Description of Historic Place

The Wood-Graham-Bacher House is a mid-19th century two-storey dwelling executed in red brick. Disguised and decorated with ivy, this house features a medium gable roof trimmed with a decorative frieze. It has three bays and an off-centre door with an entablature and pilasters. The house is located in downtown St. Catharines on Church Street.

It was designated under By-law 90-378 by the City of St. Catharines.

Heritage Value

The Wood-Graham-Bacher House is one of a few of the surviving 19th century homes on Church Street. The house is one of three buildings shown on the Marcus Smith Map of 1852 on a lot owned by Stephen Parnell. Parnell's daughter Almeda later resided in the house with her husband James Wood, a businessman, who owned several businesses including G. and J. Wood at 30 St. Paul Street and the Dominion Tannery on Thorold Road. This business was later taken over by James' sons and became known as Wood Bros. Leather on St. Paul Street. James Wood's daughter, Isabella Jane Graham, wife of illustrious Great Lakes master mariner Captain W.D. Graham, inherited the house; Isabella was born, lived, and died in the home. The house remains in the ownership of the family's descendents.

The stunning architecture of this 19th century home features distinctive elements including its red brick exterior laid in a garden wall pattern, its medium gable roof on the original front part of the building and its roof trim of a decorative frieze in a contrasting brick. The main windows have decorated lugsills made of concrete and a flat structural opening with wood lintels. The door is flat and off-centred with an attractive entablature and pilasters, with a recessed side panel and a flush transom light.

The house's location in downtown St. Catharines sets it among a collection of houses and buildings designated for their heritage value in the area. The house stands as a representation of dwellings that once graced Church Street in the mid 1800s and is one of a few that remain.

Sources: By-law 90-378 Schedule “B”, City of St. Catharines, 1989; Wood-Graham-Bacher House, St. Catharines Heritage Committee, 2004.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that reflect the heritage value of the Wood-Graham-Bacher House include its:
- red brick exterior in a garden wall pattern
- medium gable roof on original front part of the house and trim of a decorative frieze in contrasting brick
- main windows with a flat structural opening and decorative lintels and lugsills
- off-centre door with an entablature and pilasters, set back with five panels and a glazed transom