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.
One Charlotte Street.
The address is at once both elegant and important-sounding. And it was the original street name and number of the beautiful, refined home now know as 149 Collier Street.
Collier Street, registered May 15, 1833, is one of Barrie’s original streets. It ran from Bayfield Street east to Poyntz Street, and by 1854, as far as Berczy Street. Beyond that, was Charlotte Street, which ran eastward to the intersection of Harriet and Melinda Street (now Dundonald), Duckworth and Blake Streets. Charlotte Street was renamed Collier Street in 1952.
The impressive red brick home was built in 1865 for William and Jane Caldwell, and their five children. William’s parents, George and Hannah Caldwell, left Goole, Yorkshire in 1831 with 3 children - William was the first child to be born in Canada. He started out farming in Oro, before becoming a blacksmith – a trade that was successful enough to prompt a move to Barrie and a stylish new home. William’s great granddaughter, Marilyn Caldwell King believes the rear wing of the house was built first and the family lived in this section while the main house was being constructed. A cistern still exists in the basement of the older part of the building, which at one time had a back porch and second floor balcony. Once the house facing Collier Street was completed, the original building was used for the kitchen and pantry. In the 1940s, the back section of the house was closed off and rented as a separate residence.
The Caldwell home is an example of the Georgian style of architecture reminiscent of William’s parents’ homeland in Yorkshire, England. This neoclassical design is rare in Barrie and to have such a house with so many of its architectural features still intact, is quite remarkable. Typical of Georgian homes are the six-over-six sash windows, the Caldwell home greatly enhanced by the pair of arched windows over the front door and again in the side gables of the parapet roof. The small bubbles throughout the glass in the house’s windows confirm their age and value as original building materials of this heritage home. The fanlight transom with sidelights, and arched brickwork over the doorway present an attractive entrance. Dentil cornice at the eaves compliment this graceful home. Marilyn recalls that architecture students studied the Caldwell house because of its pure Georgian design: symmetry, simplicity and proportions.
William’s Caldwell’s blacksmith shop was located on the east side of the home. Old plans show a wagon shop and a dairy on the property as well. As a child, Marilyn played in the old blacksmith shop and remembers such wondrous and intriguing artifacts, such as an old pump organ. In later years, Marilyn’s father demolished the blacksmith shop and built the garage that stands next to the house today. A shed, used for gardening in the summers and as a chicken coop in the winters, completed the out buildings on the property. When she wasn’t having adventures in her own backyard, Marilyn was known tempt the Norris Dairy horse Queenie with sugar cubes.
Born in the house directly behind her great grandparents’ home, now 15 Berczy Street, Marilyn, her brother and parents would later live in the ancestral home. “The front door (of 149 Collier Street) was always painted blue while my mother lived there”, Marilyn says. Once through the handsome entrance, the inside of the home was gracious and inviting, with lovely fireplaces in the both the parlour and the dining room and attractive woodwork throughout. There are apartments on the main floor of the home these days, and upstairs are professional offices. The attic, we believe, is still one large unfinished room with a single centre timber, just as it was when the house was first built. The current owners kindly let Marilyn and I have a look around: what a sensation to stand on the old hardwood floors, gaze through the vintage, seeded glass windows out to the street, and just experience this historic home from the inside out. Marilyn showed me the room that was her bedroom growing up, and in the hallway, affixed to the wall, is the same large mirror that Marilyn, in her wedding dress, gazed into .. about to become Tom King’s pretty bride, on her last day under the roof of 1 Charlotte Street.
Of William and Jane’s children, their son, Thomas, Marilyn’s grandfather, and his wife Theodosia Parkhouse, would have 13 sons (2 passed away) and one adopted daughter – just an enormous family. They lived in a large farmhouse at 399 Codrington Street in the east end, which still stands today. Thomas’ son George, Marilyn’s father, attended the Ontario Pharmacy College from 1930 to 1932, followed by an apprenticeship with Harry Austin Smith, a local druggist located near Five Points. Once George became a pharmacist himself, he went into partnership with H.G. Robertson, taking over the business when Robertson retired. Caldwell’s Drug Store at the corner of Dunlop and Owen Streets is a well-remembered business overlooking Memorial Square. George would marry Ella Lillian Knox in 1934 and together they would have daughter Marilyn and son Gary. Mrs. Caldwell worked as a manager of the Walker’s store, just steps away from her husband’s pharmacy. If the Caldwell name isn’t familiar to you for the drug store, you may have heard of Marilyn’s cousin, Bill Caldwell, founder of Moldex toilet seats – the company with the most epic tagline ever: Born in Barrie, Raised everywhere. Bill’s achievements in the community are numerous, but it was his influence in convincing Education Minister Bill Davis to choose Barrie for Georgian College that has been a true lasting contribution.
Whatever the Caldwell clan envisioned for their new life in Canada or the circumstances that led them to ultimately settle in this area, that decision has left us with a marvelous family story and an important piece of architecture in our community – 149 Collier Street.
