The Brown Homestead

Fun Facts

• The John Brown House is the oldest house in the City of St. Catharines.
• The original 1-and-a-half storey building was completed in 1796, while the grand, two-storey Georgian house, which incorporated the first structure, was constructed between 1802 – 1804.
• The John Brown House is architecturally significant for its early Loyalist Georgian style, including notable characteristics such as its symmetrical five bay facade and wide centre hall plan.
• The John Brown House is also the only existing example in Niagara of a house built entirely from Reynales Rockway Dolomite limestone.
• The Brown Homestead is also home to the John Norton (Teyoninhokarawen) Cabin (c. 1817).
• The Brown Homestead was used as a headquarters for a military field exercise facilitated by Camp Niagara around the Short Hills. The exercise took place in June 1914, a few short months before the outbreak of the First World War.  Lafontaine Powers and his family (who purchased the Homestead in 1902) were proud to host officers and militiamen on their farm during the training. It is said that officers would gather in the upstairs master bedroom of the John Brown House to observe and direct the exercises, sometimes joined by Canada’s Minister of Militia and Defense, Sir Sam Hughes.