The John Henderson House

Nominated for the Paul Oberman Award for Adaptive Reuse: Small-Scale/Individual/Small Business

The John Henderson House in Cobourg was purposefully built for John Henderson and his family in order to showcase the woodworking abilities of Henderson Brothers, his millwork and contracting company, which specialized in providing intricate architectural details for both interior and exterior work. Mr. Henderson deliberately chose the site of his home on the north-east corner of two of the most prominent streets in Cobourg and to have his home built in the Queen Anne Revival style. In south western Ontario, the Township of Wilmot’s Architectural Style Guide refers to the Queen Anne Revival style as “a style that met the desire to return to a cozy English domesticity but in a romantic way.“ This vivid description underscores Mr. Henderson’s intent of having his much-lauded company help build his family’s home to showcase the wide range of wooden design elements it manufactured as well as to build his fashionable house with much playful curb appeal for all of Cobourg to admire.

In 2022, Cobourg lawyer Ms. Carrie Low recognized the house at 410 Division Street as the perfect location for her law office. However, her goal was to bring the 1903 house back to its original state. During the renovation, the practice remained open. When all was said and done, Ms. Low quipped, “It’s been a challenging journey for sure, lots of unexpected twists and turns. We just hope the finished product makes people proud of our town’s gorgeous heritage buildings and leaves a positive mark on our community for years to come.”

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