The property known as the Birches at 227 Minnesota Street contains a two-storey dwelling that was built for and likely designed in 1871-1872 by Richard Palin, an English-born civil engineer and owner of the Collingwood Tannery. This dwelling is possibly the first built on Block F following the registration of Plan 144 in May 1870 by Charles Gamon and George Moberly. When Richard died about 1878, his widow Agnes Palin and children remained associated with part of Block F, although not this dwelling. One son, Phillip Coles Palin, became an architect and is responsible for the 1913 design of Collingwood’s landmark post office and customhouse building, among other local commissions.

In 1880, Agnes Palin sold the property to David and Florence Liddell, who sold in 1884 to Arthur O. Wheeler. He was a land surveyor and is responsible for much of the photo-topographical surveying of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirk mountain ranges. He is a co-founder of the Alpine Club of Canada. His son, Edward Wheeler, became the Surveyor General of India .

Arthur Wheeler sold the property in 1889 to Alfred McDonald Knight and his wife Katharine. Knight was appointed Town Treasurer in 1882, serving for twenty-five years. He and Katharine were active in the community, particularly during the difficult years of the First World War during which their son Edward was killed in action.

Mary Frances “Frankie” McGregor bought the property from the Knight estate in 1936. She was the widow of Hilton McGregor, son of the Lt. Governor of Manitoba , James Duncan McGregor. Her father was the first senator from Manitoba , Robert Wilfred Watson.

Frankie McGregor sold the property in 1946 to Dr. Douglas Harvie and his wife Madeleine. Douglas entered the University of Toronto medical school at the young age of fifteen. After an internship in Port Arthur , two years as the physician for the Austin Lumber Company, and about ten years on the staff of Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto , he joined the practice of Dr. Arthur in Collingwood. Dr. Harvie provided medical care to Collingwood residents until retiring in 1973. Madeline was a descendant of the Ferguson family who founded North Bay . Her contributions to community life in Collingwood are far reaching, especially in the activities of the Red Cross and Victorian Order of Nurses. She was the first director of operations for the Collingwood Museum and is remembered by many as the volunteer organizer for the annual skating carnival.

Design or Physical Value

An original elevation and floor plan sketch of this dwelling indicates that it was custom designed by Palin to meet the needs of his family. The rooms are labelled “ours,” “children’s,” “nursery,” and “servants.” He incorporated a well-engineered root house with brick walls and sawdust packing. The main floor rooms include a generous size kitchen and summer kitchen, dining room, drawing room with a marble fireplace, and “small room” to give Palin, his wife, and growing family comfortable accommodation. The window openings are larger than standard for the newly available 2x2-panes sash type. The centre doorcase is a Classical style.

In the early decades of the 20th century, Alfred and Katherine Knight updated the style of the house to the popular Craftsman or Arts and Crafts. The use of dark stained wood, particularly oak, for the ceiling, floors, and wainscoting, and the unique woodwork of the stairway are evidence of this style. Knight introduced pseudo Tudor Revival style false timbering into the roughcast plaster exterior walls. He had most corners finished with wood cornerboards. Some walls are clad in rustic shingling that give the appearance of clapboard. The original verandah was rebuilt and extended along two sides of the dwelling and a second storey gallery added. Knight made the additional gesture of having a conservatory constructed at the southeast corner of the dwelling (since removed).

Contextual Value

Minnesota Street features several late 19th and early 20th century, fashionable dwellings set on large lots with mature landscaping. This property is important to maintaining the historic integrity and picturesque quality of this residential streetscape.

Description of Heritage Attributes

The cultural heritage value or interest of this property is expressed by the principal heritage attribute of an 1871-1872, two-storey dwelling, updated to a Craftsman and pseudo Tudor Revival style in the early decades of the 20th century. The property also has some cultural heritage landscape features. For purposes of the designation bylaw, the elements considered important to maintaining the cultural heritage value of this property are limited to the exterior and include the following:

• The form, massing, height, and scale of the main dwelling
  
  

• The original frame construction and any evidence of sawmiller’s plank type construction
  
  

• The medium-pitched, hipped and truncated type roofs, and the east facing dormer
  
  

• The early 20th century verandah and second storey gallery along the west and south facades
  
  

• The original bay window now with casement style doors on the south façade
  
  

• The round arched door opening, now a window opening, on the south half of the east façade, formerly accessing the conservatory
  
  

• The plaster cladding with decorative pseudo Tudor Revival style timbering and cornerboards on most exterior walls; the shingle cladding on other exterior walls
  
  

• All components of the original window openings, including the trim, sills, and 2x2 and 1x1-panes sash types
  
  

• All original elements of the west doorcase, including the sidelights, transom, trim, and panelled door
  
  

• The summer kitchen and carriagehouse structures at the rear
  
  

• The former conservatory pond
  
  

• The flagpole made from a wood ship’s mast
  
  

• The view of the front (west) façade of the dwelling from Minnesota Street