16 Park Street East

This home was constructed in 1856 by Robert Swindle, and the style is sometimes referred to as the “Ontario Cottage”. Swindle died in 1875 but his widow Sarah continued living there until 1877 when she rented it to Peter and Robert Laing. The Laings did not stay long and in 1879 Mrs. Swindle was looking to rent it out again. William Mason, a tanner with a family of nine, responded to the ad. The family stayed barely a year.

Sarah Swindle continued to rent the home out over the next decade, but turnover was high. She married Francis P. Hanes in 1889 and they decided to live at 16 Park Street East. Sarah died in 1893 and Francis in 1905, after which the property was sold to Elizabeth Bradley, a widow. In 1918, the cottage was bought by George Arthurs, already the owner of 12 Park Street East next door. His daughter, Ella, continued to live in the home until the 1980s.

From “Picturesque Dundas Update 1981” by Olive Newcombe