Take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Guelph intends to designate 1949 Gordon Street as a property of cultural heritage value or interest under section 29, Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 0.18.
Description of the property
The property known municipally as 1949 Gordon Street is described legally as PT LOT 12, CONCESSION 7, TOWNSHIP OF PUSLINCH & PT ROAD ALLOWANCE BETWEEN CONS 7 & 8, TOWNSHIP OF PUSLINCH CLOSED BY IS15570 & IS15732, AS IN MS74135; GUELPH.
Statement of cultural heritage value or interest
The property at 1949 Gordon Street meets five of the nine criteria outlined in Ontario Regulation 9/06, including design/physical value, historical/associative value, and contextual value. It is therefore recommended that the property be designated under Part IV, section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Design/Physical Value
The house at 1949 Gordon Street meets Criterion 1 because it is a rare, early, and representative example of a vernacular log farmhouse. Constructed in the early 1830’s, the house is one of the few remaining log farmhouse structures built in the Township of Puslinch in the first half of the nineteenth century.
The stone shed building at 1949 Gordon Street meets Criterion 1 because it is a rare, early, and representative example of a vernacular stone farm outbuilding and is one of the few remaining stone structures of its kind built in the Township of Puslinch in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Historical/Associative Value
The farmhouse at 1949 Gordon Street meets Criterion 4 because it has direct associations with the settlement of Puslinch Township and the Kennedy family, an early settler family of Puslinch Township that occupied the property in the early 1830s. The farmhouse at 1949 Gordon Street meets Criterion 5 because of its historical connection to the Puslinch agricultural community and proximity to the City of Guelph.
Contextual Value
The farmhouse at 1949 Gordon Street meets Criterion 7 because it is important in defining, maintaining, and supporting the historical character of the Gordon Street streetscape and as a vestige of the early farming Page 8 of 9 landscapes of the Township of Puslinch and what is now the City of Guelph. The stone shed on the property is physically linked to its surroundings being composed of stone extracted from the surrounding fields. The property is historically linked to its surroundings because the log farmhouse is a vestige of the early agricultural landscape of Puslinch Township. The subject property meets Criterion 9 as the Andrew Kennedy farmhouse at 1949 Gordon Street sits in its original location fronting the Kennedy family farmstead and as a link to the early farming landscape of Puslinch Township and what is now the City of Guelph.
Description of heritage attributes
The following elements of the property at 1949 Gordon St should be considered as heritage attributes in a designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act:
Building form, including:
- Original 1.5-storey, gable roof building form of the 1830s farmhouse
- Original exterior log wall construction
- Shape and location of original door and window openings in the house
- Original 1-storey, gable roof building form and mixed limestone and granite fieldstone wall construction of the small stone shed with door in north gable wall.
It is intended that non-original features may be returned to the documented earlier designs or to their documented original without requiring City Council permission for an alteration to the design.
A more detailed description of the property’s cultural heritage value may be found in staff’s report to City Council dated July 15, 2025 and at guelph.ca.
Notice of objection
Any person may send a notice of objection to this proposed designation, before 4 p.m. on Friday August 22, 2025. This notice must be sent by registered mail or delivered to the Clerk of the City of Guelph and must set out the reason for the objection and all relevant facts. If a notice of objection is received, the Council of the City of Guelph shall consider the objection and make a decision whether or not to withdraw the notice of intention to designate the property within 90 days after the end of the 30-day objection period. If Council decides not to withdraw its intention to designate, a heritage designation bylaw must be passed within 120 days after the date of publication of the notice of intention to designate. Council must publish a notice of passing of the designation by-law which is followed by a 30-day appeal period when appeals of the by-law may be given to the Ontario Land Tribunal for a hearing and decision.
Stephen O’Brien
City Clerk
City of Guelph
1 Carden Street, Guelph ON N1H 3A1
For more information
Stephen Robinson, Senior Heritage Planner
Planning Services 519-822-1260 x 2496
Notice date: July 24, 2025