
In 1832, Josiah Proctor sold small pieces of land on the north side of the Kingston Road (Main Street) to Bidald Franklin, who had recently come to Upper Canada from Watertown, New York. Mr. Franklin had married Catherine Spafford, a daughter of Smalley Spafford and Rebecca Proctor, which established him among the elite families of the community. He quickly established himself on the land that would be identified as Village Lot 13, just a bit east of Princess Street.
In all the related records, Mr. Franklin is referred to as a “tanner”, which means he processed animal hides into leather products such as harnesses, shoes and lots of useful items for home and work. Every community in the middle of the 1800s needed a tanner. However, there was a downside. The processing of tanning produced a lot of bad smells. That is why the tannery was most often well away from commercial or residential areas of a town. People just would not stand for the smell.
Bidald Franklin raised a family while running his tannery. There were five children with Catherine Spafford and then , after she died in 1841, there were two more with second wife, Mary Jane Young.
Bidald Franklin conducted business as a tanner, right here on Main Street in Brighton for about three decades. It should also be noted that he was just east of Ira Hodge’s Inn, which was a very active stage stop on the main road.
Records show that Mr. Franklin ran into mortgage problems in the 1860s and, by late in that decade, we find him living with one of his sons in Iowa. The neighbors must have been happy to see the tannery no longer active on Main Street.
Even though Bidald Franklin was not living on Village Lot 13 any more, it appears as if members of the family maintained ownership. Part of the solution to the mortgage problems came from Rev. William A. Sills, who had married Eliza Franklin, Bidald’s oldest child. The property was sold to Silas Cook, the husband of Adelia Franklin, another daughter.
There would be many mortgages and discharges in the land records related to this land and Silas Cook, until in 1905, when part of the land was sold to Samuel Tackaberry who owned the house to the east, on the corner of Main and Factory Street. In 1954, Willard Tackaberry sold this part of lot 13 to Gladys M. West, his sister, and Gladys sold it back to Willard and Muriel Tackaberry in 1969. Harrison W. Tackaberry gave up his 1/3 interest in the property to Willard in 1972 and, then, in 1975, the property was sold to the Ontario Housing Corporation, which led to the construction of the large residential facility we see at 154 Main Street.
In 2001, ownership went to the Northumberland County Housing Corporation.
156 Man Street – Village Lot 15
The two-story frame house at 156 Man Street is one of the most historically significant buildings in Brighton. The basic design is simple, two-storied with with four windows across and the front door in the middle. It was a familiar look and feel for hundreds of hotels and taverns that sprang up along the roads of Upper Canada in the 1820s. They were relatively easy and inexpensive to build so a local carpenter with general skills and a few helpers could build one in a few weeks. These buildings served as hotels, stage stops and taverns, also called inns, for a travelling public struggling with every mile of rutted, muddy road. This is also where a traveler could buy a solid meal and probably some refreshments. Whether you were on foot or riding a horse, or rushing a stage coach to deliver passengers and mail on time, these buildings were the most common site along the road.
In February 1807, Sanders Hodges sold his land in Stanstead County, Quebec, which he had possessed for less than three years and took his family to Upper Canada, settling in the south end of Cramahe Township, Northumberland County. Land records do not record his presence, but it appears that he found a good place for a hotel and tavern on the Danforth Road and established himself at the south-west corner of lot 2, concession 2, Cramahe Township.
Sanders Hodges was in his forties by the outbreak of the War of 1812 and records show that he participated in the First Regiment of Northumberland Militia which were mostly older men tasked with transporting supplies as well as prisoners of war along the Danforth Road between York and Kingston. There are also references to “Hodges Inn” in 1814 regarding military contingents meeting at this location.
Ira Hodges was a son of Sanders Hodges and Jane Knapp. When Sanders Hodges died in 1816, the family was dispersed, with oldest son Schuyler Hodges heading to Pontiac, Michigan where he would be a solid citizen, acting as sheriff of Oakland County for many years and, later in life, building a hotel called “Hodges House” to serve the community.
Young Ira stayed to look after his father’s hotel in Cramahe Township and would operate that business all his life. In 1814, Josiah Proctor purchased all 200 acres of lot 2, concession 2, Cramahe Twp., and Ira struck a deal to rent the space where his hotel was located. It was an ideal spot for a hotel, right on the Danforth Road and not far from the south end of the Percy Road which reached into the concessions north of the lakeshore. There was also growing traffic down to Presqu’ile Bay, and the trail from the main road was right across the road from Hodges Inn. Over the next two decades there would be other hotels as well as stores at this busy corner.
At some point in the middle of the 1820s, business was good enough for Ira Hodges to build a new hotel in the common model of many others in the province at that time. He and Sarah had nine children, among which, Charlotte married Isaac Chamberland Sanford, Amaretta married Albert Gross and Rebecca married William Ainsworth.
These family connections came in handy in the 1860s as the business got into mortgage trouble. Sarah was looked after until her death in 1874 and over the next decades, the property at Village Lot 15 changed hands several times. In 1912, Fred Cornwall bought it, then Ethel Cornwall, Fred’s widow, sold it in 1927 to Morley Simpson and it would be in Simpson hands until 1987.
In recent years, 156 Main Street has supported several tenants and, more recently, underwent significant renovations. The place looks really good, considering its age.
The two-story frame house at 156 Man Street is one of the most historically significant buildings in Brighton. The basic design is simple, two-storied with with four windows across and the front door in the middle. It was a familiar look and feel for hundreds of hotels and taverns that sprang up along the roads of Upper Canada in the 1820s. They were relatively easy and inexpensive to build so a local carpenter with general skills and a few helpers could build one in a few weeks. These buildings served as hotels, stage stops and taverns, also called inns, for a travelling public struggling with every mile of rutted, muddy road. This is also where a traveler could buy a solid meal and probably some refreshments. Whether you were on foot or riding a horse, or rushing a stage coach to deliver passengers and mail on time, these buildings were the most common site along the road.
In February 1807, Sanders Hodges sold his land in Stanstead County, Quebec, which he had possessed for less than three years and took his family to Upper Canada, settling in the south end of Cramahe Township, Northumberland County. Land records do not record his presence, but it appears that he found a good place for a hotel and tavern on the Danforth Road and established himself at the south-west corner of lot 2, concession 2, Cramahe Township.
Sanders Hodges was in his forties by the outbreak of the War of 1812 and records show that he participated in the First Regiment of Northumberland Militia which were mostly older men tasked with transporting supplies as well as prisoners of war along the Danforth Road between York and Kingston. There are also references to “Hodges Inn” in 1814 regarding military contingents meeting at this location.
Ira Hodges was a son of Sanders Hodges and Jane Knapp. When Sanders Hodges died in 1816, the family was dispersed, with oldest son Schuyler Hodges heading to Pontiac, Michigan where he would be a solid citizen, acting as sheriff of Oakland County for many years and, later in life, building a hotel called “Hodges House” to serve the community.
Young Ira stayed to look after his father’s hotel in Cramahe Township and would operate that business all his life. In 1814, Josiah Proctor purchased all 200 acres of lot 2, concession 2, Cramahe Twp., and Ira struck a deal to rent the space where his hotel was located. It was an ideal spot for a hotel, right on the Danforth Road and not far from the south end of the Percy Road which reached into the concessions north of the lakeshore. There was also growing traffic down to Presqu’ile Bay, and the trail from the main road was right across the road from Hodges Inn. Over the next two decades there would be other hotels as well as stores at this busy corner.
At some point in the middle of the 1820s, business was good enough for Ira Hodges to build a new hotel in the common model of many others in the province at that time. He and Sarah had nine children, among which, Charlotte married Isaac Chamberland Sanford, Amaretta married Albert Gross and Rebecca married William Ainsworth.
These family connections came in handy in the 1860s as the business got into mortgage trouble. Sarah was looked after until her death in 1874 and over the next decades, the property at Village Lot 15 changed hands several times. In 1912, Fred Cornwall bought it, then Ethel Cornwall, Fred’s widow, sold it in 1927 to Morley Simpson and it would be in Simpson hands until 1987.
In recent years, 156 Main Street has supported several tenants and, more recently, underwent significant renovations. The place looks really good, considering its age.
159 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 20
The next property west of Mason Flats is 159 Main Street. The aerial photo from the 1960s shows both the Masonic Temple and the house at 159 are rather new. On the other hand, the house at 165, the corner of Ontario Street, is a classic.
The history of lot 20 is similar to lot 21. In 1907, Toronto General Trust Corporation sold it to Thomas W. Solomon, then in 1922 his estate sold to George T. Goheen and then the Goheen his estate sold it Toronto Sick Childrens Hospital in 1942. It was sold quickly, in 1943, to Clayton Darrah, who then sold to Fred Hooney, and then to William H. Conn in 1953. The next year, he sold to Lawrence and Edith Pattison.
Another quick turnaround in 1955 saw lot 20 sold to Harry and Pearl Ewing and these folks intended on living here for the long term. Harry Sloan Ewing (1914-1997) had been born in Percy Township, at the Ewing farm north of Warkworth and east of Dartford. His parents were James Sloan Ewing and Almira White and James was a grandson of Benjamin Franklin Ewing, who settled on village lot 28, south side of Main Street in Brighton.
Harry was a teacher in Campbellford for a time, but the war disrupted his career and he enlisted in the R.C.A.F. in January of 1942. He served throughout the war as a radio mechanic in Scotland where he was lucky to meet Pearl Brodie. The two were married in 1945 and Harry brought his bride back home to Canada at the end of the war.
Immediately on returning from the war, Harry Ewing was appointed principal of the Wooler Continuation School and when that facility closed in May of 1955, he and his students moved to Brighton High School. Harry would make the further move when the new Brighton and District High School was built. He would serve as vice-principal for a time and then, was principal of E.N.S.S. from 1967 to 1972.
Harry Ewing passed away in 1997 and in 2008 Pearl Ewing sold 159 Main Street to Bruce Kemp, who is still there in 2023.
The next property west of Mason Flats is 159 Main Street. The aerial photo from the 1960s shows both the Masonic Temple and the house at 159 are rather new. On the other hand, the house at 165, the corner of Ontario Street, is a classic.
The history of lot 20 is similar to lot 21. In 1907, Toronto General Trust Corporation sold it to Thomas W. Solomon, then in 1922 his estate sold to George T. Goheen and then the Goheen his estate sold it Toronto Sick Childrens Hospital in 1942. It was sold quickly, in 1943, to Clayton Darrah, who then sold to Fred Hooney, and then to William H. Conn in 1953. The next year, he sold to Lawrence and Edith Pattison.
Another quick turnaround in 1955 saw lot 20 sold to Harry and Pearl Ewing and these folks intended on living here for the long term. Harry Sloan Ewing (1914-1997) had been born in Percy Township, at the Ewing farm north of Warkworth and east of Dartford. His parents were James Sloan Ewing and Almira White and James was a grandson of Benjamin Franklin Ewing, who settled on village lot 28, south side of Main Street in Brighton.
Harry was a teacher in Campbellford for a time, but the war disrupted his career and he enlisted in the R.C.A.F. in January of 1942. He served throughout the war as a radio mechanic in Scotland where he was lucky to meet Pearl Brodie. The two were married in 1945 and Harry brought his bride back home to Canada at the end of the war.
Immediately on returning from the war, Harry Ewing was appointed principal of the Wooler Continuation School and when that facility closed in May of 1955, he and his students moved to Brighton High School. Harry would make the further move when the new Brighton and District High School was built. He would serve as vice-principal for a time and then, was principal of E.N.S.S. from 1967 to 1972.
Harry Ewing passed away in 1997 and in 2008 Pearl Ewing sold 159 Main Street to Bruce Kemp, who is still there in 2023.
165 Main Street South Side – Village Lot 19
The south-east corner of Main and Ontario Street has a rather old frame house sitting right out at the sidewalk. This location has a long history supporting both retail establishments and private homes. Currently, the building hosts several rental apartments.
This property is village lot 19, the far north west corner of Isaac C. Proctor’s Crown Patent in 1842 which covered the north half of lot 2, concession 1 of Cramahe Township. Within a few months, the strategic corner on Main Street and what was then called Sand Street, now Ontario Street, was sold to Barnabus Bettes. The name on the maps is Barring M. Bettes, but he was most often called Barnabus. He was a nephew of the Joseph Bettes, another fellow we hear about a lot in the west end of Brighton.
Barnabus Bettes established a store on this corner, one of several businesses in the area, along with the store of his cousin Harrison C. Bettes. This was a very busy place in the 1840s and into the 1850s because it was on the corner of the road to Presqu’ile Bay. It was the height of schooner days on Lake Ontario and the traffic from the north concessions to the wharfs on the bay often resulted in lines of wagons and teams of horses or oxen waiting to unload their lumber or grain.
The south-east corner of Main and Ontario Street has a rather old frame house sitting right out at the sidewalk. This location has a long history supporting both retail establishments and private homes. Currently, the building hosts several rental apartments.
This property is village lot 19, the far north west corner of Isaac C. Proctor’s Crown Patent in 1842 which covered the north half of lot 2, concession 1 of Cramahe Township. Within a few months, the strategic corner on Main Street and what was then called Sand Street, now Ontario Street, was sold to Barnabus Bettes. The name on the maps is Barring M. Bettes, but he was most often called Barnabus. He was a nephew of the Joseph Bettes, another fellow we hear about a lot in the west end of Brighton.
Barnabus Bettes established a store on this corner, one of several businesses in the area, along with the store of his cousin Harrison C. Bettes. This was a very busy place in the 1840s and into the 1850s because it was on the corner of the road to Presqu’ile Bay. It was the height of schooner days on Lake Ontario and the traffic from the north concessions to the wharfs on the bay often resulted in lines of wagons and teams of horses or oxen waiting to unload their lumber or grain.
By the time the 1860s came around, much had changed. The American Civil war disrupted trade at a time when the trade in both lumber and grain decreased. The supply of trees in the area had been devastated after decades of intense harvesting. Wheat from western Ontario began to flood the mark and prices plummeted. Farmers in the area were changing their operations over to dairy and beef production in order to remain profitable.
In the context of all this change, the many members of the Bettes headed back to the United States. They had many cousins who had spread out into the mid-west and more were coming. In 1867, Barnabus Bettes sold the property at village lot 19 to James Nesbitt and would establish his family in Madison Township, Missouri.
We have seen James Nesbitt related to several properties along the south side of Main Street. The house at 99 Main Street was called the Nesbitt place because of long ownership by members of the Nesbitt family and there was buying and selling with other properties in the area. However, village lot 19 at the corner of Main and Ontario Streets was James Nesbitt’s first important purchase in Brighton and this property would remain in the Nesbitt family until 1927, a period of sixty years.
James Nesbitt had come from Ireland in 1856 and is said to have been a passenger on the first Grand Trunk Railway train to travel from Montreal to Toronto, after the inaugural train went from Toronto to Montreal. Two years later he marriage Agnes Clark of Kingston and the next year, 1859, Samuel Nesbitt was born in Brighton. The census for 1861 lists James Nesbitt as a labourer but it seems apparent that he was quickly becoming a successful merchant. Sons Robert, David and William came along during the 1860s and then the property at village lot 19 was purchased in December 1867.
It is possible that James Nesbitt operated a store at this location, and the family lived here as well. We know he was also active in the eastern area of Main Street as well, but we might expect these were evolving opportunities. Certainly, in the 1871 census he is clearly shown as a merchant with a young family. There were investments in farm land south of Brighton but the main purchase, in the 1870s was the property in village lot 30 on the south side of Main Street, which would become 99 Main Street.
The 99 Main Street property would go to oldest son Samuel Nesbitt in 1893 but 165 Main Street remained in the Nesbitt family until Bill Nesbitt sold it in 1927. William John Nesbitt (1890-1962), commonly called Bill, was a grandson of James Nesbitt, through his father Robert. Bill Nesbitt had enlisted to fight in The Great War in the fall of 1914 along with his best friend Keith Roblin. These two soldiers from Brighton were featured in John Stephen’s work called “They Went Together” which followed them through the war. Both young men received wounds but both would be among the lucky ones that were able to return to their homes after the war. Bill Nesbitt had been seriously injured and would suffer from the aftermath for the rest of his life.
While there are no land transactions for village lot 19 from 1867 to 1927, it is apparent that the property at 165 Main Street came to Bill Nesbitt. He and his wife sold the property to George T. Goheen, who we have seen several times as owner, for a time, of several properties along the western end of Main Street. His estate would then sell the property to Minnie Goheen, who was the wife of Robert Goheen, a younger brother of George. It would remain with Minnie Goheen until sold in 1942 to Smith Hendricks who was part of the early settler Hendricks family in Murray Township north of Carrying Place. He died in 1955 and his estate sold 165 Main Street to James and Anna Brown.
The 1972 Canada Voters Lists show that George and Susan Clement and were living at 165 Main Street and James Brown sold the property to Susan Clement in 1978. The next year, it was sold to Paul Gauthier who was heavily involved in the development of the seniors’ residence on Maplewood Avenue. In 1981, Gauthier sold it to Robert Shocklady who sold in 1986 to Ronald Mitchell. In 1989 it went to Dan Burns who sold in 1996 to Jeremy & Colleen Smith.
The property at 165 Main Street has been used as rental accommodation for some years and remains so in 2023, although significant renovation was carried out, both inside and out, so the appearance is much improved.
In the context of all this change, the many members of the Bettes headed back to the United States. They had many cousins who had spread out into the mid-west and more were coming. In 1867, Barnabus Bettes sold the property at village lot 19 to James Nesbitt and would establish his family in Madison Township, Missouri.
We have seen James Nesbitt related to several properties along the south side of Main Street. The house at 99 Main Street was called the Nesbitt place because of long ownership by members of the Nesbitt family and there was buying and selling with other properties in the area. However, village lot 19 at the corner of Main and Ontario Streets was James Nesbitt’s first important purchase in Brighton and this property would remain in the Nesbitt family until 1927, a period of sixty years.
James Nesbitt had come from Ireland in 1856 and is said to have been a passenger on the first Grand Trunk Railway train to travel from Montreal to Toronto, after the inaugural train went from Toronto to Montreal. Two years later he marriage Agnes Clark of Kingston and the next year, 1859, Samuel Nesbitt was born in Brighton. The census for 1861 lists James Nesbitt as a labourer but it seems apparent that he was quickly becoming a successful merchant. Sons Robert, David and William came along during the 1860s and then the property at village lot 19 was purchased in December 1867.
It is possible that James Nesbitt operated a store at this location, and the family lived here as well. We know he was also active in the eastern area of Main Street as well, but we might expect these were evolving opportunities. Certainly, in the 1871 census he is clearly shown as a merchant with a young family. There were investments in farm land south of Brighton but the main purchase, in the 1870s was the property in village lot 30 on the south side of Main Street, which would become 99 Main Street.
The 99 Main Street property would go to oldest son Samuel Nesbitt in 1893 but 165 Main Street remained in the Nesbitt family until Bill Nesbitt sold it in 1927. William John Nesbitt (1890-1962), commonly called Bill, was a grandson of James Nesbitt, through his father Robert. Bill Nesbitt had enlisted to fight in The Great War in the fall of 1914 along with his best friend Keith Roblin. These two soldiers from Brighton were featured in John Stephen’s work called “They Went Together” which followed them through the war. Both young men received wounds but both would be among the lucky ones that were able to return to their homes after the war. Bill Nesbitt had been seriously injured and would suffer from the aftermath for the rest of his life.
While there are no land transactions for village lot 19 from 1867 to 1927, it is apparent that the property at 165 Main Street came to Bill Nesbitt. He and his wife sold the property to George T. Goheen, who we have seen several times as owner, for a time, of several properties along the western end of Main Street. His estate would then sell the property to Minnie Goheen, who was the wife of Robert Goheen, a younger brother of George. It would remain with Minnie Goheen until sold in 1942 to Smith Hendricks who was part of the early settler Hendricks family in Murray Township north of Carrying Place. He died in 1955 and his estate sold 165 Main Street to James and Anna Brown.
The 1972 Canada Voters Lists show that George and Susan Clement and were living at 165 Main Street and James Brown sold the property to Susan Clement in 1978. The next year, it was sold to Paul Gauthier who was heavily involved in the development of the seniors’ residence on Maplewood Avenue. In 1981, Gauthier sold it to Robert Shocklady who sold in 1986 to Ronald Mitchell. In 1989 it went to Dan Burns who sold in 1996 to Jeremy & Colleen Smith.
The property at 165 Main Street has been used as rental accommodation for some years and remains so in 2023, although significant renovation was carried out, both inside and out, so the appearance is much improved.