This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day, as well as the story behind them.
Ingleside — 231 Dunlop St. E.
The little strip of Kempenfelt Drive west of Duckworth Street was once part of Dunlop Street. There were about a dozen houses on this relatively short stretch, along with the Barrie Gas Company Ltd., situated about midway, which was opened in 1878 by Robert Laidlaw and Thomas Shortreed.
In 1870, Laidlaw had sold off property across from where his gas company would be built, part of a little glebe of land formed by the eastern end of Dunlop Street (now Kempenfelt Drive) and Louisa Street (now Dunlop Street East between Berczy and Blake streets). The title for this piece of land changed hands a number of times, but it appeared to be a vacant lot until 1892, when Henry Bird purchased the property.
Joseph Henry Bird was born in 1831 in Newport County, Tipperary, Ireland. He came to Canada in 1855, marrying Elizabeth Jane Montgomery, of Bradford, in 1856. The couple would have a large family: four girls and three boys.
In 1872, Bird was a manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes, his shop located on Dunlop Street. He served terms as an alderman before he was elected deputy reeve in 1874. Halfway through the year, aldermen Dyment and Ross motioned Bird’s resignation as reeve be accepted, allowing him to be appointed town clerk the following day.
Several years later, the offices of treasurer and town clerk were merged, with Bird managing both for the remainder of his career. He filled other local magisterial functions as well during his tenure. Bird was well known and well regarded through the town and the county.
Sadly, in the spring of 1891, Elizabeth Bird died at their home at 76 Peel St. The following year, Bird’s elegant new home, Ingleside, was built on the lot at 23 Louisa St. (later known as 231 Dunlop St. E.). The Barrie Advance, in a feature about Barrie’s finer homes, said Ingleside “speaks of poetry and comfort on a cold night.”
Bird retired in 1897, after 40 years as the town clerk. He sold Ingleside in 1898 and moved to Vancouver. When he died many years later, he was returned to Barrie and laid to rest in the family mausoleum in Barrie Union Cemetery. Sir Lyman Poore Duff, chief justice of Canada, attended Bird’s funeral.
So, who bought Ingleside?
Bird’s beautiful home was purchased by neighbours Fred and Margaret Marr. The Marr home, Cedar Lodge, was right across the road at the corner of Louisa and Albert streets.
Fred Marr was born in London, England, in 1853. His father, Edward Marr, was an archery champion in England in 1850. Fred attended school in Gilford, Surrey, and then did three years of medical training at Guy’s Hospital in London, before he switched his studies from medicine to accounting.
Fred Marr came to Canada in 1876, walking from Toronto to Bond Head, and then continuing on to Thornton, in search of his brother, Harry, who had come to Canada ahead of him. Fred worked odd jobs in Thornton, earning the $100 he needed to return to England in the spring of 1877.
Marr returned to Thornton, purchasing a farm and marrying Margaret A. Pearson, a local girl, at the Cookstown parsonage in 1878. The couple moved to Barrie in 1885, where Fred operated a shop on Dunlop Street, specializing in boot, shoe and harness leathers.
He practised in his chosen field of accounting for eight years at the Barrie Tanning Company, followed by 17 years with the Simcoe Loan and Savings Company and 17 years with Stewart and Stewart barristers.
In 1898, about the time the Marrs purchased Ingleside, Fred accepted a position as secretary of the public school board. In 1907, when the public and high school boards merged to become the board of education, Fred became its first secretary-treasurer, a position he held until his retirement in 1932. He served on the public library board and other organizations as well.
The Marr family — Fred, Margaret and their three daughters — attended Collier Street Methodist Church, where Fred was the treasurer and a member of the official board.
Ingleside was the setting of the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of Fred and Margaret Marr. Their gracious home was filled with friends and citizens from church, the Masons, various boards and school workers, all gathered to wish the couple the best.
The occasion included an address by friends from the Collier Street church, specifically directed at Fred: “Your life has shown the beauty of true Godliness in the good cheer, real fellowship and spirit of youth that always radiated from your presence. As a citizen of the town and in your society affiliations, you have always had the higher ideal in view, and by word in action pointed out the better way. You have had a large share in the moulding of public character. The sick and the infirm of the community for years have been gladdened and encouraged by your visits.”
When Fred died, Margaret sold Ingleside to Isaac “Ollie” Matson and his wife, Gladys Ambler, in 1935.
The Matsons owned Ingleside until 1965.
The lovely house with its decorative brickwork, stained-glass windows and abundant, fanciful woodwork trim was later demolished, and new homes replaced the charming Ingleside.
