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The History

Robert West House

About The Robert West Heritage House

The Robert West Heritage House, at 7780 Yonge Street, is known as the only house in Thornhill to be continuously inhabited by the same family since it was built. Robert Arthur West (1816 - 1884), an English immigrant, came to Upper Canada in the 1830s. During the summer of 1843 he began to build a storey and a half frame house which has subsequently become a valuable asset to Thornhill's architectural heritage.

Mary Emma West, Katherine Louisa West and Mary Ambler
Standing in front of the Robert West House In this Undated Photo

Robert West

Robert West (1816-1884) arrived in the young village of Thornhill in 1833, having emigrated from England the same year. Some years later, he purchased a property on the east side of Yonge Street and opened a general merchandise store. (Robert West Lane now runs besides that very building on the Markham side of Yonge Street.)In the summer of 1843, Robert West started to build a one and a half storey frame house almost directly across the street from his store. After the house was built, he actually purchased the property in 1849 for 50 pounds and twenty years later the lot to the south for $100. While the house has undergone some changes over the years, the additions have remained faithful to its rural Neoclassic style.Mrs. Keith's great-grandmother first inherited the property; then it passed to her daughter Mary Emma West, then to Albert Charles Fawcett West and then in 1955 to his daughter, now Mrs. Keith. The house bears the distinction of being the only 19th century home in this area to have been occupied by the same family since the time of its construction.Over 160 years later, both the house and the building of the original store still stand where constructed, seemingly in defiance of the drastic change that has happened around them.The remarkable preservation of the West house, and the many records from the family, the store and other historical pieces that have been retained to this day, are indicative of the value that the family placed on their own history and that of Thornhill. This reverence for history has been continued by Katherine Louisa Keith since she moved into the home of her great grandfather in 1949, and has lovingly preserved it ever since.The Robert West House was designated significant for heritage under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1982 based on its architectural value. The house is listed on both the Canadian and Ontario Inventory of Historic Buildings.

Historic Homestead Donated

Vaughan Today In print: August 21, 2009, page 3

160-year-old Robert West House and property Deeded to Thornhill Heritage Foundation.

It’s an unassuming house on what feels like a sleepy street in old Thornhill.“Standing here, looking around you, it’s very difficult to believe that Yonge St. is less than 150 feet away,” said Nigel Connell under a grey sky. “The gardens and the atmosphere, it’s absolutely fantastic.”Connell, chair of the Thornhill Heritage Foundation, stood on Old Yonge St. across from the Robert West House, which has witnessed Thornhill’s history unfold since its namesake began construction in 1843.This time, it was the house itself that was making history.Louisa Keith, the home’s current occupant and a descendant of Robert West, donated the property to the foundation, a new organization formed in 2008 to preserve a piece of her family’s — and Thornhill’s — history.“For 160 years, the descendants of Robert West have lived there,” Connell said Tuesday. “A part of Mrs. Keith’s vision is she wanted to maintain this house and keep it as a living entity, as it has been for the past 160 years.”According to the foundation, the house is the only 19th century home in the area to have been occupied by the same family since construction.“This is going to be named the Robert West Heritage Centre and it is going to be here in perpetuity,” Connell said. “I’m 15 months down the path with this project and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the significance of what is happening in Thornhill now.”West, who owned a general store on the Markham side of Yonge St., bought the property the house sits on for 50 pounds in 1849, six years after he began construction on a one-and-a-half-storey frame house. Twenty years later, he bought the lot to the south for $100.Today nearing 100, Keith inherited the house from her father Albert Charles Fawcett West in 1955.“This house is really an artifact of what has happened in this area since 1849,” Connell said.In 1982, the architectural value of the home was recognized with a designation under the Ontario Heritage Act.“It’s now the foundation’s responsibility, through their stewardship, to be able to continue maintaining this,” Connell said. “Mrs. Keith is going to live there and share with us what she would like to see this used for and we’re going to do that to our best.”Robb Stitt, the foundation’s administrative officer, said Keith’s donation of the house her great-grandfather built is a fitting legacy for the West family.“I’m sure Mrs. Keith will always, over all the years, will still be watching over us to make sure we do the right thing,” he said.

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