CNHS - Matheson House - Perth, Ontario
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model12
N 44° 54.060 W 076° 15.037
18T E 401262 N 4972713
This formidable elegant neo-classical building on Gore Street in Perth was designated as a National Historic Site in 1966 and today houses the Perth Museum which portrays the Scottish merchant’s home of the 1840’s.
Waymark Code: WMBG91
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 05/18/2011
Views: 14
It was built in 1840 for the Honourable Roderick Matheson, a wealthy Perth merchant and a senator in Canada’s first parliament after Confederation. Roderick was born in Scotland in 1794 and immigrated to Upper Canada in 1806. During the War of 1812, Matheson served in the Glengarry Light Infantry and later arrived in Perth as a half pay officer in 1818 and established the business now known as Shaw’s of Perth.
The house is an elegant, Palladian-inspired residence typical of houses of the affluent in pre-Confederation Canada. A relatively late example of its type, the two-storey, five-bay sandstone house is of classical design with a symmetrical principal elevation with projecting frontispiece crowned by a pediment. The house is unusual in that it was part of a group of family-owned buildings including a store, two warehouses and a coach house, all of which have survived as part of the streetscape on Gore and Foster Streets.
In 1966 the Town of Perth bought the building to maintain its historical significance and built Architectural Heritage. In 1967, the Town of Perth opened the Perth Museum as a Centennial Project.
A gate at the side of the home leads to a lovely garden area that encompasses both sides of the building.
Classification: National Historic Site
Province or Territory: Ontario
Location - City name/Town name: Perth, Ontario
Link to Parks Canada entry (must be on www.pc.gc.ca): [Web Link]
Link to HistoricPlaces.ca: [Web Link]
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