Description of Historic Place

The Wiggins-Armstrong House is located at 15078 Kennedy Road on the west side of Kennedy Road, south of Olde Base Line Road, in the Town of Caledon. The plank-on-plank house was constructed circa 1850.

The property was designated by the Town of Caledon in 1985 for its heritage value under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 85-163).

Heritage Value

The Wiggins-Armstrong House is associated with John Wiggins Esquire, who purchased the property in 1846. The house is one of three residences illustrated on the 1859 George Tremaine Map of Peel County that are located within the present day Town of Caledon.

The Wiggins-Armstrong House is a good example of the Georgian style, and is a rare example in Caledon of plank-on-plank construction. Georgian architecture, which peaked in popularity in the late 1840s and early 1850s, is characterized by flat, symmetrical facades, gently sloping roofs, central entrances and lack of ornamentation. The Wiggins-Armstrong House deviates only slightly from these traits in that its three bay front facade is not perfectly symmetrical, with the centre entrance and middle upper storey window set slightly off centre. Of note, the upper storey windows are smaller than those on the main floor, being 3-pane over 6-pane sash compared to six-over-six pane sash. The main two storey house is rectangular in plan, with a one and half storey salt box rear addition. Both the main house and rear addition are of plank on plank construction, a material and labour intensive method that was popular for only a short period in the 1840s-1850s.

Source: Town of Caledon, By-law 85-163

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Wiggins-Armstrong House include its:
- plank-on-plank construction with a stucco covering
- medium gable roof on main house
- salt box roof on rear addition
- porch with a slightly bell cast roof
- central doorway with flat, multi-pane transom and sidelights
- double panel wood front door
- molded door surround of classical design
- sash windows in six-over-six and three-over-six pane configurations
- cornice boxed plain return eaves
- two end brick chimneys