Clarington Issues Notice to Designate Properties in Bowmanville and Courtice as Heritage Sites
The Municipality of Clarington has issued a notice of intention to designate 19 ½ - 23 King Street West in Bowmanville and 1598 Baseline Road in Courtice as properties of architectural and historical value under the Ontario Heritage Act, according to a statement published on July 9.
The notice states that the proposed designation would formally recognize features and associations identified by the municipality. If enacted, the designation would subject the properties to heritage preservation requirements as described under the Ontario Heritage Act. The notice also provides a process for filing objections: written objections can be submitted to the municipal Clerk within 30 days of the notice’s publication.
According to the municipality, 19 ½ - 23 King Street West, known as the Victoria Building, is a three-storey Italianate commercial structure built around 1868. Municipal documents describe features including a flat roof, dichromatic brickwork, ornate parapet, decorative window arches with brick surrounds, and a highly decorative wood cornice with paired brackets. The building is also noted as being part of the commercial street wall in the historic core of Bowmanville and holds historical associations with the Murdoch family, who rebuilt the property after an 1868 fire and operated a grocery store on site. The building is reported to have housed various businesses over more than a century, including a grocery, butcher shop, bank, and realty office.
For 1598 Baseline Road in Courtice, the notice refers to the property as Trull House, a stone residence constructed in 1872 in the Gothic Revival style. The municipal description lists features such as a one-and-a-half-storey structure, a three-gable roofline with a finial at the east gable end, segmentally arched windows with prominent keystones, formal entryway, and Aberdeen bond masonry. The municipality attributes the building’s construction to Jesse Trull and notes its historic connection to the Trull family, among the area’s first settlers. The date stone on the house bears “J.T. 1872,” and the property is situated in proximity to the Trull family cemetery.
According to the municipal notice, any person wishing to object to the proposed designation may submit a written notice of objection, stating their reasons and relevant facts, to the Clerk of the Municipality within 30 days of the notice’s publication. The municipality states that if an objection is submitted, Clarington Council will consider the objection and make a decision within 90 days on whether to proceed or withdraw the designation.