By Gillian Magnan, Ottawa Citizen
A big, beautiful tree has been part of the landscape of Clarendon Avenue for 85 years, shading a red brick home that has quietly held secrets behind it’s baseboards.
It was only after Tanya and Ted Williamson started to renovate — turning their duplex back into a single family home — did they discover links to the past and the families who were sheltered under its sturdy roof.
A few years ago, I compiled a history of the Wellington West home for Tanya Williamson — it was to be a birthday present for her husband. Their home has been on their minds, one way or another, for 15 years.
It has grown to accommodate their young family, four children ranging in age from six months to six years. They had made a fascinating discovery while renovating the downstairs and were keen to investigate the formal history of their home.
It was the memory of that discovery that made me get in touch with them and see how things were progressing and if their house had offered up any more tantalizing tales.
Ted, you and Tanya have been here for about 15 years and I remember you telling me about finding a treasure while you were renovating. I’d like to hear details of that story.
The renovation bug bit seven years ago when we decided to turn our duplex back into a single family home. We thought we would open up the downstairs a bit, so it started when I pulled off the baseboard to begin demolishing the wall between the dining and living rooms.
We found something breathtaking. It wasn’t a pile of old money or a diamond bracelet, but it was just as valuable in helping us appreciate this old house. A small negative had slipped behind the baseboard. It was a real treasure.
We had it developed and enlarged. It shows our house with three young girls sitting on the porch steps and two other figures standing on the second floor porch.
There’s an old car in the driveway and a tiny tree planted on the front lawn.
That little sapling is now one of the biggest shade trees on the street. We know the house was built in 1922 and by checking to see when neighbouring houses were built we think the photo was probably taken in 1923.
Finding this link to the past has led to all sorts of questions about the people who lived within these walls and now we’ve become infatuated with the lure of collecting mementos and leaving our own little bits of intrigue for future generations.
It’s a lovely picture, so evocative of the era, a captured glimpse of a sunny day long past. What do you know of the history of this area in those years?
Well, according to our compiled residential biography this whole area was purchased by the Ottawa Land Association in the early 1890s. That was a syndicate formed by a group of Ottawa businessmen, including Andrew Holland, Thomas Ahearn and Warren Soper. They also owned the Ottawa Electric Light Company and had come up with a great plan for expanding Ottawa’s boundaries by supplying affordable public transit in the form of an electric railway.
Ironic isn’t it? They designed the Byron Avenue Streetcar Line to allow for building lots along the route. The suburbs promised lower house prices, lower taxes and an easy commute to the city.
All this helped to make this area a very desirable location.
The Ford family owned the house when that photograph was taken. John Ford bought the lot in 1919 for $400. He was a fireman with J.R. Booth Ltd., so I guess $400 was a considerable amount of cash.
The house was built in 1922. It’s hard to believe that at that time there were only three houses on the same side of the street between Wellington Street and Byron Avenue.
When you first saw the house did you think you were buying into history or were you just looking for a place to live?
We hadn’t thought about buying a house at all. We heard of this estate sale, a duplex, so we thought it might be a good idea because we could rent out the downstairs and that would pretty much pay the mortgage. I think a lot of young people get that idea. Tanya didn’t like it at all. Why would we want an old house with sloping floors, wonky walls and outlandish wallpaper? She wasn’t very impressed, but it was a place to live.
We made a few small improvements and after a bit we thought we’d get married and start a family. We were still living in the upstairs apartment when our first child was born.
Our space started to feel too small, so after having tenants for eight years we decided to assume control of the whole house. We really had no idea how much work was involved and how each job leads to the next. Now we’re adding an extension.
Ted, you’ve been renovating, off and on ever since you’ve been here. Have you come across any other interesting finds?
I have a board I pulled off the front porch and found a pencilled message from the past. It was from James Gillespie, Builder, 8 September 1922 — God Save the King. We definitely know who built the house and when.
James Gillespie lived at 455 Sunnyside Ave. and quite possibly was assisted by Andrew Laroque, a local carpenter who lived just down the way at 62 Clarendon Ave.
Later we found newspapers stuffed into the bathroom wall announcing the death of First World War flying ace Billy Bishop that was dated Tuesday, Sept. 11, 1956. That was spooky because it wasn’t too long after the attack on the World Trade Towers in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 that we found it. The same day and date — but 45 years apart.
We recently found an old coupon in the upstairs bedroom. You had to collect 12 of the little yellow coupons and for 10¢ you had the choice of Infant’s Delight Talcum Powder or a tube of Taylor’s Toothpaste.
There have been a few odd finds in the attic, whiskey bottles and rags filling the gaps along the eaves, naughty match book covers and a very pretty perfume bottle found in the foundation.
Here’s an odd fact, Hughes and Juliette Williamson bought the house in the early 50s, just after it had been converted into two apartments. No relation, but we did think of naming our daughter Juliette.
Tanya, you told me that your garden is your pride and joy. What else about your house gives you the greatest pleasure?
When we arrived, the garden was in a state of complete disrepair. The driveway was rubble and the back yard was a mess. I had never gardened, but I started 1,000 seeds and to my surprise 900 germinated.
We renovated the garden, grading and building flower beds. It just blossomed, much like our family.
The upstairs porch is a favourite space. As you can see in the photo, it was open in the early days and sometime later was enclosed with old storm windows.
We turned it into a four-season oasis and filled it with plants. It’s so sunny and bright, yet shaded by our lovely tree. It’s a quiet place for a cup of coffee, the newspaper and to get away from the kids for a minute or two.
When the extension is finished, the old kitchen will be a classroom. I am home-schooling the children and it’s a colourful, cheerful place for lessons.
We are very proud of our home. It’s not done yet, but eventually there will be a finished playroom in the basement and a master bedroom on the third floor.
We are no longer reluctant homeowners. Our projected date of completion is September.
What’s this about a secret enclosure to hold your messages for future owners?
We are really keen on leaving bits of our lives for future generations. The lesson we’ve learned from our predecessors is that every life is part of the story of a home.
Ted repaid the favour of the note on the porch board by leaving his own pencilled message and he has built a secret space so we can leave enticing morsels for the next guys.
It’s along the lines of a time capsule, but more personal and meaningful. It’s very innovative and I don’t think anyone will find it for at least 50 years. You’ll never guess where it is
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