Anne Lagacé Dowson and her family members got an unpleasant surprise during a journey to reconnect with their family roots in Newmarket.
The former CBC radio host and Montreal resident visited Newmarket several weeks ago alongside family members to find the history of their relatives here. The family line descends from John Bogart, a Quaker pioneer from Pennsylvania who operated a saw mill and grist mill in what is now Newmarket.
Bogart has a namesake house on Leslie Street, one of the oldest residential structures in Newmarket, built in 1811. Although the home has a historical designation, Dowson said they were shocked when they visited and discovered it had been boarded up and seemed in poor condition.
“Boggarttown was the anchor of what is now Newmarket,” Dowson said. “He built this very beautiful home, which is what stands now … It just seems really short-sighted and really unfortunate.
“Many other people … are connected distantly or directly to the Bogart legacy,” Dowson added. “This isn’t just us, this is the whole community speaking. I’m sure there's lots of other people that say, ‘What the heck is going on with that house? Why has it been allowed to deteriorate like that? What is the obstacle? What is the rock in the road?”
The family is questioning the municipality about the state of the Bogart House on Leslie Street, on property now owned by Forest Green Homes. Council approved a new 305-unit development on the property in 2022, which received servicing allocation in 2024. Part of the development approval required the developer to restore and incorporate the Bogart House in its plans after the municipality refused a request to demolish the house in 2018.
However, the family remains concerned about its condition and the accountability for starting restorative work.
Kitchener resident Katherine Bitzer is also distantly related to Bogart and a second cousin to Dowson. She said she expected something like a preserved historic teaching site or museum for a house this old and historic.
“I was very, very excited to see this house that had been built by the great-grandfather of my great-grandmother,” Blitzer said. “Can you imagine my disappointment and shock? It just looked like it was ready to be demolished, which I hope is not wilful neglect on the part of the developer.”
NewmarketToday did not receive a reply to a request for comment from Forest Green Homes before publication deadline.
Town of Newmarket director of planning and building services Jason Unger said the municipality is in regular contact with the developer regarding the home status “to ensure that regular inspections are made, debris is cleaned up, the fencing is secure, and that the windows and doors are covered with plywood to keep out any wildlife.”
“The house is intended to be part of the future residential community and will be restored when construction starts,” Unger said. “The house has always been intended to be restored and integrated into the development.”
When asked, Unger said the municipality has no record of the home ever being offered for sale to the town.
While the development is not going ahead yet on the developer's end, Unger said the developer still needs to keep the home in good condition.
“The developer is required to preserve the building until such time as it would be restored as part of the proposed development,” Unger said. “While the town has no authority around the timing of the developer’s requirement to restore the building for its ultimate use, the developer is responsible at all times to maintain, preserve and protect the structure and heritage attributes.”
But Blitzer said that based on what she sees from the property today, she is skeptical of this agreement to preserve the property for a future restoration.
“What I saw the other day is exactly the opposite of what I would expect to see as a result of that directive,” Blitzer said. “In six years, that is what they have done in working with the developer. It’s shocking.”
Newmarket Historical Society president Erin Cerenzia said preserving historical properties is important.
“We believe there is tremendous value in preserving designated historical homes in Newmarket, as they continue to provide a sense of how the community has evolved through its history,” Cerenzia said. “The society maintains a strong partnership with the Heritage Newmarket Advisory Committee and the Town of Newmarket, both of whom work to the best of their abilities to preserve historical buildings under the Ontario Heritage Act.”
Dowson said the hope is that the building will be restored and suggested it might make sense if the town takes that on, turning it into an educational site.
“This very valuable historic remnant of the past, to our shared past, is just falling into rack and ruin,” Dowson said.
Communities like Newmarket need to ensure they preserve these spaces that are part of their historic identity, Dowson added.
“The thing that I find so sad, I see in southern Ontario now is just becoming increasingly condo-ized and built up, and increasingly places like Newmarket are becoming bedroom communities to Toronto,” she said. “But they have their own existence, their own organized existence that is worthy of protection, and it would make Newmarket more attractive.”
