Notice of Intention to Designate a Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest Under the Provisions of Section 29, Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990 as Amended
Take Notice that the Council of the Corporation of the Township of King intends to designate lands and premises described as Part Lot 31, Concession 12, and municipally known as 8580 19th Sideroad, in the Township of King, in the Regional Municipality of York, Province of Ontario, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest under Part IV, S. 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990.
Description of Property
Located on the north side of 19th Sideroad, east of Caledon King Townline North, south of Highway 9, the property is known municipally as 8580 19th Sideroad, Township of King, and is approximately 14.29 hectares in area.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest
8580 19th Sideroad is worthy of designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value as described in the following Statement of Significance. It meets the necessary criteria prescribed by the Province of Ontario under the three categories of historical value, design or physical value, and contextual value.
Historical/Associative Value
The subject property originated as 200-acre Lot 31, Concession 12, which was first patented from the Crown in September 1803, by Anna Boughner. The property was subsequently sold and subdivided several times. In 1847, Archibald Lamont purchased 100 acres of the west half of Lot 31, Concession 12, for £250. Lamont owned the property until 1855, when it was sold to William Dobson for £1,350. This substantial increase in value is believed to reflect improvement of the property, likely including the construction of the barn that is the subject of this statement. The west portion of the barn is believed to have been constructed circa 1849, during Lamont’s ownership.
Following Lamont, the property passed briefly to William Dobson before being purchased in 1861 by Alexander Hall, an early English settler and farmer in King. Assessment records, census records, and physical evidence within the barn indicate evolving agricultural practices over time, including the transition from oxen to draft horses and later to dairy farming. Posters advertising Clydesdale and Percheron stud services, dating from the late 19th century, remain affixed to interior walls and provide rare, site specific evidence of local horse breeding and farm economies. The 1871 Census of Canada further confirms the presence of a barn associated with Alexander Hall.
Assessment records further suggest that the barn was jacked up onto a stone foundation circa 1875, creating a stable level below to accommodate livestock, reflecting the property’s adaptation to changing agricultural needs. Together, these elements illustrate the evolution of farming practices in King Township and contribute to an understanding of rural life, land use, and agricultural development in the region.
Design/Physical Value
The Lamont-Hall Swing Beam Barn at 8580 19th Sideroad is a rare, representative, and early example of a mid-19th-century swing-beam barn. Composed of two separate structures, it is believed that earlier portions of the barn were constructed in 1849.
Swing beam barns were a specialized barn type developed to support the wheat‑based agricultural economy that dominated Upper Canada in the first half of the 19th century. Their defining feature - the swing beam - spans the full width of the barn and is supported only at its ends, creating a wide, unobstructed threshing floor. This configuration allowed for efficient hand‑threshing of grain using flails and the controlled movement of horses during harvest operations. By the mid‑1800s, as agricultural practices shifted and dairy farming became more prominent, this barn type rapidly declined and was largely replaced by more compartmentalized barn forms.
The subject barn is particularly rare within both King Township and the Greater Toronto Area, where the majority of swing beam barns were lost to replacement farming practices and later urban development. The barn exhibits a number of uncommon and distinctive features, including brush‑cut swing beams, hanging braces beneath the swing beams, a 34‑foot‑wide frame, and an unusually high sidewall height of approximately 16.5 feet. The structure consists of two timber‑framed swing beam barns attached end‑to‑end, a configuration found in only a small portion of documented examples.
The barn demonstrates a high degree of craftsmanship typical of early timber framing traditions, relying on mortise‑and‑tenon joinery with wooden pins, precision‑cut timbers, and carefully balanced structural systems. The survival of these features after nearly two centuries further underscores the exceptional quality of its construction and design.
Contextual Value
The subject property has contextual value as it is physically, functionally, visually, and historically linked to its surroundings.
Physically, the barn at 8580 19th Sideroad was constructed using timber harvested and hewn directly from the property and remains embedded within the rural landscape it once served. Functionally, it was purpose-built for the processing and storage of wheat, the dominant cash crop of mid-19th century Ontario, and later adapted to support livestock and dairy operations.
Historically, the barn at 8580 19th Sideroad occupies land first granted by the Crown in 1803, and remains a tangible remnant of early settlement patterns in King Township. While the surrounding area has undergone significant change, the barn stands as a rare surviving example of a once common agricultural structure, maintaining a strong historical link to the Township’s rural past.
Notice of Objection
Any person wishing to file a notice of objection to the designation must file such notice of objection together with a statement of reasons, with the Township Clerk of the municipality within 30 days (Monday, July 13, 2026 by 4:30 p.m.), after the date of publication of this notice on the Township of King website (www.king.ca). Further information respecting the proposed designation is available by contacting Michael Maugeri, Planner - Heritage & Development at 289-800-2574 or email at mmaugeri@king.ca.
Publication Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
Deadline for Objections: Monday, July 13, 2026 by 4:30 p.m.
Objections should be directed to:
Adam Foran
Deputy Clerk, Township of King
2585 King Road
King City, ON L7B 1A1
clerks@king.ca
Dated on this 11th day of June, 2026.