Notice: Intention to Designate Heritage Property
Subscribe
Back to Search
The Town of Saugeen Shores intends to designate 697 Market Street, Port Elgin (further described as Plan 11, Blk 108 E Pt Lot 80, W Pt Lot 81) as a Heritage Property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value:
Design and Physical Value
The building represents the Edwardian style, with its large shallow hip roof, wide overhanging eaves, smooth monochromatic red-brick finish, and a porch supported by half columns atop short concrete-and-brick piers.
Other characteristics include the front door’s leaded bevelled glass, combined with generous fenestration on the façade and three sides, including many with bevelled leaded glass and some with stained glass. The home’s interior is notable for its oak woodwork, panelled pocket doors, French doors with etched glass, Arts and Crafts staircase and wainscoting with built-in cabinetry.
Technical Innovation
The building represents a first in Canada: a residential building heated through a remote steam source. Using factory steam (situated at some distance across the street) for heating was considered innovative and experimental, especially at a time when central heating was an uncommon luxury in rural areas. In this case, a piping system from the south corner of the Stevens-Hepner Bruce Company factory conveyed heat under Market Street from a steam engine and through an opening in the home’s basement wall. This provided central heating through steam radiators placed in different rooms.
Historical or Associative Value
The residence is associated with John Hepner, who purchased the site and had the house built in 1910. The home is located directly across the street from the factory he helped found and establish as Port Elgin’s most successful and longest continuously running manufacturing company.
Besides being a founding owner, President, and Chief Superintendent of the brush factory, Hepner was also an inventor with three patents in his name. George Henry Black, and Alan W. Saxton were subsequent owners of the home as well as top company managers. Due to the proximity of the factory operations and buildings -- situated to the south, north, and east -- there can be no doubt that many business transactions took place at 697 Market St.
Important in Defining, Maintaining, or Supporting the Character of an Area
The building is situated in an area of Port Elgin characterized by many buildings dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The residence is flanked on both sides by adjacent properties with houses built more than a century ago in the Gothic Revival style. There are well over a dozen homes in a variety of architectural styles dating between 1877 and 1920, located east of Goderich Street within the few blocks bounded by the south side of River Street stretching to the north side of Mill Street. Both 649 Market Street and 649 Elgin Street are “Listed” on the Municipal Heritage Register for Saugeen Shores. The home at 697 Market Street contributes its Edwardian style of architecture as an integral part of the special character of this historic area of Port Elgin.
Contextual Value
The Stevens-Hepner Brush factory site is an important historical link that will continue to exist regardless of what the future holds for the (mostly empty) factory building itself. The enterprise was significant to both the home's owner and as an employer of hundreds of residents for more than 115 years, as it helped to bring economic prosperity to Port Elgin. The factory was the major supplier of brushes across Canada, ranging from hairbrushes to curling brooms.
The property at 697 Market St is also historically linked to the site of the former Grand Trunk Railway station (demolished in the 1970s), represented by the Saugeen Rail Trail. The station and the railway were strategically important to the owner of 697 Market Street in the development and expansion of his business, as well as providing an essential transportation service to Port Elgin.
More Information:
You can acquire more information about this Notice by contacting the Town of Saugeen Shores Clerk.
A Notice of Objection to this notice of intention must be served on the Clerk within 30 days after the date of notice publication (January 30th, 2024).
Clerk's Contact