Prescott Street.Indd

burned down and was not rebuilt. When the present structure for lack of busi- PRESCOTTPRESCOTT STREETSTREET 1935. The work consisted of testing and grading all cheese was being built in 1902, the original vats and machinery of the and butter in the district extending from Brockville to Ottawa ness. The build- tannery were uncovered. This building was built by George ing was bought Although now the main street of Kemptville, before 1840 it to VanKleek Hill. Sam Lecker took over the building in 1948 Perry for Robert Hinton, the architect being George Edward by Ralph Raina, was just a cleared area south of the river where cows grazed and ran a store there for 35 years. Later, the Jonquil Tea Wilson of Ogdensburgh, and has housed a wide variety of who renovated around the corner of Prescott and Asa Streets. From that Rooms were located here, operated by the McGuigan sisters commercial operations since then. It has also contained it into a storage point, the trail to Prescott ran through heavy bush, through but owned by Lemis Sykes. Patrons entered by the corner residential units on the upper fl oors. A white frame building space and later which the mail often had to be carried on foot, the trail being door beside which was a large teapot made of fl at boards used to stand between this Block and the river, and housed a store. In 1967, too diffi cult at times even for horses. By 1870 the street was cut to shape, by way of advertisement. a Chinese laundry, the building overhanging the river and Raina sold the site occupied by an impressive range of wood framed buildings using its water to clean clothes. The Holmes Block is made to the Crown and containing hotels, blacksmith shops, doctors’ offi ces and of brick, with iron girders throughout, an imposing and solid the Empress was stores. On May 13, 1872, all of this was burned away in the 5.5. Old Post Offi ce Site Prescott & Reuben StreetsStreets structure anchoring the north end of the street. fi nally demolished to make way for the present Post Offi ce worst fi re in Kemptville’s history. The entire street, from Asa building, which replaced the one at the corner of Prescott to Water street was destroyed, as every building on both Before the fire of Street in 1970. sides of the street went up in fl ames. Prescott Street today 1872, John Magee, a dates from after that dreadful catastrophe. This tour covers 3. New Library Block tailor, had a store on the oldest part of the Prescott Street area, as far south as this site. After the fi re, Asa Street. The site of the he built a new stone new Central Li- building and carried 7.7. The CIBC Site,Site, Prescott & Reuben StreetsStreets brary has been a on his business there 1.1. BridgeBridge and Mills busy commercial until 1895. This was This is yet another important site in Kemptville’s history location from the also the location of that hides its earliest days of past well. The This is the core the very fi rst Library Kemptville. Wil- first school of Kemptville, the in Kemptville, after liam Blackburn house in the location of the fi rst 1900. The building built his home on area was buildings and en- was taken over by this land in the opened here tire raison d’etre of the Bank of Ottawa in 1895, the fi rst banking institution in 1830's, commut- in 1822 and the town. The river Kemptville. The Bank of Ottawa later became amalgamated ing to his store run by Reu- here was once wid- with the Bank of Nova Scotia. The Bank moved premises across the river. By the time of the Great Fire of 1872, a ben Chase for er and faster than further up Prescott St. in 1910, and, after a fi re in 1915 which number of small wood-frame buildings occupied the site, and over 20 years. it is today, and the destroyed the Mundle & Percival store next door, it became these were the only wood buildings to survive the fi re. The The land was Clothier family built the site of the new Post Offi ce and Cenotaph. The Post Of- Stitts family occupied much of the block, with a restaurant donated by grist and saw mills fi ce was designed by David Ewart, who was Chief Dominion at the bridge end, and a brick grocery store at the corner Asa Clothier, here that attracted settlers, businesses and visitors to the Architect from 1896 to 1914. The Post Offi ce must have been of Water Street. This building is seen in the photograph, who retained new village in the 1820's. The fi rst bridge was a couple of one of his last designs in that position. A square tower on the when it was run by A. M. Parkinson. This building burned ownership un- planks laid across the stream. Later bridges of wood, then building had four clock faces, one facing in each direction. to the ground in 1955 and the property bought by the Town til the school iron, were in constant need of repair. Over the years, the On the rear of the upper portion of the building was a bell, of Kemptville. The restaurant was run by the Crawfords in closed. The river was narrowed and ‘tamed’, its power diverted to the and a large the 1950's. Other businesses operating on this block over site was occupied by the Holmes family for many years, use of foundries, woolen mills, cheese and timber factories. hammer rang the years included a bakery, a feed store, blacksmiths and and one of the Holmes daughters married Samuel Martin, George Keating’s mill above the bridge provided electric out the hours. dress shops. a photographer. Before the Great Fire, Martin’s Photogra- street lighting to the entire town. In 1891, he built a second This building phy occupied the site, and was rebuilt afterwards, an early mill across the river and built a second generating system became a pioneer of the business. An even more modern studio was that could operate by water or steam power. The age of landmark in opened here by D. Edson Pelton, in 1895. After his death in electric street lighting had well and truly arrived and poles 4. Wallace Block, Prescott and Water St. Kemptville 1901, the business was continued by his brother. The fi ne were erected along the main streets to carry the new wires. for decades, brick building to the left of the Post Offi ce in the picture, was A concrete bridge was built in 1928, and replaced by the Kernahan & Wood before being built by Dr. David Wallace as a residence, and was later the present structure in 1961. opened a store along demolished home and offi ce of Dr. G. D. Gordon, who came to Kemp- this block of Wa- in 1970. The tville in 1919. The parking lot for the CIBC was the site of ter Street in 1833. cenotaph had 2.2. The Hinton Block Dr. Gordon’s garage, a stable for his team of horses, and They had a wharf at been moved to the High School grounds the previous year. storage sheds. The property was bought by the Canadian the end of Thomas The once busy corner lot is now a quiet green space. This site was the lo- Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1980 and the residence was Street. Their’s was cation of a tannery replaced by the bank building that stands on the corner today. a general store, also 6.The6.The Post Offi ce,ce, Reuben StreetStreet established in the selling their timber 1830's by Sand- products. The build- There was a moving picture house on this site before 1921, ford and Hunton, ing was destroyed in opened by the Bowen family, and later carried on by Paul Be- 8.8. KemptvilleKemptville Town Hall,Hall, 1515 Water St.St. later sold to Sur- the 1872 fi re. John dell, who went bankrupt. It was run then by Richmond The- rager Barnes, and R. Wallace, a merchant tailor who came from North Gower atre Ltd., until 1929, when it fi nally closed and the building In 1873, the Corporation of the Town of Kemptville bought for years was one c. 1888, built the Wallace Block in 1901. It was the offi ce of was turned into law offi ces. But, in 1949, Vincent Kelly, from a parcel of land on South Water Street from the McIntyres, of only two busi- the Union Bank of Canada and housed the Willis Business Ottawa, bought the premises and reopened a movie theatre Helen Scott and Ambrose Clothier on which they built a new nesses on this College upstairs. The Dominion Department of Agriculture, there. The Empress Theatre provided movies to the people of Town Hall for Kemptville. Over the years, the building con- side of the river. Dairy Produce Grading Branch was located in Kemptville in North Grenville until Christmas, 1959, when it fi nally closed tained an upstairs Court House, and offi ces of various Town This building later departments. ing at the edge of was bought Council the bush. By the out by an em- meetings 1860's there was ployee, William were held a general store H. Anderson, NORTH GRENVILLE here until run by William who further ex- after amal- Dyer. This site panded it. In gamation in later became the 1897, he took WALKING TOURS 1998, when location of a major on a partner, the Munici- hotel, fi rst run by Andrew Lang- pal Offices Thomas Adams staff in order moved to the and later known to handle the new Munici- as the Selleck Ho- increased pal Centre.

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