18 Division Street, Colborne

(early 20th century)
Roll No. 1411-012-020-32000 – Cramahe Township Ontario

Georgian Vernacular

No. 18 Division Street in the village of Colborne has a very similar footprint and style to that of 4 North Street around the corner. Both have a basic Georgian layout with a centre hall plan, central staircase and two plus two rooms downstairs in the main brick house.

No. 18 is a more restrained, modest version. It has six openings in the front facade, with three symmetrically balanced upper windows and two on the first floor either side of the front door. It does not have the elaborate front door common to the Georgian architectural style. (entablature, pediments, glass transom etc.)

It is the red brick common to the area and it has a large raised porch.

No. 18 Division Street sits next door to another large red brick Victorian which is more Italianate in design, as is “The Doctor’s House” across the road.

No. 18 is a testament to the sturdy, common sense, family friendly homes common to Upper Canada in the 19th century and early 20th century. (remember families had children in the double digits in that era).

History or Associative Value

Numbers 16, 18 and 20 Division – a street established in the village of Colborne in 1858 – were all part of the land holdings of John and Mary Steele who also owned No. 3 King Street West (see that profile). Thanks to an aerial view of Division Street in 1921, we know that No. 20 Division Street was present but No. 16 and 18 were not – rather lawn, barns and other outbuildings stood in that space. That puts the build date for No. 18 post 1921 – which is our cutoff date based on the latest census of the era.

Additional Historical and Genealogical Information

16, 18, and 20 Division Street

Reid Lot 511 (sometimes with the addition of Lot 510 and sometimes without) remained intact until the southern portion was sold to the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway in 1910. The northern part remained undivided until sometime after 1921 (see table). This means not only that all three of the houses of interest had identical ownership histories before 1921, but it also means that they were all on a property that had a much older house on it as well. This was 3 King Street West, the house occupied by John Steele then for many years by the Scougale family. The ownership history for this property is outlined in the King Street West write-up. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide us any evidence for the history of the houses at 16, 18, or 20 Division Street.

However, there is one bit of evidence for 16 and 18 Division Street. The house at 20 Division Street is clearly visible in the aerial photograph presented above, but there is open lawn where 16 and 18 now stand. This photo was taken in 1920, so the latter two houses are younger than that.

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