Guy House

Guy House. . "A very busy and thriving neighbourhood the harbour must have been in the middle decades of the last century when the Lake was the principal highway, when a great part of what was brought in came to the wharf, as well as most of what was sent out, when the Guys and the Conants, Mothersills and the Henrys made their homes there, as well as many others. There was a large across the lake trade bringing in Oswego and Rochester and Buffalo to our gate with their merchandise and generally taking back a load of ours, and a relatively large coastwise trade as far as Kingston." - Dr. Hoig, Reminiscences and Recollections, With its vibrant yellow walls, Guy House stands proudly overlooking Oshawa's lakefront. It is an example of an early rural home, vernacular in style, meaning the type was common because of materials found locally. In the 1870s, the extension on the back of the house was added., Guy House was built sometime between 1846 and 1851. Samuel Phillips acquired the lot in 1848; he lived in the home until 1861, when he sold it to James Odgers Guy for £250. James would have benefitted from living close to the harbour facilities as harbourmaster. In addition to being harbourmaster, James Guy served as East Whitby's Reeve and even briefly occupied the post of Ontario County Warden. The Guy family remained in the house until 1884, at which point it was purchased by William Northcott. In the 1920s, William Barnhart owned the home and subdivided it into three different apartments. The Barnharts owned and operated the locally-famous Barnhart Pavilion, which included several boathouses and was known for its square dances and ice cream. The family also rented out cottages and helped establish the park as the place to be during the summer., In the early 1980s, the Oshawa Historical Society was granted the use of the house as part of the Museum, and after extensive renovation, it officially opened on July 1, 1985. Today it serves as the Museum's administrative centre, to the right of the front entrance is the Verna Conant Gallery, which features temporary exhibits and the Oshawa Archives are in the back extension of the home.