Home / Accueil

Wood-Graham-Bacher House

134, Church Street, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2R, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1990/11/17

Wood-Graham-Bacher House on Church Street; Callie Hemsworth, Brock University, 2007
Wood-Graham-Bacher House
No Image
No Image

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/07/30

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Wood-Graham-Bacher House is a mid-19th century two-storey dwelling executed in red brick. Disguised and decorated with ivy, this house features a medium gable roof trimmed with a decorative frieze. It has three bays and an off-centre door with an entablature and pilasters. The house is located in downtown St. Catharines on Church Street.

It was designated under By-law 90-378 by the City of St. Catharines.

Heritage Value

The Wood-Graham-Bacher House is one of a few of the surviving 19th century homes on Church Street. The house is one of three buildings shown on the Marcus Smith Map of 1852 on a lot owned by Stephen Parnell. Parnell's daughter Almeda later resided in the house with her husband James Wood, a businessman, who owned several businesses including G. and J. Wood at 30 St. Paul Street and the Dominion Tannery on Thorold Road. This business was later taken over by James' sons and became known as Wood Bros. Leather on St. Paul Street. James Wood's daughter, Isabella Jane Graham, wife of illustrious Great Lakes master mariner Captain W.D. Graham, inherited the house; Isabella was born, lived, and died in the home. The house remains in the ownership of the family's descendents.

The stunning architecture of this 19th century home features distinctive elements including its red brick exterior laid in a garden wall pattern, its medium gable roof on the original front part of the building and its roof trim of a decorative frieze in a contrasting brick. The main windows have decorated lugsills made of concrete and a flat structural opening with wood lintels. The door is flat and off-centred with an attractive entablature and pilasters, with a recessed side panel and a flush transom light.

The house's location in downtown St. Catharines sets it among a collection of houses and buildings designated for their heritage value in the area. The house stands as a representation of dwellings that once graced Church Street in the mid 1800s and is one of a few that remain.

Sources: By-law 90-378 Schedule “B”, City of St. Catharines, 1989; Wood-Graham-Bacher House, St. Catharines Heritage Committee, 2004.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that reflect the heritage value of the Wood-Graham-Bacher House include its:
- red brick exterior in a garden wall pattern
- medium gable roof on original front part of the house and trim of a decorative frieze in contrasting brick
- main windows with a flat structural opening and decorative lintels and lugsills
- off-centre door with an entablature and pilasters, set back with five panels and a glazed transom

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Ontario

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (ON)

Recognition Statute

Ontario Heritage Act

Recognition Type

Municipal Heritage Designation (Part IV)

Recognition Date

1990/11/17

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Peopling the Land
Settlement

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Planning Services 50 Church Street St. Catharines, ON L2T 7C2

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

HPON07-0431

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

SEARCH THE CANADIAN REGISTER

Advanced SearchAdvanced Search
Find Nearby PlacesFIND NEARBY PLACES PrintPRINT
Nearby Places