Notice of Intention to Designate

The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill

Take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill (“Council”) intends to designate the above noted property as a property of cultural heritage value or interest under part IV and pursuant to section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990,c.0.18.

And take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill stated their intention to designate said property under the Ontario Heritage Act on June 25^th, 2025.

A statement explaining the cultural heritage value or interest of the property and a description of the heritage attributes of the property is set out below.

Any person who objects to the above noted Council’s intention to designate shall, within 30 days after the publication of this notice, serve on the Clerk of the City of Richmond Hill, a Notice of Objection setting out the reason for the objection and all relevant facts. The last day to submit the Notice of Objection is August 1^st, 2025.

Service may be made digitally by email to clerks@richmondhill.ca or by delivery personally to the City Clerk or by Regular Mail at the following address:

Additional information about heritage planning at the City of Richmond Hill may be obtained by contacting Heritage Planning City staff by e-mail at heritage@richmondhill.ca. Take note that a Notice of Objection may only be served to the Clerk of the City of Richmond Hill as stated above.

Dated this 2^nd day of July, 2025

Statement of Significance

317 Mill Street – Jesse Good House

The Jesse Good House at 317 Mill Street is recommended for designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act as a property of cultural heritage value or interest, as described in the following Statement of Significance. The subject property has been found to meet Ontario Regulation 9/06 criteria 1 and 8.

Description of Property

The Jesse Good House at 317 Mill Street is a two-storey dichromatic brick structure with an L-shaped footprint and wraparound verandah. The property is located on the north side of Mill Street, directly west of the Mill Pond, and within the historic Richmond Hill village core.

Design and Physical Value

Dating to circa 1885, the Jesse Good House at 317 Mill Street has design and physical value as a representative example of the late-Victorian vernacular farmhouse architectural style and building typology. The late-Victorian vernacular style, which was popularly applied to residential buildings in Southern Ontario from roughly 1875 to 1900, is characterized by an eclectic mixture of Gothic Revival and Picturesque elements. Features representative of this style and typology include, but are not limited to, the house’s asymmetrical L-shaped footprint, two-storey massing, cross-gabled roof, dichromatic brick cladding featuring buff brick with red brick detailing including quoining, banding, and voussoirs, canted bay window with a mansard roof on its south elevation, and wraparound verandah.

Therefore, the subject property meets O. Reg. 9/06 Criterion 1: The property has design value or physical value because it is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material or construction method.

Contextual Value

The Jesse Good House at 317 Mill Street has contextual value because it is visually and historically linked to its surroundings on the west bank of the Mill Pond. The Mill Pond located directly east of the house contributes to the house’s picturesque landscape setting, complementing and augmenting its late-Victorian architectural expression. The house’s historical wraparound verandah is also oriented east towards the pond, providing views of the water from the house. The Jesse Good House also has historical links to the Mill Pond as one of few remaining 19^th-century buildings in the Mill Pond area, and the last remaining 19^th-century house located on its banks. Existing visual and historical links between the Jesse Good House and the Mill Pond to the east offer passers-by a glimpse into 19^th-century Richmond Hill, when Mill Street existed on the outskirts of the village, and the Mill Pond area featured large semi-rural properties with sparse industrial and agricultural development.

Therefore, the subject property meets O. Reg. 9/06 Criterion 8: The property has contextual value because it is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings.

Heritage Attributes

Design and Physical Value

The heritage attributes that contribute to the value of the property as a representative example of the late-Victorian vernacular farmhouse architectural style and building typology are:

• The scale, form, and massing of the two-storey building with an L-shaped plan;
• The medium-pitched cross-gable roof with south and east gable ends and a brick chimney;
• The buff/yellow brick construction with decorative red brick detailing on the south and east elevations, including:
  • Quoining;
  • Voussoirs;
  • Sawtooth banding;
• The segmental-arched window openings on the south and east elevations, including:
  • The stone sills and brick voussoirs;
  • The two-over-two and one-over-one hung window units; and
  • The historic operable shutters;
• The canted one-storey bay window on the south elevation with a mansard roof;
• The rounded wraparound verandah located on the south and east elevations (*note that the verandah enclosure is a later alteration and is not considered a heritage attribute), including:
  • The doric columns; and
  • The dentilation along the soffits.

Contextual Value

The heritage attributes that contribute to the value of the property for being historically and visually linked to the Mill Pond are:

• The building’s scale, siting, and orientation on the north side of Mill Street, immediately west of the Mill Pond; and
• The building’s vernacular late-Victorian farmhouse architectural style and material palette.

Note that the two-storey frame addition on the side (west) façade and all additions on the rear (north) side of the building are not considered to possess heritage attributes.