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Thu, 29 Aug 2019
August 6, 2019, Oakville Town Council resolved to pass a Notice of Intention to Designate the following property under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, as amended, as a property of cultural heritage value and interest:
Jordan Munn House
3020 Post Road, Oakville, Ontario
The Jordan Munn House is located on the west side of Post Road near the intersection of Post Road and Huguenot Road. The property contains a 1½ storey brick house known as the Jordan Munn House. Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest
The Jordan Munn House has cultural heritage value as an early to mid-19th century house built in the Classic Revival style. Inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, the most striking feature of this style is the ‘temple form’. The Munn House is a simple vernacular version of this style, containing a gabled front façade, medium pitched roof with deep returned eaves and a wide cornice, symmetrical window placement and an off-centre door, typical of the style. Built on a stone foundation, the house was clad in red brick in a Common Brick Bond. The house remains one of the few Classic Revival style homes in Oakville, designed and built by early pioneers using local materials. While not the traditional, definitive example of the style, these vernacular versions are considered to be significant as they help to tell the story of early European settlement in Oakville.
The house also has heritage value for its unique timber frame construction. While common for barns, this type of construction was very unique for a house in 19th century Upper Canada. Large vertical and horizontal squared timbers were connected with mortise and tenon joints and the spaces between the timbers were filled with layers of brick. The brick house was actually an addition to an older timber frame section clad in horizontal wood siding. This portion of the house was likely the original house on the property but had deteriorated significantly and was demolished in 2015.
The Jordan Munn House has cultural heritage value for its historical associations with the Munn family. The house was likely constructed by Jordan Munn, or possibly his father Daniel Munn. Daniel and his wife Millicent were the founders of Munn’s Corners, a former hamlet at Dundas Street and Sixth Line. They operated an inn on the northwest corner and helped develop a school, church and cemetery in the village. The inn and most of the houses associated with Munn’s Corners have disappeared, but the church, cemetery and Jordan Munn House still stand as reminders of this community and the significant contributions of the Munn family. The house also has historical value as an early example of a timber frame house in Oakville. The original frame house was likely constructed anywhere between 1816 and 1841 and the existing brick section was likely added between 1830 and 1860 when the Classic Revival style was prevalent in Ontario.
The property has contextual heritage value as a reminder of the historically agricultural landscape of this part of Oakville. While the house was relocated 200 metres from its original location to the southwest, the building’s association with the historic village of Munn’s Corners and the significant route of Dundas Street remains.
The property also has contextual associations with the ancestors of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation who used the land prior to European settlement of the area. The property is contextually significant as a reminder of not only the development of the area by early settlers like the Munn family, but also of the land’s association with Indigenous peoples for centuries prior to European settlement.
Key attributes of the property which embody the cultural heritage value of the Jordan Munn House include the following attributes, as they relate to the north, east and south exterior elevations of the 1.5 storey brick house:
The contemporary frame addition is not considered to be a heritage attribute.
Any objection to this designation must be filed no later than October 1, 2019. Objections should be directed to the Town Clerk, 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6H 0H3.
Any inquiries may be directed to Carolyn Van Sligtenhorst heritage planner at 905-845-6601, ext. 3875 (TTY 905-338-4200), or by email at carolyn.van@oakville.ca.
The last date to file a notice of objection is October 1, 2019.