Heritage Tour of Elgin (Print this page and take it with you on your next trip to Elgin)
Name of Stop
1 = Ebenezer Halladay House
2 - Empire House
3 = Henry Laishley House
4 = Benjamin Halladay House
5 = Alman Newman Store
6 = John Dargavel General Store
7 = Santelle Dargavel Barn
8 = Elgin Community Hall
9 = SS#5 School
10 = United Church
11 = St. Columbanus Roman Catholic Church
12 = St. Paul's Anglican Church
Introduction
Our Heritage Tour brochures of the villages of Rideau Lakes Township are designed to acquaint visitors and residents with our rich local history and to illustrate the variety of architectural features that appeared as the villages matured. This walking tour starts with the earliest settler in the area, and progresses through time. As it moves from building to building we learn of individuals and families that made significant contributions to the development of Elgin. The bulk of the material is taken from Hub of the Rideau, A History of South Crosby Township by Sue Warren (1997), copies of which are for sale at the Elgin Library.
The village developed on Lots 12 and 13 in Concession 2 of South Crosby (Hub of the Rideau, p.200). In 1801 those two lots were granted to Leeds County women, Susannah Wiltse and Rebecca Wing, both daughters of United Empire Loyalists. Neither took occupancy, and both parcels were eventually purchased by Samuel Halladay.
The Development of Elgin
The first settler in the Elgin area was Ebenezer Halladay who, in 1818, bought a 100 acre portion of Lot 12, Concession 2 from his older brother Samuel Halladay. That land now forms the southeast quarter of Elgin bounded by Kingston Road and Main Street and for the first decades was known as Halladay's Comers. As a young boy Ebenezer was blinded in one eye when he tried to undo a knotted shoelace with a fork. The utensil flew out of his hand striking his eye. His handicap did not prevent him from enlisting in the 2nd Leeds Militia during the War of 1812, nor did it hinder his many farming, business and civic activities. Within a decade Ebenezer had cleared 25 acres, built the standard log house and was becoming a prosperous farmer. After the death of his first wife, Jane Leggett, he married Parthena Olds and the couple raised a family of 11 children from the two marriages.
Ebenezer and his sons Benjamin and Phillip played a significant role in the development of Elgin. Besides selling lots along Main St., over the course of time they donated land for the first two schools in the village, the South Crosby Community Hall, the Evangelical Methodist Church (now United Church) and the village cemetery fittingly named the Halladay Burial Ground.
Stop 1 - Ebenezer Halladay House
In 1844, when his youngest son Phillip was born, Ebenezer built a new stone house (Stop 1) to accommodate his large family. The one-and-a-half storey, white stucco-over-stone house, with the roofed verandah around two sides, is the oldest surviving private stone house in the township. Plastering or stucco was common over stone buildings. Traces of large bake ovens inside the building were discovered during twentieth century renovations. Phillip continued to help his father run the farm and later when mechanized farm equipment revolutionized farming he became a successful salesman travelling a wide territory with horse and buggy.
The 1840s was a period of rapid growth in the area, during which the population nearly doubled. In those days the established centres of Newboro on the Rideau Canal, and Delta with its industries, were far away by horse and wagon. By the 1850s main roads linked Elgin to Kingston, Brockville and Perth. Local roads, dusty in summer, muddy in spring and fall and sleigh tracks in winter, lead to Jones Falls, Davis and Chaffey's Locks. Ebenezer's land was located in the heart of the oldest settled part of the township where most of the second and third generation farmers lived. During the 1850s, Ebenezer Halladay took an active part in promoting the growth of the village by selling lots along the south side of Main Street. The stage was set for the growth of the village.
About 1845 Ira Mitchell leased a lot from Ebenezer Hailaday on the southeast corner of Main St. at Kingston Rd. Mitchell built a small house from which he marketed shoemaking services and whisky to a wide clientele. As well Ira marketed lots from the Halladay farm. In 1848 Henry Laishley opened a store in a log building across from Ira Mitchell's business. In 1851-52 he had replaced his original store with a larger frame building which he called the Seven Dollar Store after the amount of capital he had invested in it. The Seven Dollar Store soon drove Mitchell out of business. The Store survived until 1989 when it was destroyed by fire.
In 1853 Benjamin Halladay, purchased the land on the north side of Main Street and began selling lots. Soon there was a string of businesses as far as the Halladay Burial Ground. The growing village was officially named Elgin on Nov. 1850 in honour of James Bruce, the 8th Earl of Elgin, Governor General of Canada (1847-54). With rapid growth and prosperity came architectural changes. Simple frame and log buildings were replaced with more spacious homes and businesses displaying fine architectural styles and details. In February 1887 Phillip Halladay was granted permission to open two streets in the southern section of the village: Halladay Street in honour of his father, and Church Street.
Stop 2 - Second Empire House
When Eben Halladay died in 1884, Phillip inherited the farm and built South Crosby's only known two-and-a-half storey brick Second Empire House (Stop 2) across the street from the homestead. The wrought-iron details, mansard roof and decorative roof urns distinguish this building as Second Empire, a style popular in the last quarter of the 19th century. The front facade is denoted by its central projected core and symmetrically flanking wings. Each wing consists of a ground floor bay topped by a decorative roof dormer and a first floor window. Each window is crowned with a low vertical brick arch. The dormers are extremely decorative with harp-like treillage sides and just a touch of Classic Revival in the pediments over the arched windows. The decorative slate tiles fringe the dormers. The central entrance has a rectangular pediment around the porch with well-modeled details on the columns and the same iron cresting as on the side bays. The door is slightly inset crowned with a low vertical brick arch. A second storey door leads onto the pediment making for a small sitting balcony. Originally the property had a wrought iron perimeter fence reflecting the iron cresting on the bays.
Stop 3 - Henry Laishley House
Meanwhile Henry Laishley had become one of Elgin's most prosperous entrepreneurs. He became involved in the lucrative potash industry, buying ash from settlers clearing their lands, then exporting it for the making of soap, glass, and baking soda. He also owned and operated several bush farms in the Chaffey's Lock area. As well Laishley was influential in local educational and municipal affairs. He acquired the lot on the northwest corner of Main St. and Perth Road, and in 1886 hired carpenter John Stanton to erect a frame "mansion" there (Stop 3). The house is a fine example of "Queen Anne" architecture. Ornamental brackets, fine latticework and numerous bay windows make this one of the most imposing in the village. The rear summer kitchen facing Main St. was altered circa 1897 into the present two-storey addition with bay windows. Henry and Almeda Laishley died in the mid 1890s after which the house was acquired by a local farmer, Augustus Coon. His son Dr. Darius Coon served as the village doctor till his death in 1941. Subsequently the Guthrie brothers purchased it as a double residence. Ron Guthrie operated a garage and machinery dealership across the street and Glynn ran a pharmacy. In 1989 the North Leeds Development Corporation acquired the house and "Guthrie House" is now a centre for a variety of social services for area residents. The house was declared a Heritage Building in 1986.
Stop 4 - Benjamin Halladay House
With the income from his land sales Benjamin Halladay, by 1858, was able to invest in a new brick house (Stop 4) with an adjacent carriage shop on Perth Rd. The original brick is now covered with stucco but, you may wonder about the "Stanton House" inset above the door. Benjamin's daughter Dora inherited the house and, when she died the house passed to her only daughter Belle who was married to Fred Stanton. It then passed to George Stanton and today the house remains with the fifth generation.
Benjamin Halladay’s carriage shop prospered until the early 1870s, then was used as a drive shed for 3 decades. In the early 1900s it was converted to a honeymoon home where Belle and Fred Stanton lived until they moved into the family home in 1936. You can still see traces of the large arch doorway of the carriage shop and a small inset above the door where Benjamin Halladay once displayed his business sign.
The Stanton family was renowned for their fine carpentry work. John Stanton was hired to build Henry Laishley's home; James Stanton was responsible for much of the fine interior woodwork in the Anglican Church. A common architectural feature of Stanton built homes is the small leveled off tops of peaked roofs. This was in response to the excessive height resulting from the typical pyramid roof on two storey homes. It became known as the "Stanton Roof" and can be seen on numerous homes in Elgin. A trap door accessed the peak roof, handy in times of neighbourhood fires when a few pails of water poured over the shingles might save your Stanton house.
Stop 5 - Alman Newman Store
By the late 1860s, Laishley had competition from two new merchants, Alman S. Newman and John R. Dargavel. Each saw potential in Elgin as a commercial centre. Newman purchased a lot from Mitchell and in 1867 built a brick store (Stop 5). In this classic design, the living quarters and shop were combined in one structure. The brick false front is believed to date from its original construction. Notice the door to the original residence portion framed by a multi-paned, rectangular transom and similar sidelights, half glass and half panel. All the original windows were multi-paned 6 over 6 windows topped by vertical brick trim. The window in the centre gable is crowned with a wooden arch and vertical brick. In 1958 the store was purchased as a private residence and the front verandah was added enclosing the original large shop windows.
Alman was another energetic entrepreneur. He built a cheese factory on Sand Lake Rd. and acquired other businesses in Almonte, Carleton Place and Whitefish Lake. However, the Newmans had no children and when they died in the late 1880s the store passed through a number of hands and was eventually purchased by John R. Dargavel in 1903. The store was turned into a plumbing shop and gas station. During the 1940s and 1950s it housed the Elgin Post Office.
Stop 6 - John Dargavel General Store
Commercial competition increased in 1871 when John R. Dargavel opened a store on Main Street. In 1893 he expanded the business and built the largest general store (Stop 6) in North Leeds right opposite Alman Newman on Main St. It boasted the latest in gas lighting. Up two-and-one-half storeys an attic tank provided internal water pressure. Many small dormers in the hip roof lighted the attic in a time before electricity. On the second floor one of Dargavel's daughters opened a chinaware and linen department. On the ground floor Dargavel displayed a wide selection of merchandise visible through grand front windows encased by wooden pillars and a moulded pediment and, there was a telegraph office. It was the most up-to-date establishment in Elgin. The eastern section of the building served as the family home with one upstairs bedroom for the clerks who worked in the store. Downstairs Dargavel had a private office where he carried out his duties as Township Clerk, Justice of the Peace, and later as a Member of the Provincial Legislature for 14 years.
Stop 7 - Santelle Dargavel Barn
When John R. was elected to the legislature in 1905 his son James Santelle (pronounced "Settle") took over the family's commercial empire including the recently purchased Newman store. He added a cheese factory near California and the grist mill at Chaffey's Lock and helped found the South Crosby Rural Telephone Company. Santelle Dargavel had a fine brick mansion built opposite Stanton House but, of interest to-day is the barn (Stop 7) diagonally across the street behind the Anglican Church. The typical entrance doors at street level are flanked by large multi-paned windows unlike most working barns. Through these windows passers-by could glimpse the finest of Dargavel's buggies and cutters. The horsepower for those conveyances were accommodated in the lower (and less visible) level. Legendary John R. died in 1930 at age 83, his son in 1937 at age 61, Their impressive store is now a fine antique shop.
Stop 8 - Elgin Community Hall
Elgin bloomed as the commercial and political hub of South Crosby. Yet for its first three decades township council and community organizations met in schools, inns and private homes. In 1872 a town committee commissioned the construction of a community hall (Stop 8) fitting of Elgin's prosperity. Ebenezer Halladay donated a lot on Main Street. In 1873 a fine structure of two-and-one-half storeys welcomed community meetings and celebrations. Although the plain rectangular shape of the building may not immediately attract attention, careful examination reveals a number of interesting architectural details. The front windows are unusual with three panes double hung over one large pane. On the side the windows are double hung eight panes over eight with side panes imaginatively half the width of the centre panes. These large windows allowed better daytime lighting in the days before electricity. A scalloped pediment in the peak of the roof and a small, hipped hood over the double entrance door, add architectural interest. As Warren (1997) remarks, the clever Union Jack design on the transom above the front door was probably the inspiration of the builder James Halladay, and reflects the pride the settlers had in their British heritage. For a century, the Elgin Town Hall was home to dances, local theatre and concerts, exhibitions, rallies and receptions. Sadly, it is now in need of a "white knight" to restore this once proud edifice of community life.
The evolution of schools in Elgin reflects the growing community pride as the village matured. In 1842 Ebenezer Halladay donated land near the corner of Main St. and Kingston Rd. where a one room school (20'x24') was built. In 1865 a slightly larger school was built on Church St., this one even boasted a black board. Now a private home, much modified, it still stands opposite the United Church. During the early 1880s Ontario's Department of Education surveyed rural schools and found them cramped, poorly lit, lacking ventilation and plain clapboard or log construction. To remedy this the Department published, in 1886, a set of guidelines for the construction of rural schools. The recommendations included good natural lighting on one side of the room so the class could be oriented with light coming over the left shoulder, better ventilation, and greater attention to architectural style and landscaping. They considered schools significant public buildings that should reflect the importance of education in the community. In April 1887 Phillip Halladay sold a lot on Halladay St. for the construction of SS #5 School and in that same month the Elgin column of the Brockville Weekly Recorder noted: "Preparations are being made for the erection of a fine school house in our village this coming summer." Frederick Tabor of Morton was given the contract and his skilled handiwork was obviously directed by an architect and the Department of Education guidelines.
Stop 9 - SS#5 School
SS #5 (Stop 9) is of red brick on a stone foundation and appears to be two storeys in height but, in reality is two spacious rooms with very high ceilings. Facing the road, the school features three very large multi-paned windows with a gable over each. The central gable is ornately curved with a stone insert while the flanking gables are more traditionally triangular. Each window is ornately crowned with a slightly curved pattern of yellow bricks, which are repeated in the quoining. At one time there was an onion shaped, domed, bell tower which unfortunately has disappeared. The Red Brick School served the children of Elgin and area from 1887 to 1964. It was designated a Heritage Building in 1986. Recent research suggests that this may have been the first rural school in Ontario constructed according to the guidelines published by the Department of Education in 1886.
Churches
One of the interesting aspects of the churches in Elgin is that considerable community volunteer effort assisted in the construction and fund raising for each one, regardless of religious adherence.
Stop 10 - United Church
In 1856 Ebenezer Halladay donated land and money for the construction of a stone Evangelical Methodist Church beside the existing Halladay Cemetery. However, built on sandy soil that church proved unstable within 15 years. It was eventually torn down and the present church reconstructed on the site by Frederick Tabor of Motion in 1894 (Stop 10). It became the United Church in 1925 and was declared a Heritage building in 1986. Its twin towers and interior gallery make it an attractive example of late Victorian church architecture.
Stop 11 - St. Columbanus Roman Catholic Church
St. Columbanus Roman Catholic Church (Stop 11) rose in 1897-98 on land purchased from Phillip Halladay. Enormous community effort was involved in its construction. At one point, fund raising for the purchase of a bell fell short. Phillip Halladay, a Methodist completed the fund raising with a generous donation and asked the bell be rung at his funeral. Story has it that was the only time the bell has been rung for member of another faith. The Church manifests a strong late Victorian Gothic influence with its narrow, arched windows enclosing beautiful stained glass. Its belfry is highlighted with four pointed towers in contrast to the tall single spire typical of churches of that era.
Stop 12 - St. Paul's Anglican Church
In 1903, John R. Dargavel spearheaded the construction of the St. Paul's Anglican Church (Stop 12) when he donated land on the northeast corner of Main St. and Perth Rd. and engaged Frank T. Lent of Gananoque as the architect. The square bell tower and low roofline of the Church give it a definite “Romanesque” appearance. The intricate interior woodwork is a beautiful testament to James Stanton’s workmanship. Illuminated by gas lamps, fuel was piped from Dargavel’s store beneath Main Street. The first service in St. Paul’s was very fittingly on Christmas Eve, 1905.
Published by Township of Rideau Lakes LACAC June 2004. The LACAC wishes to thank the following sponsors for assistance in the publication of this brochure:
Elgin and District Chamber of Commerce
Art & Nola Gordanier, GORDANIER FRESHMART
Charles Marion, MAINLY ANTIQUES
Jane Monaghan, LAWYER
Dave Scotland, SCOTLAND FUNERAL HOME
For more information on heritage life and architecturally significant buildings in the Township of Rideau Lakes, visit any branch of the Rideau Lakes Union Library. Ask to peruse: "Cranworth Chronicles" by Barbara Gibson (South Burgess); "Hub of the Rideau" by Sue Warren (South Crosby Ward); "My Own Four Walls" by Diane Haskin (Bastard and South Burgess Ward); "South Elmsley in the Making" by James Kennedy; "The "Tweedsmuir Book of Newboro" in the Newboro Library; and the many resources illustrating heritage life in North Crosby to be found in the Newboro and the Westport Library and the Westport Museum. Also ask about our video "Best Kept Secrets" which highlights some of the folks and facets of our Rideau Lakes Township.
Township of Rideau Lakes, 1439 County Road 8, Delta, ON, K0E 1G0
email: info@twprideaulakes.on.ca
For general inquiries, administration, planning, public works, parks & rec, and fire department: Tel: 613-928-2251 or 1-800-928-2250 - Fax: 613-928-3097
For the tax office: Tel: 613-928-2896 or 1-866-677-4577
Chaffeys Lock Tour 
