Day Trips: St. Marys. "Stonetown's" Charm Deserves a Visit

When I feel like escaping the city and seeing an attractive small town - which I often do - I generally look no farther than St. Marys, a gem slightly over 40 km northeast of London. There are many reasons why: I can be there in about 40 minutes; I can enjoy small town atmosphere; and - best of all - I can admire architecture in a place that looks like the Ontario of yesteryear. 

First, the name. Why St. Marys? Many sources have suggested that, when Thomas Mercer Jones, commissioner of the Canada Company, visited the town in 1845 with his wife, Mrs. Jones was asked to come up with a name. The story goes that she chose to name the community Mary after herself. A more likely explanation is that local land surveyor John McDonald named the town after his wife, also a Mary, but humbler and lesser known.* So the name comes from an act of chivalry, not ego. 

But the official nickname is "Stonetown." The stone in question is limestone, which exists in abundance in the area and from which much of the early town was built. St. Marys Cement capitalized on this resource and became one of the major producers of cement in Ontario.

From the road into town, St. Marys Cement looks like some kind of weird, futuristic city. 

Not surprisingly, mining all that limestone left big holes in the ground. "The Quarries," as they're known, are two former limestone quarries on the south edge of town. The area became a popular swimming spot for the locals after it filled with water in the 1930s. In 1945, the town bought the quarries and much surrounding land, and the area is now Canada's largest outdoor freshwater pool.** This awesome hole looks very inviting on a hot day.

One end of Canada's largest outdoor pool. 

Limestone

But the most interesting aspect of the limestone deposits from an architecture enthusiast's point of view is the number of limestone buildings throughout town. The most impressive is likely the Opera House on Water Street, designed by architect Silas Weekes in 1879-1880. Built by the Oddfellows who met on the third floor, the building had an 800-seat theatre on its second floor and stores at street level. For decades the theatre hosted travelling theatre troupes, musicians and campaigning politicians until the Oddfellows sold it in 1904. 

The building is mock-Medieval at its best, complete with bartizans, lancet and quatrefoil windows, and crenelations along the top. When first built, there was a large central gable at top matching the two below, but it didn't survive the building's 20th-century stint as a flour mill. No matter. The building has survived almost intact and, thanks to the Lions Club, was rescued and turned into stores and condos in the 1980s.

Oddfellows Opera House, 12 Water Street.

The Opera House is so ornate it might be mistaken for a town hall. But no, that's over on Queen Street East. It's a real beauty too, with stepped gables, towers, turrets, sandstone-trimmed round arches and sandstone and limestone chequerboard trim. Note the twisted belfry, apparently inspired by Santa Croce, Florence. Architect George Gouinlock completed this treasure in 1891 and went on to design the Canadian National Exhibition buildings in Toronto. Note that this is still St. Marys Town Hall. 

175 Queens St. E., a very romantic Town Hall.

If the Town Hall is a castle, perhaps this is the dungeon?

The first truly magnificent home in town was built by George Tracy in 1854. His builder was the Scottish-born stone mason Robert Barbour who came to work on the Tracy mansion but stayed for the rest of his life. Many of the other buildings in town - both grand and humble - were his work. This has been the St. Marys Museum & Archives since 1959 and my family has discovered much about our own St. Marys roots here over the years, thanks to helpful staff. 

177 Church Street South, St. Marys Museum and Archives, hidden behind summer foliage.

Many of the town's limestone buildings are commercial. The gabled house at the end in the picture below was built for a miller and businessman named William Veal Hutton in 1858. He also owned the four-store commercial building that adjoins his house. These buildings are changed since they've been built to some extent; the building on the corner, for example, didn't always have a mansard roof.

83-91 Queen Street East and 6 Water Street North.

There are many limestone cottages in town built for folks humbler than the Tracy family. Below is one of the last homes built by Robert Barbour, ca. 1865-66. The little windows in the gable are an unusual touch. 

216 Thomas Street.

Another simple building, except for the elliptical fanlight over the door.

52 Ontario Street South ca. 1858

An adorable but primitive home built about 1850 for Gilbert McIntosh, owner of a nearby woollen mill. A rear addition dates to the 1860s. Surrounding wall is a nice touch.

St. Maria Street, west of Water Street South.

Looking for someplace to stay while in town? Well, there's Westover Inn if you feel like splurging. Built in the 1860s for the Hutton family, Westover Park, as it was then called, was surrounded by extensive gardens. The gardeners were William and Joseph Hutton, brothers of the aforementioned William Veal Hutton who retired here at an early age.

300 Thomas Street, side view.

Of more interest than the solid but stodgy-looking manor is the nearby carriage house, designed in 1911. It's an elaborate combination of stone, planks, shingles and stained glass grander than most people's homes at that time. And possibly now.

Not your average carriage house.

Early in the new 20th century, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie pledged $10,000 to build St. Marys a library, one of a growing list he'd built in Ontario. You'd think the town would jump at the chance to get a rich guy's money but not everyone was thrilled. Carnegie had a reputation for running sweatshops and squashing strikes so that socially-conscious townsfolk preferred to find funds elsewhere. But when put to a vote in a municipal election, Carnegie's offer squeaked through, so most residents must have wanted a library enough to hold their noses. While designed in the favoured Carnegie classical plan, the library was completed in the usual local limestone. Of course.

15 Church Street North, complete with pediment and columns in classical style, ca. 1904-5.

The library, by the way, has a lovely Rotary Reading Garden attached, featuring this game table. The Rotary Club of St. Marys built the garden in 2000 to commemorate their own 80th anniversary as well as the 100th anniversary of St. Marys Public Library. 

Rotary Reading Garden monument is a pile of books. Of course. 

Town of Churches

OK, so you're not churchy. That's fine, but St. Marys has some of the loveliest church buildings anywhere so indulge me while I show them off.

Below is St. James Anglican Church, consecrated in 1859, although the tower wasn't added until 1886. More Gothic Revival here, with crenelations and turrets. First rector was Archibald Lampman, father of the famous Canadian poet.***  

65 Church Street South.

St. Marys United, formerly Methodist, Church built in 1879.

85 Church Street South.

St. Marys Presbyterian Church built 1879-80 in the Gothic Revival style. Note tin-topped steeple. 

147 Widder Street East. (No, not all the churches are on Church Street.)

Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church was constructed using the local limestone in 1892-93 on a magnificent hilltop site. Lovely tall trees on the property make it tricky to photograph until the leaves start falling in autumn. 

Corner of Peel and Widder streets. 

A small Baptist congregation built First Baptist Church on Church Street in 1902. Tinier than the other church buildings in town, it's nevertheless attractive. While the front is on a level with Church Street, the basement is above ground and can be seen from the Jones Street hill. 

34 Church Street South.

A 1900s postcard shows Knox Church, which once stood on Church Street opposite St. James Anglican. The building was abandoned in the 1950s when the Presbyterian congregations merged. The building was demolished in 1969 and the site is now apartments. 

(Author's collection)

Fabulous Homes

St. Marys has some of the loveliest and best-preserved homes in Southwestern Ontario. Take this Italianate-Second Empire style residence built by local businessman George Carter for his daughter Charlotte and her husband Henry Lincoln Price as a wedding gift. The latest owners are committed to preserving the home and gardens so it remains one of the town's showpieces for years to come.

236 Jones Street East.

I love the little place below too. Built ca. 1880, this home's gabled front faces Wellington Street while its veranda faces the garden. Some woodworker had a great time here, adding bargeboard, turned posts, brackets, and all kinds of lesser ornamentation. The white and green paint job is dramatic and, as is often the case in St. Marys, the home has a lovely garden setting. For an older picture and a bit of history, see here.

146 Wellington Street North.

This plain, simple cottage built ca. 1870 possesses an admirable view of the Thames just across Robinson Street. Designated by the town of St. Marys in 1987 (see plaque next to door), it's also on Canada's Register of Historic Places. Around the corner is its rubblestone carriage house, now renovated into a separate residence. 

108 Robinson Street.

Details

Not every house is spectacular or worthy of designation but many less imposing residences do have nice touches here and there. Note the colourfully-painted trim on the ca. 1900 frame home below.

253 Water Street South.

A yellow brick house on Wellington Street has a sunburst of spindles over the door and nice stone trim on the nearby window.

164 Wellington Street South.

An unassuming house with an ornate gable. When bargeboard was no longer the rage, later builders  continued to add a little bit without going nuts. In this ca. 1900s home there are circles, diamonds and triangles. How many triangles can you find? 

106 Water Street North.

Red brick building with stone window arch. Former home now an office. 

48 Wellington Street South.

While this window looks like it might be on a church, it's actually on a home.

84 Church Street South.

Town of Hills

When I say hills I know that anyone from a mountainous part of the world won't be impressed. But in flat Southwestern Ontario, St. Marys comes across as truly hilly. Builders were up to the challenge, though.

This limestone 1850s store is built on a hill rising from the street, with the shopfront at the lower level level and the shopkeeper's residence on the second floor above. 

234 Queen Street East.

This home is built on a hill sloping downwards from the street.

100 Water Street North.

Of course some homes were built entirely on top of a hill, creating an ostentatious look.  

183 Widder Street East.

Other Cool Stuff

Historical Signage

Rather than regarding history as something better forgotten, St. Marys embraces its past and highlights it. Photos and signs like the ones below on Queen Street East help visitors and townsfolk imagine days gone by. 

Speaking of Queen Street, it has actual thriving businesses, something not all small towns can boast of these days. It may help that St. Marys hasn't much in the way of suburban shopping plazas to draw away customers. It also helps that there aren't many larger communities nearby to lure people away (Stratford is about a 20 minute drive). But it might also be that Queen Street East appears well looked after, safe and inviting. That patio is a nice place to stop for a cold drink on a hot summer day. 

More limestone commercial buildings. If you haven't been to Eclectic Treasure, by the way, you should. It's one of the best antique/collectible/used/junk stores in Southwestern Ontario, crammed with stuff from one end to the other. 

Arthur Meighen

Canada's ninth Prime Minister isn't one of our better known, probably because he was only in office from July 1920 to December 1921 and again for a few months in 1926. But he was born in the nearby hamlet of Anderson (where there's a plaque dedicated to him and not much else****) and is buried in St. Marys Cemetery. This statue of him in Lind Park looks too emaciated to be flattering but at least it's there.

Meighen was home-town proud and a fine speaker:

"St. Marys is St. Marys still. It is the old family home, and there cling to it endearing recollections which can circle around no other place on earth. This is the home of boyhood and young manhood, the home where first were learned those simple truths last to fade from the mind, the home of earliest friendships, the most sacred and inseverable of all, the home around which linger memories of brothers and sisters now far away and of one generation which has gone forever. Time changes much. It destroys and builds again, but the attachments and affections I have described abide to the end."

On his first visit to his hometown of St. Marys, Ontario, since becoming prime minister, Aug. 16, 1920. (Quoted in National Post, June 16, 2024 )

Water, Water Everywhere

St. Marys was built at the confluence of the North Branch of the Thames River and Trout Creek. The Thames cascaded over several limestone ledges here, providing power for pioneer mills. Today one can still see the mill race northeast of Queen Street East as it runs from Trout Creek south to the Thames. The river itself can best be enjoyed from "The Flats" or Milt Dunnell Park. I like the way the town has provided access to its waterways for scenic and recreational purposes, instead of forgetting about them when water power became obsolete. 

Speaking of scenic, note the view from the nearby Grand Trunk trestle, now a pedestrian walkway. While it's chilly up there on a fall day, you can't beat the view of this bend in the Thames.

The bridge itself:

In 1857 the Grand Trunk Railway was extended from Toronto to Sarnia. As it passed through St. Marys it was necessary to build high trestles over the Thames and Trout Creek. The first train over the river was in November 1859.

But the CNR abandoned this line in 1989. Rather than seeing the trestle removed, a group of St. Marys townsfolk created a committee to raise funds for a walking trail along the former railway bed, including the section over the river. The Grand Trunk Trail opened in 1998.

(Author's collection)

Reverse side of postcard: 

"St. Marys, Ont. May 2, 1910, Dear Bell. This is the bridge Tom fell from. He fell from the left end. I gathered a lot of violets and wished you were here too. Georgie." Good heavens! Was poor Tom killed? Was Georgie gathering violets for his grave? And what was Tom doing up there to begin with? Perhaps future research will tell. 

Speaking of water, where else but St. Marys would one find this historic drinking fountain? Located on the corner of Queen St. E. and Wellington, it's known as the Weir Fountain. The plaque says it's maintained by the McConnell Club, a civic-minded ladies' organization named after St. Marys resident William McConnell, a community-building individual who died in World War I.

Then There's This

A cute little building on Water Street South. Apparently once a veterinary surgery and a euchre club.***** Metal roof with ice stoppers is an obvious update. 

143 Water Street South.

Visiting My Family

In St. Marys Cemetery, that is. You see, my great-great-grandfather, John Moore (1817-95) settled in St. Marys in 1852. Here he operated an iron foundry and agricultural implement business with his sons, including my great-grandfather Robert. My grandmother, Helen, was born in St. Marys in 1886. 

John's obituary in the St. Marys Journal on May 16, 1895 states that he served as a town councilor when the stone bridges were built about 30 years earlier. He lived on James Street North. He's buried with his wife Jane, a daughter named Eliza, and other family members.

Visiting the Moore family.

You Don't Have To Drive

Unlike most small towns, you can still reach St. Marys by train. Not only does VIA Rail still stop here, but an early railroad station is still in use. This Grand Trunk Station, the third one built in St. Marys, was completed in 1907. Designated by Heritage St. Marys in 1987, the station also serves as a gallery

* Katherine Ashenburg, Going To Town. Toronto: Macfarlane, Walter and Ross, 1996, p. 185.

** According to the sign.

***https://stjamesinstmarys.org/about

**** 

Plaque dedicated to Meighen at hamlet of Anderson, spring 2024. 

*****https://images.ourontario.ca/stmarys/52537/data?n=12