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Archindont: Architectural Index for Ontario

Trace the History of Your House

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Last Revised:
January 20, 2000

Look at your house and its setting in the neighbourhood. This will indicate:

• the materials used in building the house
• alterations that have been made
• architectural styles and construction details that may suggest the age of the house
• if the house looks the same or different from other buildings on the street

For further information, consult

Baldone, Donalda. The Complete house detective; an Ontario house and its history. Erin, Ont.: Boston Mills Press, 1988.

Blumenson, John. Ontario architecture: a guide to styles and building terms 1784 to the present. Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1990.

Check the Internet for architectural style books.

Look at your deed, assessment notice, or tax bill This will tell you:

• the legal description of your property
• the lot, concession, and plan number
• a subdivision plan number (possibly)
• present street and house number
• name of the township and county in which the property is located

All of this information will be useful (and sometimes necessary) for further investigations in libraries, government records or archival collections, especially with assessment and title searches.

Talk to previous owners, neighbours and long-time residents. You may discover:

• the approximate age of your house
• construction details, such as additions and renovations to the house
• the names of previous owners and occupants: the families who have lived in your house in earlier years
• photographs of your house, its occupants, and the neighbourhood
• contacts: the names of other people who know more about your house, such as previous occupants