1105 Sixth Line - The home of Jeremiah Hagaman and Maria Speer

The history of 1105 Sixth Line traces back to 1838 when the Crown granted 100 acres to Owen. In 1867, Jeremiah Hagaman took ownership, a pivotal figure in Oakville's development.

The parcel of land on which this house stands is on the Lot 15 in the 2nd Concession South of Dundas Street, Trafalgar Township. In 1838 the 100-acre south half was granted by the Crown to Owen and farmed by various families over the years until the 1860's.

In 1867, Jeremiah Hagaman purchased the 100 acres. Jeremiah was born in 1818 and had arrived in Oakville in the 1850's to establish the Oakville Carriage Factory on Navy Street between Robinson and William Streets on the bank that slopes down to Water Street. His house there was recently torn down and replaced with a similar-looking building. By 1870 he was employing 12 men.

After purchasing the 100 acres in the second concession which fronted onto the Lower Middle Road (now the QEW), he became one of the first commercial cultivators of strawberries in Oakville. The property is also believed to have had vineyards and a small apple orchard. Hagaman was also an early member of Oakville's Town Council, holding office from 1859 until at least 1862.

The house at 1105 Sixth Line was built during the early 1870's. By 1874, half of the property was owned by George Brock Chisholm, a nephew of Oakville founder William Chisholm, and the other half, including the house was held by relative Benjamin Hagaman, a businessman from Chicago. It appears that Jeremiah continued to farm the land though, as is indicated in the 1877 map of Trafalgar Township. After Jeremiah's death in 1884 and that of Benjamin Hagaman, the land passed to Jeremiah's wife, Maria Speer, and after her death in 1898, it was transferred to two of their children Hattie and Thomas C. Hagaman. Hattie is shown to have given up her half interest in the property shortly afterward and the 1901 census indicates that Thomas was living at the house with his wife Emma and children Edgar, Elma and Howard.

Thomas was married to Emma Beals in 1885. He is listed as a farmer and although there wasn't space on the marriage record for women to fill in their own occupation at the time, Emma had been a teacher at Central Public School in Oakville until her marriage. She was an ardent church worker at what is now St. John's United Church and sang for many years in the choir. Thomas continued to grow fruit on the property as his father had once done. He was also one of the owners of the Oakville Navigation Company which owned ships that carried goods to Toronto. Many fruit growers had a stake in the company. According to his obituary, Thomas had been the oldest member of the Odd Fellows lodge at the time of his death in 1942. He had also been a member of the Oakville Brass Band.

By 1926, the Hagaman family had relocated into town. They rented out their brick farmhouse at 1105 Sixth Line to Gladys Williamson who opened a private school. The
1931 census indicates that there were 7 pupils listed as living there with a mostly illegible note stating that they were "defective children placed in the school by directors organized by the Department of Education" (sic). Gladys was listed as "principal" and her sister a "teacher".

Hagaman also built two other houses on the property which were rented out. In November 1942, Thomas died after suffering burns from an accidental fire. Six months before his death, he had defaulted on his mortgage and the property was sold off by the Commission of Agricultural Loans. Thus ended 75 years of ownership of the land by the Hagaman family.