Notice of Intention to Designate 48 Main Street Village of Bobcaygeon

Take Notice that the Council of the City of Kawartha Lakes, on March 18, 2025, passed a resolution of intent 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:

48 Main Street, Village of Bobcaygeon
PT LT 2 W/S BOBCAYGEON RD PL 70 PT 2 57R1099; CITY OF KAWARTHA LAKES

Statement of Reasons for Designation
Design and Physical Value
48 Main Street has design and physical value as a representative example of a late nineteenth century Italianate building constructed in a small-town setting. Built 1898 as a replacement for an older wooden commercial building on the same location, the property displays key characteristics of this architectural style including its recessed Victorian storefront, gently sloping roof, bays divided by pilasters, and decorative brickwork. It demonstrates the way in which the Italianate commercial style was used outside of major urban areas, where it was primary used as part of continuous urban streetwalls, and the execution of this building type as a free-standing detached commercial building.

Historical and Associative Value
48 Main Street has historic and associative value as a historic commercial building in Market Square in the section of Bobcaygeon known originally as Rokeby. First constructed in 1898 for John Landon Read’s general store, the commercial building had housed a number of businesses throughout the twentieth century and is directly associated with the development of Market Square as the commercial hub and community gathering space for Rokeby, the original government townsite, outside of Bobcaygeon’s main commercial core along Bolton Street. Through its longstanding use as a business premise, it yields information regarding Bobcaygeon’s commercial development throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It also has specific historic associations with Read himself, a prominent local businessman and community leader. The property also has direct historic associations with Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson who painted the building twice in two different paintings of Bobcaygeon that he completed in the mid-1930s as part of his broader study of small-town Ontario and central Ontario cottage country throughout the middle decades of the twentieth century.

Contextual Value
48 Main Street has contextual value as part of the historic commercial landscape of Bobcaygeon’s Market Square. Located on the north side of the Bobcaygeon River on the main land, Market Square developed as part of the original town site of Rokeby and is currently characterized by a collection of commercial buildings clustered around a central square, including the subject property which maintains and supports its historic character with regard to the street pattern and layout that is distinct from the rest of the village. It is historically and visually linked to its surroundings as part of the development of Market Square as a distinct commercial area and public square in the nineteenth century for the northern part of the community.

Further information respecting the proposed designation is available at the City’s Economic Development Department. Any objection to this designation must be filed within 30 days of April 10, 2025. Objections should be directed to: Cathie Richie, Clerk, City of Kawartha Lakes, P.O. Box 9000, 26 Francis Street, Lindsay, ON K9V 5R8. Objections may be filed electronically at clerks@kawarthalakes.ca.

For more information on the property, please refer to 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

The last date for objection is 4:00 p.m. on May 9, 2025.