History
Brown built the Second Empire-style home, which he named Lambton Lodge, between 1874 and 1876. In 1880, he died in the house after having been shot in the leg by a disgruntled employee at The Globe newspaper which he founded.
Between 1889 to 1916, Duncan Coulson, president of the Bank of Toronto, lived in the house with his wife Eliza and three children. Following Coulson's death, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind obtained the house in 1920 and used it for office space until 1956. A school for the blind was attached in 1920, which was later replaced by a school for developmentally-challenged children, and demolished in 1984.
George Brown House was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1976, but was then in a bad state of disrepair. Threatened by demolition, the Ontario Heritage Trust intervened. The agency restored the house and re-opened it in 1989 as a conference centre with tenant offices on the upper floors. Archaeological excavations conducted in 1987 and 1988 revealed over 5,000 artifacts. These artifacts have provided insights into the construction of the house as well as the landscape surrounding it and include a collectible pint corker containing the letters “William Robertson”, a silver ring and amber bead attributed to the Coulson period, and a St. George penny token from the 1850s. The house has also been featured on the HBO series Ghost Trackers.
Read more about this topic: George Brown House (Toronto)
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