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.
The Lally House
Edmund Lally is said to be the founder of Tollendal.
Originally situated with his brother Meyrick in Shanty Bay about 1834, the following year Lally purchased 100 acres and a saw mill across the bay in Tollendal.
The hamlet was apparently named after Tolendal Castle in County Galway, Ireland, although another account maintains the village’s name originated from a Lally relation – Count Lally de Tollendale.
Either way, Lally sold municipal lots and was active in the mill business in Tollendal.
In the 1830s, the town of Kempenfeldt was a strong contender for the county centre. Even though it would have a direct impact on his own business interests and conflicted with his personal preference of Tollendal as the county town, Lally advocated that the centre should be midway between Tollendal and Kempenfeldt.
On March 4, 1837, the legislature passed the Act to make the new Simcoe District official with Barrie as the county seat.
The first Simcoe District treasurer was Sidney Sanford from 1838 to 1841. The following two successors to Sanford died, and Lally was appointed district treasurer in 1845, a position he held until 1861. He leased his mill to Alexander Sibbald and moved to Barrie.
In 1847, Lally purchased property on the northeast corner of Collier and Poyntz streets, today known as 118 Collier St. His lovely Georgian-style home is believed to have been built about 1850. One urban legend contends the Lally House was the first brick home in Barrie, although Pearson House makes the same claim.
Lally also had a side gig as an agent for the British American Insurance Company and as an agent for the Bank of Upper Canada. He operated all of this from his home and his office in the courthouse for a period of time until the bank was located on Owen Street in 1862. When the Bank of Upper Canada failed in 1866, Lally opened a Canadian Bank of Commerce branch in 1867.
In that same year, Lally’s daughter Emma married the prominent D’Alton McCarthy Jr. Just a few years earlier, Jr. had built his mansion Carnoevar at 5 Wellington St., overlooking the bay.
Their marriage was a short one – Emma died in 1870. Three years later, D’Alton married Agnes Elizabeth Bernard, Emma’s sister, in St. Paul’s Church, where Emma was buried in the churchyard.
Agnes was the widow of Richard B. Bernard and sister-in-law to Susan Bernard, wife of Canada’s first prime ,inister, John A. Macdonald. Susan’s other brother, Hewitt, also spent time in Barrie before becoming personal secretary to John A.
The Macdonalds frequently summered at the McCarthy home in Barrie.
Returning to the Lally family home, the original building was rectangular with a summer kitchen on the west side of the house and, later, a two-storey addition to the rear.
Our ‘Then’ photo from the early 1920s is a very rare image showing the original verandah and detailed portico. Traces of these long-gone features can be still seen and are hinted at in old records.
The graceful Lally house had many fine architectural details and was a very beautiful home. Edmund Lally, the first occupant of 118 Collier St., died in 1889 at the age of 83. He is buried in St. Paul’s Cemetery.
Over the years, many changes and alterations have occurred at Lally House. In the 1930s, when it was converted to apartments, dormer windows were added to the top floor to provide additional light to the attic suites.
In the 1970s, the building was purchased and its use changed from apartments to offices. Although many of the early features had been removed or changed over time, with the new renovations underway, some of the original detail was restored to help recapture the home’s original charm.
Irene Perri, wife of former mayor Jim Perri, was involved in documenting the many findings that were revealed as the home was remodelled for law offices:
"The main stairwell appeared to be untouched. The moldings used in the rooms appeared to be of an early kind, and were found to be similar to those used in the McKenzie House in Toronto (the historic building and museum was the last home of William Lyon Mackenzie). When the layers of linoleum were removed from the floor the original wide, random width, tongue-and-groove pine boards were revealed. Other discoveries included 'a large cistern (found) on the second floor in the bathroom ceiling (which) must have provided water pressure in the days before piped water,' and the uncovering of decorative wall pilasters in a bathroom two-thirds of the way down, what was later discovered to be a large eastern room."
As the renovations continued, more of the home’s original centre hall floor plan began to emerge.
"It seemed as though there had been 'a long room on each side broken about one-third of its length by a fireplace and two-thirds by architectural detail. The early summer kitchen in the lean-to on the western side was replaced at a later date by a large kitchen in the rear of the two-storey addition. Between the addition and the original house there was a change in elevation, which necessitated the construction of a series of stairs on the second floor. These were altered during the renovations for safer access. Most of the high ceilings were retained with the exception of the hallways, where false ceilings were used to allow for the introduction of air-conditioning equipment.”
The architects were not able to preserve the entire original floor plan due to the office requirements, but honoured the history, heritage features and elegance of the home wherever possible.
The charming, Georgian-inspired home, is still used for professional offices and continues to grace Collier Street today.
And that young fellow on the porch? That is Arthur McLean, who lived in the home as a youth and later had his own law offices in 118 Collier St. McLean, who at one time lived in the historic Rockforest I at 54 Peel St. with his wife and children, owned other interesting heritage buildings around town which we will talk about another day!
