Last Link to Area’s Farming Heritage Still Stand
Richard and Lucy Newborn built their house in a Gothic Revival style with two-foot thick walls made of local fieldstone covered in stucco. Denise Harris/Photo
Against all odds, the house at 28 Daisy Avenue has survived to become the only heritage farm house remaining in Long Branch – a last link to the area’s pre-confederation agricultural roots and an era when the entire community was farmland.
The home’s builders, Richard and Lucy Newborn, had emigrated from Lincolnshire, England in the early 1830s and by 1837 they were living in Toronto Township (Mississauga.) In 1847, they bought a 40-hectare farm with a small creek running through it at Lot 7, Concession 1, South Division, in Etobicoke Township.
Sometime between 1847 and 1852, they built their house of local fieldstone and covered it with stucco. It is an early example of the Gothic Revival cottage style that was ubiquitous in Ontario from the 1840s to the 1890s. It has one and a half storeys, and its gable roof has a medium pitch, giving the house a lower, wider appearance than is typical of this style. All walls are two feet thick. Within the roof, a central gable over the front door contains a small window. The two gable ends of the roof enclose matching chimneys. The front door still has its original windows with semi-circular tops and the door is flanked by sidelights with a mullioned transom window in three segments above.
In the full height basement, log joists - some squared and beaded, and others still covered in their original bark - are visible in the ceiling, as is the main floor sub-flooring, which consists of boards 61 cm wide.
Richard and Lucy had five daughters, followed by three sons. The eldest son, Richard Robinson, was born in 1843, and when he was old enough, he worked the farm with his father. Richard married Susannah Copeland of Peel County in 1869, and the two generations shared the house.
Richard Sr. died in 1879 and his wife Lucy in 1886. Richard Jr. inherited the property, operating the farm until his death in 1900. His wife Susannah passed away in 1911.
That same year, the executors of the Newborn estate sold the south 17 hectares of the property to the Lake Shore Land Co. Ltd. Colonel Frederick Burton Robins was hired to develop the “Lakeshore Gardens” subdivision, one of the first of seven 20th century subdivisions in what would become the incorporated Village of Long Branch by 1931.
However, the Newborn house somehow escaped demolition and was sold to Hugh McCullum - a farmer from adjacent Lot 6 - who owned the house until his death in 1922. It was then sold to William Walton, and in 1949 to Elizabeth Mitchell Whitehead. Since her death in 1977, the house has had at least seven different owners.
Despite the years, this home’s original look and character have been retained. In 2013, Toronto City Council passed a designation by-law to protect the property under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Researched & Written by Denise Harris, originally published by the Etobicoke Guardian and reprinted with permission.
The home’s builders, Richard and Lucy Newborn, had emigrated from Lincolnshire, England in the early 1830s and by 1837 they were living in Toronto Township (Mississauga.) In 1847, they bought a 40-hectare farm with a small creek running through it at Lot 7, Concession 1, South Division, in Etobicoke Township.
Sometime between 1847 and 1852, they built their house of local fieldstone and covered it with stucco. It is an early example of the Gothic Revival cottage style that was ubiquitous in Ontario from the 1840s to the 1890s. It has one and a half storeys, and its gable roof has a medium pitch, giving the house a lower, wider appearance than is typical of this style. All walls are two feet thick. Within the roof, a central gable over the front door contains a small window. The two gable ends of the roof enclose matching chimneys. The front door still has its original windows with semi-circular tops and the door is flanked by sidelights with a mullioned transom window in three segments above.
In the full height basement, log joists - some squared and beaded, and others still covered in their original bark - are visible in the ceiling, as is the main floor sub-flooring, which consists of boards 61 cm wide.
Richard and Lucy had five daughters, followed by three sons. The eldest son, Richard Robinson, was born in 1843, and when he was old enough, he worked the farm with his father. Richard married Susannah Copeland of Peel County in 1869, and the two generations shared the house.
Richard Sr. died in 1879 and his wife Lucy in 1886. Richard Jr. inherited the property, operating the farm until his death in 1900. His wife Susannah passed away in 1911.
That same year, the executors of the Newborn estate sold the south 17 hectares of the property to the Lake Shore Land Co. Ltd. Colonel Frederick Burton Robins was hired to develop the “Lakeshore Gardens” subdivision, one of the first of seven 20th century subdivisions in what would become the incorporated Village of Long Branch by 1931.
However, the Newborn house somehow escaped demolition and was sold to Hugh McCullum - a farmer from adjacent Lot 6 - who owned the house until his death in 1922. It was then sold to William Walton, and in 1949 to Elizabeth Mitchell Whitehead. Since her death in 1977, the house has had at least seven different owners.
Despite the years, this home’s original look and character have been retained. In 2013, Toronto City Council passed a designation by-law to protect the property under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Researched & Written by Denise Harris, originally published by the Etobicoke Guardian and reprinted with permission.