19th Century Southern Ontario Part 1: Georgian, Neo-Classical, Regency

[flar]

19th Century Southern Ontario

Part 2: Gothic Revival
Part 3: Italianate
Part 4: Second Empire
Part 5: Queen Anne, Romanesque
Part 6: Late Victorian urban housing



Part 1: Georgian, Neo-Classical, Regency


Southern Ontario didn't see much settlement until after the War of Independence, when loyalists were expelled from the United States and granted land by the British in what was to become Canada. The loyalists built houses in the Georgian and neo-Classical styles and continued to build in these styles even into the 1850s, long after the Georgian era officially ended. These are some of the oldest houses in Southern Ontario.


Amherstburg
The British military established Fort Malden in the late 1700s, just across the river from Detroit.











Most of the homes in Niagara-On-The-Lake were built in the period just after the War of 1812. Most of the town was destroyed in the war.












Neo-Classical often feature elaborate fanlights over the front door.








Oakville is often overlooked because at first glance it appears to be pure suburbia. Those who explore deeper will be rewarded with one of the finest historic neighbourhoods in Ontario. Most of the homes in old Oakville were built from the 1830s to 1850s.









Greek temple influence









Stoney Creek is another surprise for the inquisitive traveller, it's not just another suburb.

This one may be the oldest pictured here, built in 1796







Some examples of pre-Confederation urban formats survive in Hamilton. Much of central Hamilton looked like this at one time.






Some neo-Classical houses in central Hamilton




Hamilton's vernacular form



Dundas has many buildings from the early 1800s.
This simple cottage was always one of my favourites in Dundas










Classical in Dundas


Some old workers houses



Greensville, on the mountain just above Dundas



A little further up the road is Waterdown, another village in the Hamilton area with many great historic homes.





Paris




Paris is famous for its cobblestone houses





A small number of Georgian buildings survive in London. The first two were built in the 1830s and restored in the 1970s.







The picturesque Regency style was adapted from the far flung colonial experiences of the British, and is noted for long sweeping porches and many tall windows.

A fine example in Dundas


Eldon House in London, 1834


An example in Niagara-On-The-Lake


Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, built 1830s, the Classical portico was added later

[xzmattzx]

Great compilation thread on the styles of housing in Ontario. It's nice to see everything tied together like this, even when I've seen the pictures before.

Are there any other examples of places with housing from the first few decades of the 1800s, that you never had a chance to visit?

I'm already looking forward to part 2.

[flar]

As far as I know, the best collections of early buildings are in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Dundas, Amherstburg, and Oakville, although there are early buildings scattered in many of the small towns throughout Southern Ontario. There are probably some scattered in Toronto (which was known as York, and Fort York remains), but I imagine many were wiped out by modern structures as is the case in Hamilton. On the whole, there is really not that much from the first decades of the 1800s in Southern Ontario. The land was wilderness and the buildings in many settlements at that time were pioneer buildings (log cabins and wooden shacks) that were replaced with better quality buildings.

If you go around the north side of Lake Ontario into Eastern Ontario, there are a number of very old communities: Port Hope, Cobourg, Belleville, Brockville, Kingston and some along the Rideau canal and in the Ottawa Valley.

[ColDayMan]

I dig it.

[Wheelingman04]

Neat thread.

[HomeInMyShoes]

So when are you going to put this together into a book flar?

[flar]

^^maybe someday


Thanks for the replies

[dktshb]

Beautiful display there. That was quite enjoyable. Thanks for sharing.

I can't say I like the addition of the portico here though:
[/b]

[denveraztec]

Incredible tour, will be looking at the others shortly. Been traveling and now playing catch up with my favorite poster!

[Evergrey]

I could do without the classical portico on Dundurn Castle


This is one of my favourite urban formats... streetscapes just seem to get better the further you go back