Thursday, August 20, 2015

The history of the Hampton Park neighbourhood!

My August column in the Kitchissippi Times focused on the history of Hampton Park, and included some great old photographs. Please check out the article at the KT website at: https://kitchissippitimes.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/hampton-park-a-great-example-of-real-estate-success-and-a-nice-place-to-boot/

3 comments:

  1. Hi Dave,

    Love the story and information. As the owner of the house you mention as the first one built on Island Park – 605 – I am wondering if 1928 is really the correct year. I have been trying to definitively figure it out without luck so far. MPAC shows 1920, info we had at purchase time shows 1921. Meanwhile, next door at 593, MPAC shows 1923 as the year. So what I am wondering, is how reliable usually is the MPAC data vs. the info you found on 605 Island Park? Do you know, and do you know anything else about 605 from your research for this story?

    Cheers,
    David

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    1. Hi David. Just reposting my response to this question from the Kitchissippi Times page:

      "hi David. Thanks for the comments. Sorry for the delay in replying to you, I’d had to dig into some old notes. So MPAC data, as far as year of construction goes, is very inaccurate. I honestly don’t know how the dates were originally come up with, but somewhere along the way, an estimate was made on its year. There is no register anywhere that tracks construction date on houses. Realtors in their listings take a guess. Surveys and plans typically have estimates. So for my research, I take a combination of city directory books of the era, the Nepean Township assessment roll books, and aerial photographs of the neighbourhood to confirm dates. Your house is indeed the oldest on IPD; a better word I should have used is “by 1928” rather than “in 1928” it was built, as the records I had showed it existing in 1928, but not in my 1927 sources. However the best way to definitively come up with a date of construction is at the land registry office, and to delve into the history of your property. I was there yesterday, so I took a quick look at your property’s parcel register. The lot was purchased from Hampton Park Ltd on May 8th, 1925 for $900 by Catherine A. Hoare. It was then on August 12th, 1925 that a mortgage was acquired for $4,000 to construct the house. So there you have a date of when funds were secured to begin construction. It is likely that construction would have occurred between late 1925-early 1926, but 100% it did not happen before that. It is odd that the house did not appear in the 1927 listings I have, but that happens sometimes. The house next door at 593 was built between 1929-30, fyi. Hope this helps clear up your house age! MPAC wasn’t too far off! Cheers."

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  2. Thanks for the answers, they certainly help me to understand! Cheers!

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