YEAR IN REVIEW: This article was originally published on September 23.
For Janice McDowell, the designation of the Williams-Daboll House under the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA) fulfills a long-time promise her father made to the previous owner of the property.
A builder had been eyeing the property and although Janie’s father couldn’t match his offer, the owner still sold him the property – but there was a catch.
“She asked my dad; do you promise to keep it a family home? He said, 'Well, yeah, that's what I want it. I’ve got four kids,'” McDowell said.
And when Janice and her husband, Mike, later purchased the home, she knew she had to maintain that trust.
“So, my dad promised her, and I promised my dad we'd do the same,” she said.
And on Saturday, the house and a 200-year-old Oak Tree on the Welland Street property were both designated as having cultural heritage value under section for the OHA. That designation will protect the property from being demolished. Any alterations to the property would require approval from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture.
“It'll stay upright. I don't have to worry about the builders,” Janice said.
The Williams-Daboll House was built in 1876 for John Collier Williams by George and Joseph McFarland and it is the 54th heritage designation in Thorold. That number includes 43 buildings, both public and private, seven sites such as parks and cemeteries, and four artifacts such as statues and/or bells.
“We're not just celebrating Thorold-built heritage with this property that we're designating, even though there's a very picturesque house and one of the earliest built in this area,” said Heritage Thorold LACAC Chair Anna O’Hare, at Saturday’s event to celebrate the property’s designation. “We are also designating part of Niagara natural heritage, with its magnificent oak tree just to the south of it, which has stood here longer than anything else in downtown Thorold, certainly longer than any building and possibly longer than any other tree.”
Local historian Sarah King Head noted that it was “really unusual” to find as much information as she did about the McFarland brothers who were the architects and builders.
The McFarlands “were the grandsons of George Kiefer, and their half-uncle was John Kiefer, and their mother was Amelia, who was the youngest child of George Kiefer."
The home she said, “can best be described as a hybrid Gothic Revival and Italianate, because it incorporates a variety of features associated with both these styles.”
Some of those features include the home’s elliptical windows (Italianate) and decorative ornamentation (Gothic revival).
Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey said the Williams-Daboll House “holds a very, very special chapter” in Thorold’s history.
“There is so much we can learn from not only homes like this…. It's not just a house, it's a home. It's someone's home, and today it's Janice and Michael's home,” he said.
Thorold Regional councillor Tim Whalen praised the McDowell’s for taking the steps to have their home designated.
“Because without people like yourself, these places wouldn't be here today,” he said.
Thorold Mayor Terry Ugulini, meanwhile, noted that the property is located within the Welland Canal corridor that is so important in Thorold’s history.
“It’s something that we're really working hard to bring back to the days of the industrial growth, and we're working hard as a council,” he said. "We're working with the federal provincial government and the region to make that possible, and we're on the road for success with what's going on in the Thorold multimodal hub, where we have over 30 businesses now in the facilities up in Thorold south as well.”
Thorold, he said, has a history of preserving its past and he credits Heritage Thorold for keeping that flame lit. He also recalled the work of past chair Pamela Minns, who passed away this past January. He said Minns was “instrumental” in the city earning the Prince of Wales prize for municipal heritage leadership back in 2017.
“It was her determination and work done in conjunction with our heritage committee that made that possible,” he said.
Mike McDowell, meanwhile, turned to the words of the late Rush drummer Neil Peart upon the group’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in trying to express his thoughts on the designation.
“He said, ‘I really didn't think this was a big deal. But turns out it is,’” he said.
Work on the home since he and Janice purchased it from her father has been ongoing.
“But it's been a life-long goal to buy the house to begin with and then to bring it back to life – and we're still trying – it's a work in progress, but it's been a lot of blood and sweat and tears and help from a lot of people.”
