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1941 Richmond – Dr. Peter Dewar House

Today we take a look at the Dr. Peter Dewar house located at 1941 Richmond across the street from Wiliistead park. The pictures come from the April, 1926 issue of “Construction”.

Above is a photo captioned “View from the street”.

“End view showing garage and service entrance”.

“Garden Side”

A view of the ground floor plan.

    This residence was built in 1923. The exterior is brick and rough cast with occasional corners of half timber work done in adzed oak and stained with solignum. The roof is covered with B.C. shingles laid unevenly and stained in shades of green closely recalling the colours of Welsh slates.

    Most of the windows are double hung although no larger than casements; indeed the change was made from casements to double hung after the building operations were started by the special desire of the owner. This necessitated using patent pullets to reduce the thickness of the mullions.

    D.J. Cameron & W. Ralston, Architects.

I found a copy of Dr. Dewar’s obituary from The Canadian Medical Association Journal:

    Dr. Peter Anderson Dewar died on April 7, 1928,
    at his resience in Walkerville, Ont. He was born on a
    farm in Lambton County on September 4, 1859, and
    received his early education in the public schlools of that
    county and in the Sarnia Model School. His first profession
    was that of teaching, and from that be stepped into medicine,
    graduating from Trinity Medical School in Toronto in 1885,
    with first class honours. He began practice in Essex, Ont., and
    remained there for eleven years, during which time he built up a
    very extensive clientèle, and also took an intense interest in the civic
    affairs of the town. In 1896 Dr. Dewar moved to Windsor, where he
    practised until a few months before his death, when ill-health
    compelled him to moderate his activities.

    During his professionial career he started a number
    of young graduates on the road to success. His favourite
    maxim to them was “Be ye known as a physician,” and
    he himself always kept this ideal in mind and lived up
    to it fully, with the result that he was widely known
    as one of the most brilliant and successful physicians
    of western Ontario.

    Two years ago he was given a dinner and a presentation,
    which testified to the high regard in which he
    was held by his fellow practitioners, as well as by the
    community in general. This marked the completion of
    forty years active practice in Essex County, and was
    attended by about one hundred representative citizens
    of the border cities.

    He is survived by his wife, (nee Annie K. Nesbit)
    and five daughters.


View Larger Map

Here’s the house today, one of Walkerville’s grandest and often overlooked residences.

Andrew

View Comments

  • Great find and post Andrew. Love the ground floor plan, must have been quite a grand house in its time, even a trade entrance. I drive by this house everyday and always wondered about it. I do find it is a little on the shabby side now like some other Walkerville houses, but its my neighbourhood and I wouldn't trade it for any other location in the city.

  • spectacular home and I have to agree witih andrewsmom, what a wodnerful layout.

    Thanks for showing that because we don't get to see how the older homes are layed out.

  • This is a wonderful house, UT is amazing that so much of the exterior has remained unaltered after all these years. It is interesting to see a floor plan for one of these houses. I have a plan book with designs from the 1920's and the were certain features that you can see in the floor Plan that were common to the time frame. Sun rooms, Butlers Pantry's, Breakfast alcove's , built in book cases and Foyers that went from front to back were typical of the time period. Other features that I have seen in 1920's style homes that aren't seen on this plan are sleeping porches and a room for and Ice box located near the rear entrance.

    Two bad there wasn't a layout showing the second floor of this house. I'm also not sure if this house has a walk-up attic that could have been used as a third floor.

  • It could have had a sleeping porch - maybe above the sun room - on the second level.

    A lovely home - so nice to see it so unchanged from the original picture.

  • Wow--just wonderful. And I can imagine the social life that must have gone on there, with the Dr. Dewar's "civic activities," not to mention five daughters (I am one of five girls myself, so I have an idea...). And yes, love the floor plan. In another life I think I should have been an architect--love trying to figure out floor plans from outside a house. Thanks for this find!

  • I find floorplans to be almost as interesting as pictures. When I was younger I used to give tours at Willistead Manor on every other Sunday & Wednesday during the summer. I remember the house had an old set of floorplans inside a desk drawer in the Great Hall which I used to look over if tours were slow. To this day it pains me that I never asked the manager at the time (Mrs A. Nemeth) if I could've taken them to be copied as now, I am under the impression that they are lost. Even though nearly years have past I can still remember how interesting the Willistead Floorplans were - featuring many changes in the service wing and in the "North Gallery". I remember smirking when I noticed that Mr Walkers Dressing Room closet had double doors which connected it to a guest room - extra storage if a guest needed it ... or a neat way to keep track of ppl! LOL

  • This my brother-in-law's house. In pretty good shape with lovely wood in the dining room.

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