Fred Carver, a REALTOR® in Victoria, British Columbia, is a photographer extraordinnaire and posts many of the photographs he takes of antique cars and heritage homes here on his ActiveRain blog. I really enjoy Fred's blogs so much and relish gazing on the lovely photos he takes; especially since I am an avid history and antiques buff.
Awhile back Fred asked Active Rainers to take pictures of some of the more interesting architecture or heritage homes in their areas and I said I would be posting some soon. Then one day led to another and so on....
Finally today, a gorgeous, breezy and sunny day here in Belleville, Ontario, I was able to take a drive around the Old East Hill area of Belleville and take some photos of a small sampling of the types of heritage homes to be found here. I can't express enough how much I enjoy living in this community.
Most of the homes in the Old East Hill are of brick construction and each is uniquely beautiful in their own right. They stand as a testament to the fine craftsmen who once called this area home.
The trees and the gardens of the Old East Hill are absolutely awe inspiring and taking a drive or a walk around some of the wide, tree-lined streets in the Old East Hill will leave you with a peaceful and happy old-tyme feeling.
The pace of life is relaxed here as evidenced by residents out walking their dogs, pushing strollers, children on roller blades, newspaper boys delivering papers on their bicycles, neighbours visiting eachother on wide front verandahs, squirrels and crows gracing the emerald lawns as they forage for dinner and converse with one-another. 
Glanmore House, now a Canadian Historic Site situated in Belleville's Old East Hill.
Here are a few pictures I took today.....I'll take more in the days to come. It truly is a beautiful and wonderful place to call home.
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Jo-Anne Smith, the author of this article, is a REALTOR® with Your Choice Realty , Mississauga, Ontario and welcomes your real estate inquiries. To contact her, visit www.oakville-burlingtonhomes.com |
Now that picture story I loved!!! (went through twice)
Thank you Jo!
WOW....Jo,
Those are beautiful homes, I love old homes, the features are so unique all the beautiful woodwork you find inside and the lead glass windows you just don't find that in the homes built today. I can certainly see why you love Belleville from the stories you tell and the pictures it is one beautiful place. The further west you go you just don't get the old homes like that which is kind of sad. You did a nice job on the pictures!
thanks Laurie,
It's such a gorgeous area. I'll have to take more pictures....all of the streets in the Old East Hill are like this. There are hundreds of these homes and each is totally unique and beautiful. The trees are all very old and tower above the shaded streets ....
Jo
Sally, I'm glad you enjoyed seeing them.
It's amazing how each of our areas offers it's own unique beauty and we are learning so much by reading the localism posts. I've never learned so much history and geography in my entire life as I am learning here on Active Rain.
I also see how we often take for granted our own area's beauty until we begin to see it through the eyes of others.
Jo
Jennifer, thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed them.
They are very beautiful, even moreso in real life with the tree leaves rustling in the breezes and the flower scents everywhere.
Jo
Thanks Trace ! It really is beautiful here. I'm going to do more localism posts in the coming weeks as I want people who are considering retiring here to be able to see just how much this area has to offer. There are wonderful wineries, pick your own farms, historic tour routes, white sand beaches, cultural events weekly, VERY friendly people, and so on.....
I don't mind visiting the west, however I could never live there due to the newness of it all. Ontario has been settled for hundreds of years and with it comes so much culture and beauty.
I would also miss all of the stone and brick architecture.....I think I was born in the wrong century.
Jo
Hi Dianne,
Thanks for stopping by ! It is a very historic and beautiful community. Each season holds it's own special treasures...soon the leaves of all the giant old trees will be changing and then falling the streets and sidewalks...it's really magical that time of year. I'll take more pictures then. Also, pumpkins and Indian corn and chrysanthemums begin to appear on all of the door steps and porches....
Then comes Thanksgiving, then Halloween, and then the Christmas decorations start to appear.... ((-:
Jo
Hi Jo,
We bought in Kelowna because that is where we want to retire. Mostly because of the climate(I dislike the cold winters) and I love the mountains I don't think I could ever even explain to someone how I feel when I am in them....my heart soars! My husband is from London Ont. my maternal grandfather is from Quebec and grandmother is from Man. I know the history is so rich out there and as soon as you hit Sask well it drops off rapidly!! The West....damn us Redneck....haha! I will be looking forward to your localism posts. Have a great weekend!
Jason, thank for stopping by! It really is a nice area...with a lot to offer.
Jo
Missy, They generally range between $170,000 upwards to $400,000 or so. The average price for a brick century home in the Old East Hill would be in the $275,000 range; with the majority of the larger ones in good condition (like the ones in the photos) going for well over $350,00 and some up to $450,000 or more.
Jo
Hi Kris, thanks for dropping by!
We have those tours at Christmas with the Festival of Trees...some of the more beautiful historic homes of the Old East Hill are decorated in gracious Victorian style and opened to the public. Of course, being in the business I'm in, I get to see many of these homes every Tuesday morning on office tour. They're decorated very beautifully inside with fine antiques and period style woodwork and colours...
Jo
Trace, my two oldest sons live in Kelowna (21 and 23 ) and they love it there.
I'm not a mountain person myself.....they're beautiful, however I feel claustrophobic when I'm surrounded by them. I prefer rolling hills and valleys and freshwater lakes and mixed forests.
The climate here in my area is actually pretty mild. Some years we don't even have snow. Last year in Kelowna they were getting colder weather than we were getting here. It stays sunny here most of the winter too....we only have the odd gray day. I've heard that the west coast (although not Kelowna since it is inland) is very gray and dreary all winter....I couldn't handle that as I need sunshine.
Gosh, you've got family stretching right across the country....I've heard Saskatchewan is booming.
I hope you have a nice weekend too and thanks for stopping by,
Jo
Hi Carole,
The colours of the bricks are all so unique. Most of them are variations of the red brick, however some are a sandstone colour brick and some are shades inbetween. It all depended where the clay came from back then...
thanks and I hope you are too.
Jo
Hello Dawn,
thanks for visiting this post ! No, I'm too chicken to live in one of those big old houses by myself....I lived in Emmeline's house by myself for one week out of every three for two years and then in another even bigger old century house by myself whenever my sons were with their Dad, and the upkeep is a bit much for one person when all that space isn't needed. I live in the Old East Hill , however I live in a security building on the second floor and I have roughly 890 sqft of living space....more than enough for me by myself. The view from my windows is a myriad of trees and the bay beyond. It's like living in a treehouse. I really love it.
I do love those century homes though and I may end up living in one again some day...in fact, I think I likely will and it will likely be right here in the Old East Hill.
Jo
Dawn, The average family income in Hastings-Prince Edward region (my area) for 2007 is $60,000.
We also have a health insurance plan here that is provided to every citizen by our provincial government at no or minimal cost, so we have no health care expenses. Doctor visits and hospital stays, operations, etc are provided by this insurance plan. This factor alone , provides people with a much larger disposable income.
Now that the Canadian dollar is almost at par with the USD, I think that it is likely more comfortable economically speaking here in Canada. Our economy is strong and things seem to be staying pretty steady. We are being affected somewhat by the subprime mortgate fallout in the USA, however that is more in the manufacturing industy since the USA is our biggest trade partner and if your economy is suffering, there is less disposable income for the average citizen to spend on products coming from Canada.
House prices in my area are still reasonable however we have seen drastic increases in recent years and they appear to be steadily rising.
I think property prices in the USA went out of control and now are settling down more to where they should have been.....more in keeping with the average incomes.
thanks for your insight !
Jo
Jo-Anne,
My goodness, one spectacular home after another. What a lovely post, I just love seeing homes like this. Thank you so much for sharing these. I'd love to see that area someday.
Good morning, Lynda
Thank you for stopping by!
The homes here are very beautiful and people take great pride in preserving their heritage, integrity and grounds. Belleville is known as the 'friendly city' and it really lives up to it's name...I've heard many visitors to this area comment on how they can't get over how friendly and helpful people are here.
If you ever decide to visit make sure you give me a call....you're welcome here anytime.
Jo
Hi Joanne,
Yes, sadly you're completely right. Many of the most beautiful old homes in many areas of the USA and Canada have been neglected over the years or chopped up into multi family dwellings and have lost all of their integrity and original grandeur. The average person/family just can't afford to maintain these homes anymore and the taxes and heating costs, etc are exorbitant .
thanks for dropping in !
Jo
Hi Barbara-Jo and Bill,
Thank you for your nice comment....greatly appreciated . I hope you both have a wonderful weekend,
Jo
Good morning Joan!
Yes, that one just looks like something out of a fairy tale or old time story. Picture-perfect....some of them look they are frozen in time. Lovely....
thanks for stopping in and letting me know that you are an old house officianado too....knowing you and your love of history and culture , I'm not surprised !
Jo
Good morning Diane,
Thank you for visiting this post. It's nice to meet so many AR members who are also appreciators of heritage homes...kindred spirits.
I would love to see some pictures of a sampling of the historic homes in your area, if you ever feel so inclined to share some....
Jo
Hi Lysa ,
I wonder why there are no brick homes in Florida...you'd think they would be a good thing to build to withstand the hurricanes and such. Perhaps there is no suitable clay for making bricks in Florida and they are too expensive to import....
Do you have heritage homes there? I would love to see some pictures...
thanks for stopping in,
Jo
Jo,
These homes are really beautiful. My Dad would be in heaven visiting that area, he appreciates the beauty and architecture of heritage homes. Whenever he and my Mom travel, she gets a little weary of "home touring". Oh yes, he also reads every word on every plaque. :o)
Thank you for sharing this beautiful area with us.
Good morning Cynthia ,
It sounds like your Dad and I would get along great. Some people may find history and 'plaque reading' boring, however I am fascinated with it. So many amazing stories lay hidden in the history of our continent and are yet to be told...
Thanks so much for your lovely comment....do you have heritage homes in your area ? I'd love to see some pics..
Jo
Hi Tom,
thanks for stopping by !
It is a very beautiful area....all of southern Ontario is like this. Some cities have a preponderance of limestone homes and buildings...for instance Kingston, which is about 40 minutes away from me. I will visit there some day soon and take a bunch of photos to share.
Jo
Hi Pamela,
Thanks for stopping by and for your appreciative comment ! They are very stately homes with abundant character...indeed.
Jo
Thanks Pat !
It is a beautiful area with lots and lots of history to see and explore. If you ever come to Canada, I hope you will make a point of coming to this area of Ontario...there's so much to see and the properties are really breathtaking. The historical homes are mostly all well kept and their original charm is maintained while undergoing updating , etc.
I think that house prices in the USA rose exhorbitantly high and now they are coming back down to prices more in keeping with the wages and the economy. It is unfortunate that so many people there lost their homes, however it should all balance out again in the coming few years.
I do love it here. I would never want to live anywhere else in the world other than Ontario, when it comes right down to it. Although I love to visit Pennsylvania and Peoria, Illinois. I've never been to Annapolis , however I can see from your posts that it is quite a beautiful area too.
Jo
That's wonderful Donna !
I'm sure you'll love it here in Belleville and you did the right thing to buy now as Belleville is rapidly growing and I anticipate house prices will continue to rise.
Say hello when you eventually move here....I'd love to see your Old East Hill house . ((-:
Jo