Residence, later used commercially.
Details of Site Location: At 204 King Street East at the northeast corner of Frederick Street.
Boundary History: Within the original Town of York, the house stood on a Town Lot at the corner.
Current Use of Property: An older commercial building of moderate size is on the site at present.
Historical Description: Laurent Quetton was a French Royalist who was grateful for the sanctuary given him by the British and added “St. George” to his name in recognition of his gratitude. He came as a settler with the Comte de la Puisaye to properties well north on Yonge Street but, unlike the others who could not survive Canadian winters and returned to the old world, Laurent Quetton St George stayed in this area. He built a dry goods business and by 1802 was located in the Town of York, from which his business interests spread. He became lifelong friends with the Baldwin family and formed a business partnership with John Spread Baldwin. When he decided to build a permanent home in town, it was Dr. William Warren Baldwin who designed it for him. It was also to serve as a display for his goods and for storage. Of two storeys in the Georgian style, the house was the first residence and second building in the region to be built of brick, and it was much admired in its time. There is a debate among researchers about the source of his bricks, which could have been made locally, for there were brick-makers in York at the time. The front door faced King Street, the most important street at the time. On either side of the door were two pairs of shuttered windows, and five windows were ranged across the second storey. There, the central window had a fan light above it and side lights. A central plan governed the interior, about which little else is known. When St George returned to France after the restoration of the Bourbons, the house came to the Baldwins. As this family were overwhelmed with land and owned several houses, they rented St. George’s house to the Canada Company, which used it as a headquarters until 1895. After the break-up of the Baldwin estates, the house began to suffer and had a sorry succession of uses. In 1904 it was demolished and replaced by a commercial building.
Relative Importance: The house was most important as one of the first fine residences on King Street, because of its famous design and designer, its construction of brick, and its use as headquarters of the Canada Company. The site deserves full recognition.
Planning Implications: It is recommended that redevelopment on this site be closely monitored, and that in either the near or distant future a plaque be mounted on the existing building. The plaque should contain information about the house, about St. George and his business interests, which went as far as Niagara on the Lake, and about the Canada Company.
Reference Sources: Toronto Reference Library; Community History Project collection.
Acknowledgements: Community History Project.