Address:
213 Reynolds Street - The George Freestone house
Summary:
A number of Freestone brothers lived in this immediate area
Property Details:
George, James, Robert and John Freestone were four of the seven children of Mary and John Freestone, a plasterer from Northamptonshire, and they all settled in this area.
James, the eldest, was a bricklayer and bought the corner not in 1877 from R.K. Chisholm for $200. A year later he bought another parcel to the north. About 1885 he moved to Toronto to work in his trade. After marrying Elizabeth Ann Wake of Oakville he built their first home near Casa Loma. In 1887 he sold the north lot to his brother George and houses were built on both lots that year.
The stucco George Freestone House is an interesting adaptation of Italianate onto a basic Ontario Farmhouse floor plan. The twin windows on the front bay have semi-circular arches on the top level and ornate cornices. The top window has a pediment while the bottom simply has an oversized cornice. The verandah is original with ornate capital detailing. Above the veranda is a door. If there was no balcony for the door, the building would be considered technically unfinished and taxes would reflect this. This may have been the case here.
Another brother, John, lived in the Melancthon Simpson house at 230 Trafalgar Road (the northeast corner of Trafalgar Road and Freestone Lane) until he built the house at the northwest corner of Freestone Lane and Reynolds Street. A fourth brother, Robert, lived at 153 Reynolds Street. That house was torn down a few years ago.
James, the eldest, was a bricklayer and bought the corner not in 1877 from R.K. Chisholm for $200. A year later he bought another parcel to the north. About 1885 he moved to Toronto to work in his trade. After marrying Elizabeth Ann Wake of Oakville he built their first home near Casa Loma. In 1887 he sold the north lot to his brother George and houses were built on both lots that year.
The stucco George Freestone House is an interesting adaptation of Italianate onto a basic Ontario Farmhouse floor plan. The twin windows on the front bay have semi-circular arches on the top level and ornate cornices. The top window has a pediment while the bottom simply has an oversized cornice. The verandah is original with ornate capital detailing. Above the veranda is a door. If there was no balcony for the door, the building would be considered technically unfinished and taxes would reflect this. This may have been the case here.
Another brother, John, lived in the Melancthon Simpson house at 230 Trafalgar Road (the northeast corner of Trafalgar Road and Freestone Lane) until he built the house at the northwest corner of Freestone Lane and Reynolds Street. A fourth brother, Robert, lived at 153 Reynolds Street. That house was torn down a few years ago.
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213 Reynolds Street
213 Reynolds Street plaque
213 Reynolds Street
213 Reynolds Street
213 Reynolds Street circa1989
213 Reynolds Street
213 Reynolds Street plaque
213 Reynolds Street
213 Reynolds Street
213 Reynolds Street circa1989