HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1966-06-09, Page 141
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Tile Crederleik 8181(131 f , ° `httrrsda ',, Jitut 9 ice,
RIDGEWOOD PARK LAITHWAITE STATUARY
Came To
Build Lighthouse stayed To Build Homes
tStoneinason's
r r� cLure cos
e� of,Earlyana ian c�:a� 30 teams of mules. George Si11ib, I�idgew•ood Park in 1913 and
� g
for ornament the present p p tY was born there. The family was who worked there as a boy, re- entertained many guests there,
CU.RZON HALL
By W. E. Elliotti solely,though ro er in 1898,
A Scots stonemason' came to , some are of Italian marble. !and the family has been in "the
Q 1 ------Ceunt-ry,•Estates , , I Maitlatict" now fer 135 years.
�oderich to build the port's'
secorrl lighthouse, and stayed Of fur interesting early; Apart from the matter of early
to do a great deal more building � houses to be visited by members' ownership, nothing could be
hereabouts. i of Huron Historical Society an 1more dissimilar than the houses
The T. R. Rundle house on July 6,, •the three briefly de -!themselves. John Blake, settling
The Huron Road, a fine specimen scribed in the foregoing para- on the one existing main road
' were first owmed by men
of Georgian ?rchiteeture, with' ` ho certainly were not primer
-
style.
in the Greek' Revival . ily farmers. The fourth, best
style, is an example of the work' kno« n as the Laithwaite place
of Adam MacVicar. It was built on Highway d, is on a first farm,
in 1E53, for George Brown,•first ,and 'he property,' acquired by
treasurer of Huron county and John Blake from the Canada
the town of Goderich. Compeny :n 1831, was likely,
A Belgian baron bought from
the•Canada• Company 500 .acres'' from that early begin
-
thee � tfirl;:-
on."The Ridge," opposite the in -1 Historical Society members
fant settlement of Goderich, and :and guests• will make La members
had built for him there a com- .
ith-
modious log house with full base waite's the first step on the
meat for servants, which stands Jul -Y- tour, so that those who
today, after 137 years, as part ! have never viewed -the remark -
of the Ridgewood Park property able statuary may do -so. Mr. and
of Mi. and .Mrs. Ben Homan.• i:,Irs. 'Clayton Laithwaite are
Foe 40 years the residence of i accustomed to people driving in
a member of British nobility, the !for a closer look at the sculp-
"Gtifton house ' east . Gude- i tuned groups, all the work of
rich was built by a United States the late George Laithwaite,
citizen in the ltalianate or Italian i grandson of a Lancashire settler
revival style. Erected . in 1860, who tool: up land in the Maitland
. it originally. had 10 fireplaces,' concession of Goderich town-
-and in that era they were not, ship in 1831. George acquired
Life insitrance now
can. save money
for young marrieds
of the 1830's, erected a proper
house' for a country family, from
brick niadc in a, nearby brick-
yard. Years later, his son
Charles added to the house, this
time with brick from another
neighborhood yard, which was'
of a different appearance, so
that the division is quite notice-
able. "Apple Park," as the Leith-
wai•tes call it new, is noted for
its beautiful group of trees and
Wide lawns between house and
highway.
Grandson of Earl
' The so-called Curzon place,
now ownea by Mr. and Mrs,
Stanley Freeman, is just across
Highway '8 from Apple Park,
and reached through . a, well -
treed drive, Date of the house,
1860, is visible in colored glass
in a west door. The servants'
quarters comprised a complete
wing --not at one side, as com-
Ask any independent financial counsellor. With few
exceptions they'll advise life insurave as one of the
first steps towards financial security. For young people
it's generally.the only way to create instant and sub-
stantial capital to replace earning power. 'And the
younger you are when you buy, the lower the
You'll save -money in another way too, if you buy
cash value life insuratichis-contains-a--1-i-g-cash
benefit that grows through the ina.gic of"compound
interest. Your policy cash value cal be used to finance
a college education in the future or to' add to a re-
tirement income. In the meantime it's available to
you in an emergency, or for a b-usiness opportunity.
For example, it's about the best loan collateral you
can have. "Do you own any life insurance?", is one
of the first questions, your bank manager *ill ask.
How do you fit life insurance into your budget? It'8 easier today than ever.
Manufacturers -Life's Manu -Matic Cheque Plan will provide for an automatic
monthly deduction from your bank account and free you from budgeting worries.
Ask the Man from Manufacturers to tell ypu more.,You'll like his friendly and
competent approach to your life insurance problems.
MANUFIINiqp111911 LIFE .
monly seen, but at the rear— rich Township. Ridgewood Park
and they were complete.with
bedrooms, sitting room and kit-
chen,, - -
Arthur Wardlaw Curzon, who
acquired the place in 1893, was
descendant of a Norman knight
who accompanied William the
Conqueror to England in 1066
and a grandson of Richard Wil-
liam Penn Curzon, first Earl
Howe. He married, a Goderich
girl, Charlotte Radcliffe.. His
wife and a daughter both died
befo: e Mr. Curzon, who died in�
hospital here in 1934, in his
74th year.
A feature of the Italidnate
style of the house is, the square
tower at the southwest corner.
There is one like it on Vansittart
Avenue in Woodstock. A famous
'example of the architectural
types Osborne House, on the
Isle of Wight, built by Prince
Albert, consort of Queen Vic-
toria, in 1846.
George Brown, who owned
various properties- in Gtoderich•
before he had Adam MacVicar
build "Stirlings" from 'Mai•tland
river stone,. lived only nine
years to enjoy his country estate,
but his 'widow, Marianne Co rb
Brown, remained in possession
for 30 years, and was patron of
St. Stephen's (Anglican) church,
for which " she deeded land in
1873 Many familiar naives are
found in the records of that
parish up to 1893, when the
church was closed. The former
recto?y remains as a private
residence.
Of the four houses listed for
the July tour, three are in Gode-
is in Colborne: The river is the
boundary for many miles. A
flimsy footbridge near its mouth
provided access from the Gode-
rich hamlet in the early years.
The original log facing the
river, has been. covered longer
than anyone now can remember
—covered mare thin once, evi-
dently,.
vi-
dentlv,, for an old photograph
in possession of the Si'gnal-Star
shows a block formation of some
kind. Who"~appred that cover-
ing, acid when, is not known, but
the material was pine, in panels.
which account for the -markings
in the photograph. No_ longer
weatherproof, It was replaced
by Mr. Sandy about 1950, The
picture also shows a full veran-
dah, now long gone, and the
big chimneys are the chief
identifiable feature.
Ownership here is a particu-
larly interesting story. After the
brief period in possession of the
Ba•rori de Tuyle and his son the
Ridge site -was selected, for the
Baron de Tuyle by Capt. Henry
Wolsey Bayfield, a Royal Navy
officer - who conducted hydro-
graphic surveys on the. Great
Lakes. Hee had finished this
work several years before he
picked the Ridge for de Tuyle,
but probably • had sheltered
many times in the natural har-
bor at the river mouth,' and ad-
• mired the high ground as a site.
Gaits at the. Ridge
John Galt, son of the first
Canada Company Commissioner
who with Dr. William Dunlaop
founded Goderich, acquired. the
Ridge in 1854, and his son. John,
later postmaster *or Goderich,
at the Ridge until 1866, wile')
Registrar Galt died.
Henry Yarwood Attrill, who
came from Baltimore, but lived
in aristocratic English style,
bought Ridgewood Park in 1872.
He had a farmer to look after the
estate, and used the place most-
ly es a summer home, when he
was not -living .in Toronto or
spending a winter in California.
,The Attrill regime at Ridge-
wood Park was me•morable for
an almost successful attempt ;to
start a salt industry. He em-
ployed experts And spent spc,coo
ire drilling:but, could hat Over-
come water in the shaft.
Mr. Attrill 'built the large
frame house which -adjoins the
original log house on the north.,
It does not seem to be known
who the contractor • was, but
architects agree that he achieved
a reasonable harmony in the
operation. From the front doOr
a hall leads straight through. to
the original front door at the
south In • the basement, the
great beams show no sign of
their great age.
At the time of his salt mining
enterprise, Mr. Attrill 'had 30
Negroes working for him,, and
called seeing 80 sets of double
harness marked "mule har-
ness." On the river bank' in
front of the hOuse grew 25 or 30
varieties of grapes; Mr. Sillib
remembered, as "we children
used to go and get the .cows
down what was then a public
road, nowefilled in.
BulidOgs in the Vines
The late Percy ("Pop") Wal-
ton, used to relate that Attrill
had bulldogs tied among the
grapovines to keep the fruit
from being stolen before it was
ripe.
This interesting family Seented
to melt away' in a few years.
The father died in Toronto in
1892, in his 70th year, and the
estate passed to his WidoW and
three children. A fourth, Thom-
as, had died in 1880. Elizabeth
who was conveyed to town be-
hind high-stepping '• hackney8
With shining chains on the pole,
died • in 190, Edward_ keyear
later, of a fall from a hammock.
The other daughter, Grace,
was Mrs. Ernest Heaton, Tor -
Oscar E. Fleming„ Windsor
lawyer; worth a nalf-million dol-
lars at „ one time; took ,pver
James Richardson & Sons Ltd.
including, it is said Henry Ford,
but by 1929 things ;Went bad
financially, and the place was
mortgaged to a Windsor con -
&actor. Thomas Sandy, Gode-
rich contractor, obtained the
property in 1945. He died in
1959, but his daughter and her
husband have kept the place in
perfeet condition and added im-
Three interesting properties
are described in detail in "Early
Huron Houses," a booklet aVail-
,Work
able, at Goderich book stores
and news stands,' but Goderich
is probably unique in the var-
iety and interest of its pre -
federation houses, and the his-
tories of the families that lived
in them ResearCh so far indi-
cates that some 40 -ought to.
be adequately written up in sub-
scequent • issues off "Early Hu-
ron Houses," as well as an un-
deterrnifled number throughout
the county for which material
is being assembled, pending
some financial encouragement.
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