The 2020 Heritage Barrie Awards were handed out Monday night for residential, commercial and institutional properties.
“We are so fortunate to have many of these beautiful and historically significant properties from the early days of Barrie, Allandale and Shanty Bay so well-preserved for future generations,” Mayor Jeff Lehman said.
Selected by the Heritage Barrie committee, the awards went to 62 William St. for residential, 113 Collier St. for commercial, and Trinity Anglican Church at 24 Collier St. for institutional.
Ward 8 Coun. Jim Harris and Ward 2 Coun. Keenan Aylwin presented histories of the properties.
Patton House, located at 62 William St., received the first award. The home and its history were also featured in a BarrieToday article in October 2018.
“Set on the corner of William and Holgate in the Allandale section of Barrie, Patton House is a double-walled, orange-red brick vernacular Victorian construction with a wraparound verandah and balcony,” Harris said. “It retains many original interior features, including bargeboard trim, oak floors, 12-inch baseboards, and old-growth pine pocket doors. A rare rosette window overlooking the porch and stained-glass transoms over the second-floor interior doorways make this non-designated heritage home unique in its neighbourhood.
“John Patton, the original owner, was a locomotive engineer with the Grand Trunk Railway. He and his wife, Jessie Meggison, raised their two children here – Mary, born in 1911, and Jack, born in 1916,” he added.
“Jack was the first man from Barrie to earn his wings as a fighter pilot under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the war. He joined the Battle of Britain (401) Squadron, flying Spitfires in support of operations over the English Channel and northern France. He was shot down and killed over the Channel on May 1, 1942, at the age of 25.
“In addition to the built features, visitors will see artifacts related to the Patton family and to the history of the house. Elizabeth Dauphinee Andrews, the recipient of the heritage award for 62 William, recently published an article in The New Quarterly. The article won first place in the 2020 Edna Staebler Personal Essay Prize, an award given by The New Quarterly.
“The committee selected 62 William St. for a heritage award to recognize its connection to the Patton family as well as Elizabeth’s efforts to preserve and share that history with her community.”
Andrews said she’s still amazed by the property.
“It is really beyond anything we could have imagined. We moved to Barrie in 2011 and fell in love with the house immediately,” she said.
BarrieToday's 2018 story and photographs brought the home even more attention when it was put on the city's heritage list.
“When that was published, we began to receive artifacts, people started coming to the house and sending things,” Andrews said.
Aylwin summarized the history of the last two priorities, both within his ward.
“Records on 113 Collier St., which has no formal or common name, are unclear as to when the home was built. Based on the classic Gothic architecture, it is believed that the home is between 125 and 145 years old,” he said. “This home is unique as it features a bay with four windows, where typically this style of home would have three bay windows.
"The double window on the third floor, however, is not original. Rather, it appears that the roof was extended to protrude forward to cover the two small arched windows on the third floor," the councillor added. "The original design featured one small arched window, with a flat roof above the quad bay window on the second floor.
“The home once featured an ornate vergeboard – which is a hand milled decoration that hung from the gable – which extended from the bottom of the roof all the way to the peak,” Aylwin said. “The home also once featured what was known as widow's walk, a rather ominous term for a roof-top balcony.
“While this home has been renovated numerous times, and several original features have been removed, the committee believes it stands as yet another example of excellent stewardship and plays an important role in maintaining the historic character of Collier Street’s east end.”
Kris Menzies, one of the owners of 113 Collier St., said the award is much appreciated.
“It’s a little piece of Barrie’s heritage,” she said of the building.
Last but not least was Trinity Anglican Church.
“Perched high atop a hill in the middle of downtown Barrie is Trinity Anglican Church. Construction on the church finished in 1864, three years before Confederation, and has been home to the Anglican congregation ever since,” Aylwin said. “The building was built in the Regency Gothic style, which can be identified by the arched windows, as well as multiple arched grilles in the windows themselves. As is common for the gothic style the church also features a prominent tower or turret that is supported by buttresses caped with masonry.
“The tower was once topped by a spire. Unfortunately, the spire was struck by lightning in 1934 and never replaced,” he said. “The committee selected Trinity Anglican Church for a heritage award as it is an excellent example of how continued use of heritage buildings and diligent stewardship can enrich our community by providing a tangible connection to the past.”
Parish administrator Joy Packham said the award is a pleasant surprise.
“It has certainly been a difficult year to be a church, to do church, and we have had to learn to do things in different ways,” she said. “We’ve certainly, I think, more than risen to that occasion.
“For example, we celebrated our 185th anniversary this year and we did it virtually. We made a video and shared it with past parishioners and just really anybody who was interested,” Packham added. “We don’t really know what the future looks like. The downtown is a different place than it was when Trinity was put together, 185 years ago, but we hope to continue to play a prominent role in the downtown of Barrie.”
Lehman said the 24 Collier St. church is an important part of Barrie’s heritage.
“If you’ve never been inside Trinity… it’s extraordinary on the outside, even more extraordinary on the inside,” he said. “The ornate wood carvings and detail, the stain glass and the recognition of so many figures through the course of Barrie’s history, who were part of that congregation, are all featured in that absolutely beautiful place of worship.”
Coun. Clare Riepma, chairman of the Heritage Barrie committee, said it was important to present the awards.
“We are making a little history tonight because this is the very first time we give out any awards by Zoom,” he said, noting Feb. 15-21 is Heritage Week. “You can take a historical walking tour of our city.
“There are seven walks that you can make… check out some of the historic buildings that are in our city.”
