Robert Scott Block
63 & 65 Main Street South, Seaforth, Ontario
( Year built: 1869 )
By comparison with other more elaborate buildings along the Main Street, this is now a modest, plain-faced structure. The upper façade is punctuated by five simply proportioned windows. As you can see in the photograph below dated 1900, the third floor once had arched windows. The upper façade was accented by decorative quoining in the brickwork at each end. After a fire in 1905, the windows in the third floor were bricked. The brickwork has been painted so that now the quoining is no longer visible. The store fronts have been remodelled in a contemporary manner.
The Hon. James Patton, one of the town founders, owned this lot until 1863. On it was a frame store in which, at the time, Thomas Currie was doing business as a general merchant. Robert Scott bought the property in 1869 and that year built this 3-storey brick block with two stores.
R.P. Rogers, who sold clothing and dress goods, occupied one store from 1869 to 1876. The other store was briefly occupied in 1868-9 by Archibald McDougall who sold dry goods and groceries from the Canada Warehouse, then by John Walsh, who sold groceries and liquor, from 1870 to 1872. The Huron Expositor was published on the third floor from 1869 to 1872. Other upper floor rooms were occupied for many years by a photographer’s gallery, lawyer’s and dentist’s offices, and dress-maker’s rooms. The Forester’s Hall was also in upper-floor rooms from 1885 to 1899. Advertisement Left: appeared in the March 2, 1900 issue of the Huron Expositor.
Both the north and south stores had long-term tenants. Wilson & Young’s grocery was in the north store from 1873 to 1906. Charles Wilson and An-drew Young ran the store together until 1892 at which time Young continued on his own until his death in 1906. Lumsden & Wilson’s Book & Drugs store was in the south space from 1881 to 1915. In 1884, Lumsden & Wilson renovated the store interior and installed a new plate glass front. Advertisement Lower Right: from The Huron Expositor July 12, 1889.
Lawyers, S.G. McCaughey & Francis Holmsted, had offices on the second floor for 18 years, from 1870 to 1884. Holmsted continued on his own until 1924. In 1888, both Mr. McCaughey and his wife died. The obituary published in The Huron Expositor relates details of the “Melancholy Event”:
Husband and wife stricken down almost at the same time, lying helpless under the same roof and in adjoining rooms, each unconscious of the dangerous condition of the other and ultimately both falling under the cold hand of death within a few hours of each other…. Mr. and Mrs. S.G. McCaughey, of this town, the former of whom passed away at half past seven o’clock Monday evening and the latter about the same hour Tuesday evening…. Pneumonia was the disease with which both were afflicted.
Mr. McCaughey was born in 1830 in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland and was educated at Royal Belfast College. He came to Canada in 1854 and to Seaforth in 1863. Soon after, he entered into a partnership with Mr. Holmested, “and the firm having gained the most implicit confidence of the people, did a large and profitable business.” In 1886, McCaughey retired from the law and engaged in the private banking business with William Logan. He was described as “a remarkably successful business man … and it might be said of him that everything he touched seemed to turn into money…. He was possessed of excellent literary tastes … and was a warm friend of the Mechanics’ Institute.” McCaughey was also Reeve of Seaforth for many years and a member of the High School Board.
The north store was the location of William R. Smith’s grocery, here for many decades starting in 1905. It became W.R. Smith & Sons in 1935 and was still here in the late 1960s. Elton Umbach was a merchant in the south store from 1919 to 1923. In 1924, James Keating, Druggist, moved in. Keating’s Pharmacy occupied this store until moving one door south in the 1970s.
A succession of photographer’s had galleries in rooms on the second floor of this block. Frank Paltridge was the first, from 1870 to 1872. Miss Leach had a “New & Complete Millinery, Mantle and Dressmaking Establishment” upstairs, next to Frank Paltridge’s Photo-graph Gallery in 1870. Charles Moore had his Sunbeam Art Gallery here from 1874 to 1879 He partnered with a Mr. Campbell and the business was known as Moore & Campbell in 1875. For almost a decade, Andrew Calder had an office over Wilson & Young’s store, from 1883 to 1892. Calder advertised as “The People’s Popular Photo Gallery.” W.D. Trott was next and he occupied this space from 1893 to 1899. Scott Bros. photographic gallery had rooms above the stores in 1900, and was replaced by J.P. Henderson in 1902. Henderson was the last photographer to have offices here.
Above Left: a family photograph taken by Charles Moore; Above Right: a photograph taken by Frank Paltridge. Below: is J.P. Henderson’s photography studio, 1900.
F. Bechley, a dentist, had rooms above the stores from 1917 to 1944. Two osteopaths were tenants here, Dr. Heilman in 1920-21, and Dr. Haist in 1922-23. The College of Music had rooms above in 1933. McConnell & Hays, lawyers, kept offices here from 1938 until they moved in the 1940s.
Photograph Upper Left: the interior of Keating’s Pharmacy c. 1925. Advertisements - Top Right: The Huron Expositor, May 28, 1875; Bottom Left: The Huron Expositor, February 7, 1873; Bottom Right: April 11, 1884 issue.
Advertisements - Above Left: The Huron Expositor, February 5, 1869, Above Right: October 21, 1870; Lower Left: March 19, 1875; and Lower Right: is from an issue of the Huron Expositor April 11, 1884.
Advertisement Below: from The Huron Expositor June 31, 1893.
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