261 MILL ST. S., NEWCASTLE, ONT.
ASKING PRICE: $945,000
PROPERTY TAXES: $7,440.95 (2014)
LOT SIZE: 190 by 219 feet
AGENT: Dee McGee, Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd.
The back story
The first time Karen Fisher and Fred Hillier saw the red brick Victorian at 261 Mill St. S., it was pictured on the back of a magazine and listed for sale.
The couple called the listing agent to inquire but were told the house had been sold.
They didn’t think too much more about it until they went to a party on the Canada Day weekend and lamented to their fellow guests about missing out on the house in the centre of the historic town.
“Where exactly was this house?” asked one of the guests.
The couple explained it was at the corner of Mill and Edward streets – right across from the Anglican Church.
“That’s our house,” the guest said. “It’s not sold.”
It turned out a conditional offer had fallen through.
Ms. Fisher and Mr. Hillier moved quickly to see the house and secure a deal.
“All because we just happened to mention it on the long weekend,” Mr. Hillier recalls with a chuckle.
That was 11 years ago.
At the time, the couple had a nearby country retreat that they had purchased from one of Mr. Hillier’s relatives years earlier. They used the renovated schoolhouse as a weekend escape from Toronto for a while, then made the move full-time.
Once they moved into the grand Victorian, they learned more about its history.
County superintendent William T. Boate and his wife, Frances Massey Boate, had the house built in 1857 next door to Ms. Massey’s father’s home.
Daniel Massey was a blacksmith who founded a shop making farm implements. His Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory eventually became Massey-Harris and – following another merger – the international farm-machinery giant Massey-Ferguson.
The house was later home to Annie Higbee, a noted pioneer doctor who practised her profession while homesteading in Alberta.
The house today
Previous owners had expanded the footprint of the original house long before Ms. Fisher and Mr. Hillier took over.
A former summer kitchen was replaced with a main-floor family room. There’s a large kitchen and a formal living room and dining room.
With six bedrooms and four bathrooms, the house has just over 4,000 square feet of living space.
The original coach house has now been joined to the main house. In early days, the horses would live on one side of the building, Mr. Hillier points out.
“You can still see the hoof marks on the sill,” he says of the areas worn down by the horses over time.
Ms. Fisher says the couple didn’t need to do much to the house when they arrived.
“There was a lot of wallpaper,” she says, before the couple had it removed and the walls painted in historic colours.
Many old details remain – including the original windows, which are still in place. Ms. Fisher says the windows are an important aspect of the home’s character.
“There’s something about old houses,” she says. “They feel different. I like the comfort and I like the history.”
She also points to tall baseboards and marble fireplace surrounds.
The couple did renovate all of the bathrooms. On the second floor, the master suite has a very private ensuite, tucked away in a corner and down a few steps from the bedroom level.
Above, narrow stairs lead to an attic under the peaked roof.
“If you were an artist, it has great potential for a studio,” Ms. Fisher says.
Mr. Hillier says the couple enjoys living in the small town, where they can take a short stroll to the main street. Lake Ontario isa short drive away and the couple keeps a small power boat at the marina there.
The area is serviced by GO Transit, and the VIA Rail train leaves from nearby Oshawa.
The couple’s daughter attends the day and boarding Trinity College School in nearby Port Hope.
Ms. Fisher chairs the board of the Clarington East Food Bank. A few years ago, the organization provided food to 30 families a month. Today, the number has swelled to between 60 and 80 families a month. She says so many people in town know her in that role they often leave donations of food at the house.
“The other day there were three boxes of cereal on the front porch,” she says. “It’s an unbelievable community for support.”
The best feature
The house sits on just under one acre, with trees all around the perimeter. The L-shaped inground swimming pool is filled with salt water.
“This part back here is fantastic entertaining space,” Ms. Fisher says of the sheltered patio.