The Grange: A National Historic Site
The Grange is proud to belong to the family of national historic sites. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated The Grange in 1970 for its national historic and architectural significance. The Grange's plaque, received at a ceremony in 1984, reads as follows:
The Grange was built in about 1817 for D’Arcy Boulton Jr. At one time, the town of York (now Toronto) was surrounded by residential estates belonging to prominent citizens, and The Grange is one of the few to survive. Its symmetrical five-bay facade and central pediment reflect the conservative influence of the British classical tradition of the 18th century. The west wing represents two later additions. Given to the Art Museum of Toronto in 1911, The Grange is now owned by the AGO and is restored to the 1835-40 period.
Harriet Boulton Smith, the last owner of The Grange, married prominent historian and liberal thinker Goldwin Smith in 1875. In 1975,the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated him a person of national historic significance. The plaque to Goldwin Smith, also received in 1984, reads as follows:
Born and educated in England, Goldwin Smith taught history at Oxford and Cornell before moving to Toronto in 1871. He married Harriet Boulton in 1875, widow of William Henry Boulton of The Grange. From The Grange, Smith wrote in controversial and compelling style for periodicals such as Canadian Monthly, the Week and his own Bystander. Initially a proponent of Canadian nationalism, he later became, contrary to growing imperial sentiment, a strong advocate of commercial union with the U.S. This view in 1891 inspired his best-known book, Canada and the Canadian Question.
The Grange is a member of the National Historic Sites Alliance for Ontario (NHSAO)
The NHSAO is an unincorporated body that links the 240 national historic sites that are currently recognized in Ontario. The alliance promotes the commemorative integrity and value of national historic sites through cooperative action by site owners, managers and stakeholders. To learn more about the NHSAO, contact nhsao@ontario.ca.