Notice of intention to designate 2167 Rebecca Street

On November 25, 2024, Oakville Town Council resolved to pass a Notice of Intention to Designate the following property under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, as amended, as a property of cultural heritage value and interest:

Chapman House
2167 Rebecca Street
Plan M70, Lot 6; Oakville

Description of property

The property at 2167 Rebecca Street is located on Rebecca Street between Stanfield Drive and Sabel Street. The property contains a circa 1920 two-and-a-half storey brick house known as the Chapman House. 

Statement of cultural heritage value or interest

Design and physical value

The Chapman House has design and physical value as a representative example of an Edwardian Classicism brick farmhouse. Edwardian architecture emerged in the early 1900s as a reaction against busy Victorian architecture. The style emphasized simplified, balanced, and formal composition, which can be seen in this 1920 house. The house includes numerous features of the Edwardian style, such as its: large, square form and massing with hipped roof, smooth red brick cladding with minimal decoration, segmentally-arched windows with one-over-one style windows; roof dormers with Palladian style windows, and a wide front porch with square wooden columns and railings. The house retains almost all its original exterior features and is a strong representative example of its architectural style.

Historical and associative value

The Chapman House has historical value because it is directly associated with the theme of agriculture and fruit farming. This area was well-known for its fruit farm industry, which was a large economic driver in the early 1900s around the Oakville area. The house remains as a link to this rural and agricultural past as one of the only remaining historic buildings in the area associated with the farms that once dotted the landscape. 

Contextual value

The Chapman House has cultural heritage value because it is physically and historically linked to its surroundings. The house is one of a few remaining historic farmhouse structures in the area. It was built by a local fruit grower and farmer in an area that used to be filled with large fruit farms and orchards. The house stands in its original location and is directly linked to farming families from the area and stands as a reminder of the agricultural history of Oakville and Bronte communities.  

Description of heritage attributes

Key attributes of the property at 2167 Rebecca Street that exemplify its cultural heritage value as an Edwardian Classicism style farmhouse, as they relate to the west, south and east elevations of the original two-and-a-half-storey house, include: 

• Square form and massing with hipped roof and wide one-storey front porch;
• Hip-roofed dormers with Palladian style windows; 
• Smooth red brick cladding; 
• Historic fenestration of the windows and doors with segmentally-arched openings, including brick voussoirs and concrete sills;
• The presence of one-over-one wooden windows on the first and second storeys;
• The presence of an Edwardian Classicism style wooden front door;
• The front porch that runs the width of the house with shed roof and small central gable, brick plinths with square, tapered wooden columns, and wooden railings with square pickets; and
• Wooden porch ceiling and wooden soffits.

Any objection to this designation must be filed no later than January 2, 2025. Objections must be directed to the Town Clerk at townclerk@oakville.ca or 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario L6H 0H3. The objection must include the reasons for the objection and all relevant facts.

Further information respecting this proposed designation is available from the Town of Oakville. Any inquiries may be directed to Carolyn Van Sligtenhorst, Supervisor of Heritage Conservation at 905-845-6601, ext.3875 (TTY 905-338-4200), or by email at carolyn.van@oakville.ca. 

Issued at the Town of Oakville on November 27, 2024.