Our History
This impressive house has been a landmark in Alliston for many years. It was built for William J. Wood in 1905, the year following his marriage to Nettie McGirr. It was most likely built by Ebenezer and William Knight, who may also have built the very similar C.R. Knight house on Victoria Street. It was built using mail order plans. Several builders in Simcoe County used these kinds of plans to build rambling Queen Anne style houses, which were much in demand at the turn of the century.
W.J. Wood was the son of David Wood, a Scottish carpenter and Mary Ann Bunting. He became very successful at a young age as a grocer. He was related through marriage to T.P. Loblaw for a number of years.
The house was sold in 1911 to Dr. Alexander McKenzie and then in 1925 to retired Tosorontio farmer William Welch, the widowed Sarah Welch sold it in 1957 to James and Margaret Braden. After this the home changed hands a number of times, ultimately becoming an apartment building in 1986.
Previous owners removed the partitions to expose original doorways and woodwork. They did an excellent job of restoring the house in a few short years, and should be thanked for their efforts to reclaim this architectural treasure.
In an autographed copy of his book “The Way We Were Then, book 1” local author Ralph E. Braden has made a simple notation "I remember Grandma's house". He has included this house on page 154 in which he has recognized and remembered with fondness shared childhood memories.
The current owners Tammy Boniface and Lorna Duggan are furthering the process in the pursuit of restoring this house to its former glory.