After more than two decades of living in an Oakville heritage home, the owners are ready to part ways with their piece of the town's history.
53 Dunn Street, a heritage home dating back to around 1838, has been a testament to Oakville residents Tom and Julie Stanton's appreciation for the town's rich history.
"There's something special about living in a house that has a significant amount of history to it," said Julie. "It represents what Oakville was before it's grown as much as it has."
Having resided solely in heritage homes as long as they've been together, 53 Dunn Street was their third. Since moving into the home in the early 2000s, the Stanton's have done a significant amount of renovation work, modernizing it while maintaining what it should represent as a heritage home.
Originally, the Stantons lived down the street from 53 Dunn Street in the "Rose Cottage" located at 308 William Street.
When they were selling that house, Tom Stanton went door-knocking around the neighbourhood to see if anyone was selling their home. When they first saw 53 Dunn Street, they initially weren't that interested. It was when they had a second look and consulted with an architect that they realized there was a vision to make this house a home that they hadn't yet seen.
"It's a pretty unique thing to be that close to the lake, that close to schools and the downtown of Oakville and I think that's one of the things that really attracted us to this area and why we think it's special," said Tom.
Oakville has four heritage conservation districts:
- Old Oakville Heritage Conservation District
- First and Second Street Heritage Conservation District
- Trafalgar Road Heritage Conservation District
- Downtown Oakville Heritage Conservation District
53 Dunn Street falls under the Old Oakville Heritage Conservation District.
According to Tom Stanton, "Oakville has quite a rigorous process when you're dealing with one of the heritage properties, which is one of the things we like about the historical area as they are very serious about their connection to their history."
He says that the town leans on people who are renovating their heritage homes to pay respect to the town's heritage, encouraging measures such as using materials and paint that reflect the era and that fit in with other homes in the neighbourhood.
The Stantons say that as they went through the renovation process (installing new doors, door handles, flooring, windows, painting, etc.) they made sure to keep the hardware as symbolic of the original home as possible.
Main elements of the original home include a wrap-around porch, a main-floor office, and a dining room with a gas fireplace.
One big surprise for the Stantons in this home was when they tore up the flooring in one of the rooms and found a four-foot scripted signature dating back to 1876, attributed to the home's second owner, Frederick Chisholm.
The Stantons decided to hang the scripture up in the house as a connection to its history.
Tom and Julie Stanton did not explicitly state why they've decided to leave this home or what they have their sights set on next. For now, the home is on the market with a price tag of over $5.3 million dollars.