Clarington plans to designate properties in Courtice and Bowmanville for their historical value
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Back to SearchThe Municipality of Clarington intends to designate the properties at 19 ½ -23 King Street West in Bowmanville and 1598 Baseline Road in Courtice for their architectural and historical value under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Heritage designation is the formal recognition of a property's heritage value and its significance to the community. It helps to conserve important places for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Learn more about Clarington’s heritage properties at www.clarington.net/Heritage.
19 ½ - 23 King Street West in Bowmanville
Description of Property
19 1/2 - 23 King Street West is part of a commercial street wall on the south side of King Street West and located in the commercial core of the historic Village of Bowmanville. It consists of an elegant three-storey Italianate commercial building constructed circa 1868.
Statement of Significance and List of Character-Defining Features
Physical/Design Value
19 ½-23 King Street West is a representative example of a commercial building constructed in the Italianate architectural style. The three-storey building features a rectangular plan, with a flat roof, showcasing a balanced composition of ornate details representative of Italianate commercial architecture. The building displays highly decorative windows which include segmental and rounded arch openings finished with brick voussoirs, keystones, stone stills, and decorative brickwork treatment around the opening, which adds an interesting aesthetic. The dichromatic brickwork has several details, including belted courses around windows and between storeys, buff brick quoins, and an ornate brick parapet. The highly decorative wood cornice, which projects from the roof, showcases a cavetto, moulded trim, and rhythmically placed paired wood brackets with finials, all of which are representative of features associated with commercial Italianate architecture. 19 ½ – 23 King Street West has a balanced formal first storey, which includes a recessed primary and secondary entranceway surrounded by wood panelling. The main level also includes a large storefront window opening, which is protected by an awning which carries through decorative details found on the cornice, most notably paired brackets. 19 ½-23 King Street West features many representatives and highly decorative elements associated with the commercial Italianate architectural style. The legibility and retention of these stylized elements, particularly the decorative cornice and stylized window openings with brick surrounds, convey the elegance, grandeur, and artistic design intent of the commercial building.
Historical/Associative Value
19 ½ - 23 King Street West, also known as the Victoria Building, has historic value for being one of the oldest remaining buildings from the 19th-century commercial core and is associated with the Murdoch family. Peter Murdoch was born on August 13, 1828, in Kilmarnock, Scotland, to John and Margaret Murdoch. His older brother, John, was born in 1809. Peter Murdoch learned the grocery trade in Glasgow before immigrating first to Cobourg, and then to Bowmanville around 1857. Peter and John purchased a brick building, known as the Victoria Building, from John Fee in 1862, and operated a lucrative grocery business. A fire in 1868 destroyed the Murdoch brothers’ store and all their stock; however, they quickly rebuilt the Victoria Building between 1868 and 1869, along with a neighbouring dry goods merchant named F.F. McArthur, who also lost his business to the fire. The entrepreneurial brothers resumed their business, and as demand declined, they began cultivating apples to ship back to Britain, one of the first enterprises in Ontario to do so. The building was eventually sold to Charles Cawker in 1903, whose family operated a butcher shop and grocery store on the property until at least the 1960s. For over a century and a half, 19 ½ - 23 King Street West housed several important historic commercial businesses including the Murdoch brothers’ grocery store, the Cawker grocery store, the Royal Bank of Canada during the 1970s, and later by Walter Frank Realty and Leisure Lady, and is one of the oldest remaining buildings from the 19th century in downtown Bowmanville.
Contextual Value
19 ½ - 23 King Street West is important in supporting the late-19th and early-20th century commercial core associated with the historic Village of Bowmanville. The lot lines and block layout of the historic core were well established in the late 19th century. The concentration and growth of the commercial core along King Street played a significant role in the social and economic development and growth of Bowmanville. The historic commercial core along King Street has been a vital gathering place and centre for social, commercial, and recreational activities for over 150 years. The commercial core has been the site of street fairs, parades, and festivals, serving as an important gathering place. Located along King Street West, the buildings in the historical village core are predominantly one- to three-storey commercial properties with defined commercial storefronts along the first storey, primarily featuring brick construction, and often showcase ornate details, particularly along the roofline and window openings. 19 ½ - 23 King Street West is part of the commercial street wall along and exhibits massing, style, and decorative details consistent with the commercial character of the historic village of Bowmanville.
Description of Heritage Attributes
19 ½ - 23 King Street West is a representative example of a commercial building constructed in the Italianate architectural style. The property contains the following heritage attributes that reflect this value:
- Three-storey commercial building constructed in the Italianate architectural style
- Dichromatic brickwork with details including belt courses around windows and between storeys, buff brick quoins, and brick parapet
- Rectangular plan with flat roof
- Ornate parapet with decorative brickwork
- Rhythmically placed segmental and rounded arches window openings finished with brick voussoirs, keystones, stone stills, and decorative brick surrounds
- Highly decorative wood cornice with rhythmically paced wood brackets
- Formal front entrance with recessed entranceway, wood panel surrounds and large storefront window opening which is protected by an awning which carries through the decorative details found on the cornice, most notably paired brackets
19 ½ - 23 King Street West, also known as the Victoria Building, has historic value as being one of the oldest remaining buildings from the 19th-century commercial core and is associated with the Murdoch family. The property contains the following heritage attributes that reflect this value:
- Three-storey commercial building constructed in the Italianate architectural style
- Overall massing, setback, and decorative details
- Location on King Street West as part of the street wall
19 ½ - 23 King Street West is important in supporting the late-19th and early-20th century commercial core associated with the historic Village of Bowmanville. The property contains the following heritage attributes that reflect this value:
- Three-storey commercial building constructed in the Italianate architectural style
- Overall massing, setback, and decorative details
- Location on King Street West as part of the streetwall
1598 Baseline Road in Courtice
Description of Property
1598 Baseline Road, also known as Trull House, is located on the north side of Baseline Road, west of Trulls Road, east of Prestonvale Road and north of Hwy 401. The property features a one-and-a-half-storey, stone residential building constructed in 1872.
Statement of Significance and List of Character-Defining Features
Physical/Design Value
1598 Baseline Road West has design value as a representative example of a residence constructed in the Gothic Revival architectural style. The three-bay, one-and-a-half-storey stone building features a side gable roof with a decorative finial at the east gable end. The symmetrically balanced façade boasts a three-gable roofline with a high-pitched centre gable flanked by two smaller gables with equal high pitches, which are defining elements associated with the Gothic Revival style. Additionally, segmentally arched window openings with prominent keystone flanked by large stone voussoir are located on the main level as well as within each gable opening. The tall formal entryway with a transom, sidelights, and corner quoining is an additional feature typical of Gothic Revival architecture in Ontario.
1598 Baseline Road West is a well-built structure with stone masonry, displaying a high degree of craftsmanship. The use of stone, assembled in an Aberdeen bond, with stone faces alternating between headers and stretchers, is a unique feature of 1598 Baseline Road West. Specifically, the headers with the small stones stacked in groups of three and the stretchers with the full-size stones together create a unique pattern which is augmented by the colour contrasts and creates an overall noticeable and unique stone wall assemblage.
Historical/Associative Value
1598 Baseline Road West is directly associated with the Trull family, who were the first settlers in the Courtice area. The land was owned by patriarch John W. Trull, who, with his wife Lydia, purchased the subject property in 1812. Lydia Trull was a prominent figure in the area, serving as a trained doctor who travelled a wide area on horseback. John and Lydia’s oldest son, John C. Trull, was the first documented child of European descent born in Darlington Township.
The house was constructed by Jesse Trull, who was the grandson of John W and Lydia, and son of John C. Trull. A date stone on the façade reads J.T. 1872. Jesse Trull was a prosperous farmer in Darlington and Clarke Townships, eventually owning around 400 acres of farmland. He served as the President of the Dominion Mutual Fire Insurance Association, as well as the President of the Ontario Provincial Grange Institute. Jesse Trull was also involved with the yearly West Durham Agricultural Society Exhibition, and in 1894, he began the annual tradition of holding a Trull Family Picnic. Jesse Trull died in 1912, and the property was sold out of the Trull family in 1916.
Jesse Trull relocated the Trull Family Cemetery in the late 19th century, likely around 1880. The family cemetery had likely originally been located on the property of his father, John C. Trull. Although it was severed from the subject property in 1906, it appears to have been used into the twentieth century. The cemetery serves as the resting place for select Trull family members, including patriarch and matriarch, John W and Lydia Trull.
Contextual Value
1598 Baseline Road West is historically linked to its surroundings, specifically the Trull Cemetery. The Trull Cemetery was established by Jesse Trull at some point in the 19th century when he was the landowner. The cemetery was severed from the subject property in 1906. The Trull family were early settlers in the area and associated with the surrounding area.
Description of Heritage Attributes
1598 Baseline Road West has design value as a representative example of a residence constructed in the Gothic Revival architectural style. The property contains the following heritage attribute that reflects this value:
- One-and-a-half-storey Gothic Revival building
- Three-gable roof line
- Decorative finial in the east gable end
- Symmetrically balanced façade
- Segmentally arched window openings with keystone flanked by large stone voussoirs
- Formal entryway with a transom and sidelights
- Date stone with “J.T. 1872”
1598 Baseline Road West is a well-built structure with stone masonry, displaying a high degree of craftsmanship. The property contains the following heritage attribute that reflects this value:
- Aberdeen bond style masonry and corner quoining
1598 Baseline Road West is directly associated with Jesse Trull, the grandson of the first settler to the Courtice area who arrived in the late eighteenth century. The Trulls had owned the property since 1812. The property contains the following heritage attributes that reflect this value:
- Location on Baseline Road West, an early thoroughfare through Darlington Township
- One-and-a-half-storey Gothic Revival building
- Date stone with “J.T. 1872”
1598 Baseline Road West is historically linked to its surroundings, specifically the Trull Cemetery. The property contains the following heritage attributes that reflect this value:
- Location on Baseline Road, an early thoroughfare through Darlington Township and proximity to Trull Cemetery
- One-and-a-half-storey Gothic Revival building
- Date stone with “J.T. 1872”
Appeal process
Any person who objects to a proposed designation may, within 30 days after the date of publication of the notice of intention, give the Clerk of the Municipality a notice of objection setting out the reason for the objection and all relevant facts.
If a notice of objection has been given, the Council of the Municipality of Clarington shall consider the objection and make a decision whether or not to withdraw the notice of intention to designate the property within 90 days after the end of the 30-day period.
Dated at the Municipality of Clarington, this 9th day of July 2025
June Gallagher, B.A., Dipl. M.A.
Municipal Clerk
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, ON L1C 3A6
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