2
- 79 Mary St. West
- What: Hadden Holme, a Picton, Ont., landmark that was built circa 1883 for a successful Prince Edward County hardware magnate. The house has four bedrooms and four bathrooms.
- Living space: 3,000 square feet
- Lot size: 123 by 203 feet
- Asking price: $735,000
- Taxes: $3,500 (2008)
- Agent: Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd. (Chuck Slik)
Amenities: Guests enter a double foyer that opens to a centre-hall plan. Many of the windows have the original decorative glass, and the quarter-sawn oak floors are still in place.
The living room has a marble fireplace mantel. The main floor also includes a formal dining room with the original tin ceiling, a great room and a den.
Outside, the house has three porches with "gingerbread" wood trim and a metal-tiled roof.
The house at 79 Mary St. West in Picton was built by Richard Hadden in the early 1880s. (DEBORAH BAIC/THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
Related Articles
Photogallery
Perennial gardens surround the home. A large coach house could serve as a studio.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The house standing at the corner of West Mary and Ferguson Street in Picton was meant to stand out. Tall, with a red brick exterior and a design that shows both Victorian and Queen Anne influences, it's a landmark even in a town that has quite a few stately homes.
It was built about 125 years ago by Richard Hadden, a prosperous businessman who wanted a home that would reflect his standing in the community. Owner Marshall Gysi points to four stylized H's at the apexes of the dwelling's four corners as an example of Mr. Hadden's desire to show his pride of ownership.
The house — which Mr. Gysi and his wife, Marie-Claude, bought several years ago — has two storeys, but it initially appears to have three because of the turret rising over the front entrance. That architectural feature is mere decoration, however; the windows on what seem to be the third and fourth levels of the turret are artificial, Mr. Gysi says.
Mr. Hadden loved to entertain, according to the current owner. Accounts from the time say that a trio of musicians would sit on the stairs and play as the guests danced in circles through the interconnecting ground-floor rooms.
"People would dance completely around the house," Mr. Gysi says.
Mr. Hadden was born in Ireland in 1838 and moved to Canada with his family as a boy. Richard grew up to become a successful harness maker and employed several workers in his shop in Picton.
In 1858, he purchased the hardware business on the main street of the town. With his wife, Katherine Rorabeck, Mr. Hadden had three children. His son, Charles, later joined him in the hardware business and eventually took over the family house.
Hadden Holme, according to Mr. Gysi, stayed in the family for 112 years.
Two sets of owners subsequently operated a bed and breakfast business there.
The Gysis converted it back into a private home but kept the renovated bathrooms that the previous B&B owners had installed so that each of the four bedrooms would have a private bathroom.
Mr. Gysi points to the home's many original features and embellishments, including the curved cherry-wood banister, cast-iron radiators, crystal door knobs and oak floors.
"Along with the original tin ceiling in the dining room, they are in a state as fine as the day they were installed," he says of the floors.
A carriage house, which was originally a horse barn, has three levels. It is currently used as a garage, with storage space in the former loft and the basement.
Mr. Gysi says he and his wife were attracted to the impressive architecture and landscaping of the home, along with its location close to downtown but in a very quiet neighbourhood.
