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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1966-06-09, Page 141 tr 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. RIVE OUT ND SAVE OUR LOW OVERHEAD LOCATION _SA.VES YOU MONEY • "Serving The Feed Dealers of Western Ontario' PHONE 524-8388, GODERICH- PORTABLE STEREO AUTOMATIC RECORD PLAYER.. 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