A GLANCE AT THE PHOTOGRAPH

CREDITS:
Oakville Historical Society Collection, No. 1048A. “29 Thomas St. c[irca] 1925. Courtesy Bill Macrae.”

QUICK COMMENTS:
This is one of five photographs in the Oakville Historical Collection taken at 29 Thomas Street about 1925. Numbers 1048B and 1048D show the house from the street; 1048C shows the south side of the house from the lawn and 1047 aims south towards children “skating on 29 Thomas St. lawn.” Because the leaves are gone, each of these photos reveals details that might otherwise go unnoticed .*click for more details.

This house is still standing at the southeast corner of Thomas and King streets. According to the historical plaque it was built in 1839, named “Glenorchy,” and owned by P.A. McDougald, a grain merchant. The front yard still has a fence similar to that circa 1925; the young maple in that photo has become a very large tree. The house’s main entrance has been shifted to the south side and the wraparound verandah has been reduced to an entrance porch. A round window (bearing the dates 1839-1927) has been inserted under the front gable and an exterior chimney has been added to the north side of the house. * click for more details


A SERIES OF QUESTIONS:
What happened to the fence?

Have any of Oakville’s white elms survived Dutch elm disease?

What else do you notice in these photos?