Notice of Designation 317 Kent Street West Lindsay

Take Notice that the Council of the City of Kawartha Lakes, on May 21, 2024, passed By-law 2024-107 to designate the following property under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.18, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest:

317 Kent Street West, Town of Lindsay
PT E1/2 LT 20 CON 4 OPS PT 1, 2, 3 57R8586; S/T R389432; S/T INTEREST IN R421686; KAWARTHA LAKES

Statement of Reasons for Designation

Design and Physical Value
317 Kent Street West has design and physical value as a representative example of a Gothic Revival residential property in Kawartha Lakes. Constructed around the mid-1860s, the property displays key characteristics of this domestic architectural style including its steeply pitched roofs, decorative bargeboards, polychromatic brickwork, stacked chimneys, rounded windows and wide verandah. It is one of the largest examples of this style of architecture within Lindsay and demonstrates a high degree of craftsmanship through its extant decorative elements.

Historical and Associative Value
317 Kent Street West has historical and associative value through its associations with the Matthews family, specifically father and son George and Albert Matthews, the elder of which owned the property from 1876 to 1899. George Matthews was a local businessman who established a highly successful meat packing business in Lindsay in 1868 which would eventually grow into a national enterprise. Albert, one of his ten children, became Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario between 1937 and 1946, becoming the province’s longest serving Lieutenant Governor. Both father and son were heavily involved in the Baptist Church and, through them, the property yields significant information regarding the growth and development of the Baptists in Lindsay and on a more national level. The property also has direct associations with the lumber industry in Lindsay through its subsequent owner, James Peel, the early twentieth century owner of the Gull River Lumber Company.

Contextual Value
317 Kent Street West has contextual value as a local landmark. Originally constructed as a farmhouse in rural Ops Township, the property has since been absorbed into the urban fabric of the west side of Lindsay and has lost much of its original context. However, it remains a very well-known and easily recognized structure in Lindsay for its distinctive architecture and prominent location at the southwest corner of the intersection of Kent Street West and Angeline Street South.

Further information respecting the designation is available at the City’s Economic Development Department. Interested parties may object to the designating by-law to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Any objection to this designation must be filed within 30 days of June 5, 2024 and include the reasons for objection to the designating by-law and the fee charged by the Tribunal. Objections should be directed to: Cathie Richie, Clerk, City of Kawartha Lakes, P.O. Box 9000, 26 Francis Street, Lindsay, ON K9V 5R8.

The by-law will come into effect on the day following the last day of the notice period.

For more information regarding the property, please see its Heritage Evaluation Report.

Any inquiries may be directed to:

Economic Development Officer- Heritage Planning
City of Kawartha Lakes,
180 Kent Street West, Lindsay, ON  K9V 2Y6
(705) 324-9411 ext.1366
eturner@kawarthalakes.ca