Description of Historic Place

The Arthur and Marie Langlois House is a Queen Anne style cottage built circa 1888. A one-and-a-half-storey clapboard house with wood fish-scale shingles on the gable ends, it is located on Mill Street in the historic Sandwich area of west Windsor.

The City of Windsor By-law 154, 1998, recognizes the property for its heritage value.

Heritage Value

Situated on Mill Street near Sandwich Street, the Arthur and Marie Langlois House contributes to an historic streetscape that includes the Sandwich Fire Hall (1921) next door and many other nearby designated heritage properties.

The building is named for long-time residents Arthur and Marie Langlois, whose family lived in the house for over 70 years (1904-1978). The local fire chief, Arthur rang the bell in the tower of the Sandwich Fire Hall next door to alert the volunteer fire brigade. Their daughter Catherine had a dressmaking shop on the premises for 20 years and, in the 1990s, the house served as a police station for the Sandwich Town Community Patrol Unit.

This one-and-a-half-storey clapboard house is a good example of a Queen Anne style cottage. Characteristic features include the asymmetrical massing, gabled ends with decorative fish-scale shingles, ornamental front bay window with a shallow, shingled roof, and the off-centre recessed front porch entrance.

Sources: Building Analysis Form, October 1997; City of Windsor By-law 154, 1998; and City of Windsor Heritage Planner's files.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that express the heritage value of the Arthur and Marie Langlois House include its:
- asymmetrical massing and prominent gabled ends
- one-and-a-half-storey frame construction with clapboard siding
- formed concrete block foundation
- front and side gables decorated with wood fish-scale shingles
- ornamental front bay window (three over three) with an arched top window and shallow roof, also covered in fish-scale shingles
- side porch entrance with a flat roof supported by a square column
- steep gable roof
- tall paired windows (one over one) on the front gable
- complementary rear ell with a separate porch entrance.
- location on Mill Street, one of the most important streets in the historic former Town of Sandwich, the oldest continuous European settlement west of Montreal
- close proximity to other significant heritage properties along Mill Street, including the Sandwich Fire Hall (1921) next door, Mason-Girardot House (circa 1879), Sandwich Post Office (1905), Robinet Winery Building (circa 1895), Perry-Breault House (1895) and Duff-Baby House (1798).