The listing: 1234 Old River Rd., Mississauga
Asking price: $1,550,000
Taxes: $9,877.19 (2015)
Lot size: 105 feet by 150 feet
Agents: Paul and LeeAnne Francombe, Royal LePage West Realty Group
The Back Story
With a history dating to 1856, the Cotton-Hawksworth House is already one of the oldest dwellings in Mississauga. But the two-storey house was actually constructed of logs harvested from an even older building, then floated down the Credit River to be reassembled in the gently rolling landscape nearby.
More than 160 years later, current owners Barbara Kendrick and Robin Plumb can point to many of the original, rough-hewn logs still visible at the nucleus of their family home in the Mineola West neighbourhood of Mississauga.
The house at 1234 Old River Rd. is named for an entrepreneur named Robert Cotton who sailed to Canada from Ireland in the 1830s.
The young Mr. Cotton settled in Toronto Township, which was the name given to a vast area of land that officials from York acquired from the Mississauga Indians in 1805. That transaction would eventually become part of a land claim. In 2010, the federal government settled the claim with the Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation for $145-million.
City of Mississauga historical records show that Mr. Cotton bought a large swath of land on the east side of the Credit River in the 1840s. He had a mission house dismantled and transported down the river, then carried from the water’s edge to a new setting on his budding estate.
The two-storey log house was set on a stone foundation and clad in clapboard.
Mr. Cotton hired workers to farm his land while he served as a general merchant, postmaster and ship builder. Records show he was a grain merchant and the manager of the Port Credit Harbour Company.
He served as a Justice of the Peace, then township councillor, deputy reeve and reeve. He also set up a toll gate and charged a fee for drivers of carriages and wagons to pass through. Today that spot is the intersection of Hurontario Street and the Queen Elizabeth Way.
Around 1860, local historians say, Mr. Cotton enlarged the house by adding a two-storey section on the front and another on the rear to create an H. The family lived in the front portion and the rear addition housed the farmhands.
A tunnel, which has long since been filled in, provided an escape route from beneath the house all the way to the Credit River.
Four generations of Cottons lived in the house, and nearby Cotton Drive was named for the family. The house remained in the family until 1943 when a member of the younger generation sold it.
A later owner was William Hawksworth, who had the house designated as a heritage property in 1985.
The House Today
Ms. Kendrick and Mr. Plumb have been the home’s custodians for 10 years.
“I love the history – it’s one of the reasons we bought the house,” Ms. Kendrick says. “I love that it belonged to such a prominent owner. When people come over, they’re intrigued by it.”
The Cotton-Hawksworth House in its current form is a four-bedroom Georgian with a centre-hall plan.
“We’ve kept the original Georgian qualities of the balance, the symmetry,” says Mr. Plumb.
Coloured glass has been preserved in the transom above the front door. In the front hall, the original grand staircase curves to the second floor.
“The bannister is original and hand-turned,” says Mr. Plumb, pointing out slight variations between some of the spindles.
The formal living and dining rooms have nine-foot high ceilings and traditional six-over-six windows. A door from the living room leads to an enclosed porch with a curved wood ceiling.
“It’s a very cozy house,” says Ms. Kendrick. “It has that old world feel to it.”
At the rear, the farmhands’ quarters are long gone but the oldest part of the log home still stands. A family room has walk-outs to the garden on both sides.
Previous owners renovated the house to create a modern kitchen that still blends with the 19th-century style. There’s an adjoining breakfast area with a wall of windows and a door leading to the garden. There’s also a two-car garage connected to the house.
On the lower level, the stone foundation is still visible in the wine cellar and the heavy logs of the mission house form part of the support for the upper floors.
Upstairs, the master suite at the front of the house has an ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet. The original wide plank floors have been stained a deep shade of brown.
Two other bedrooms share a large five-piece bath with an air-jet tub.
“The whole house is really quiet because you’ve got those big timbers,” Mr. Plumb says.
The rear addition no longer exists and Mr. Cotton’s original land holdings have gradually been severed into subdivisions with successive waves of housing styles.
Many of the homes on the surrounding streets are mid-century bungalows. The small bungalows on massive lots are being replaced by large infill houses.
The home is close to the boutiques and restaurants that line Lakeshore Road East, just north of Lake Ontario and the waterfront trail. The Port Credit GO Transit station is a five-minute walk away.
The Best Feature
Many of the home’s rooms open to the garden, Ms. Kendrick says, and courtyards on either side of the original wing provide places to dine and lounge.
“We kind of use them as outdoor rooms.”
Ms. Kendrick has planted English-style perennial beds around the house, and there’s a small pond in the area outside the covered porch.
“Once you get them established, the perennial gardens pretty much take care of themselves,” she says.
Ms. Kendrick says the home’s owners through the years have all strived to preserve the character.
“I would like to pass the torch to somebody who really appreciates the house for what it is.”