Note: during winter, the Mill Dam may not be kept snow free
8) Kennedy Terrace - 791-795 Second Avenue West
This site originally housed Heap’s Furniture Factory – a board & batten building on a stone foundation – then a fanning mill factory. In 1900, after the factory burned down, local contractor J. C. Kennedy built this terrace on the original foundation.
9) Webster/Case House - 767 Second Avenue West
Circa 1910, this residence housed two of Owen Sound’s mayors: William Webster (1918), and Garfield Case (1945). In a 1945 by-election Liberal Prime Minister Mackenzie King chose North Grey as a riding for General Andrew McNaughton, Minister of National Defence. The conscription issue dominated the election. In a surprise outcome, Case, the Progressive Conservative candidate, defeated McNaughton (see #14).
10) Urquhart House - 745 Second Avenue West
This “Ontario Cottage,” built circa 1858, is a vernacular version of an English Regency cottage, represented by the central entrance, square floor plan and medium hipped roof. A stone cellar accommodated the kitchen and staff quarters. Grocery merchant Donald P. Urquhart acquired the property in 1880, and it remained in his family until 1974.
11) Scott/Manley House - 712 Second Avenue West
Thomas Scott came to Owen Sound in 1850. At one time he owned all the land from 7th Street to the mill dam. Scott was a Mason, a town councillor, harbour master, mayor and Conservative M.P.P. Scott’s stone cottage was later enlarged by druggist Arthur Wood Manley.
12) W. G. McLauchlan House - 680 Second Avenue West
James McLauchlan emigrated from Scotland in 1854. His biscuit and confectionery company, J. H. McLauchlan & Sons, based in Williamsford in 1869, then Owen Sound in 1876, became one of Grey County’s largest manufacturers and was sold to National Grocers in the 1940s. His son, William, built this stately English Tudor Revival residence in 1910.
13) Cement Block House - 665 Second Avenue West
Thomas Dates built this 2½-storey house on the Sydenham River in 1909. Dates, a chemical engineer with the Sun Cement Company, built it to demonstrate what could be done with cement blocks. Choice birch, elm and oak trim grace the interior, along with exquisite glass doors.
14) Wilcox/Bowman House - 606 Second Avenue West - D
Milliner and “fancy goods” merchant Buell Wilcox built this vernacular Ontario Gothic house in 1870. H. H. Bowman purchased the house in the early 1900s and constructed the addition. Bowman was the campaign manager for General Andrew McNaughton in the by-election of 1945 (see #9).
15) Mill Dam & Fish Ladder
In the 1840s, Surveyor Charles Rankin set aside 35 acres for a mill reserve on the Sydenham River. The first dam and a grist mill were built soon after by John Frost. Rainbow trout use the ladder in the spring, salmon in the fall, to by-pass the dam on their way up river to spawn.
Sydenham River
The Sydenham River rises in marl-bottomed Williams Lake, a kettle lake in the former Holland Township, now part of Chatsworth. It tumbles over the Niagara Escarpment at Inglis Falls, one of the area’s prime natural attractions. The river is named for Viscount Sydenham, Governor-General of Upper Canada in 1841.
16) Buchan Manor - 682 Second Avenue East
This Georgian style house was built in 1855 by Walter E. Buchan of Glasgow. The walls - golden Niagara Escarpment limestone - are 27 inches thick. The ceilings are 13 feet high. Legend goes that an artist painted the Union Jack on the dining room ceiling so that the family could always dine under the British flag.
17) Poulett Place - 695 Second Avenue East
This Victorian Gothic Revival style house was built about 1875 and named after Poulett Street, in turn named after Governor General Lord Sydenham (Charles Poulett Thomson). Lord Sydenham presided over the first parliament of Canada. It was later occupied by the McLauchlans, owners of the McLauchlan Biscuit & Confectionery Company (see #12).
18) Temporary House built for Buchan Family - 111 Seventh Street East
This house, built in 1853, was home for the Buchan family for two years while Buchan Manor was built. It is thought to be of log construction, later veneered with brick. Huge, unpeeled logs support the house. The rear addition is built of wide, thick boards, sealed with battens, and then covered with roughcast.
19) Dental Clinic - 704 Second Avenue East
Like its neighbour, the Dental Clinic is an Italianate structure. Notice the differences between the two houses. The roof low pitch, decorative eaves, with their brackets and string courses, and the highly ornamental window hoods are often found in this style.
20) Dr. Alan Cameron House - 712 Second Avenue East
Dr. Alan Cameron, a graduate of the University of Glasgow, came to Owen Sound in 1854. He played a major role in the founding of the General and Marine Hospital, and was Medical Officer of Health and Chief Surgeon for the Canadian Pacific Railway. The house, with its imposing entrance and generous windows, was built about 1870.
