By: Scarborough Historical Society

Thanks to lobbying by Scarborough and Toronto Preservation groups and support from Scarborough Community Council, the former Bell family house will be restored, its exterior intact, and once again serve as a dwelling.

A restoration agreement is in place, but the historically designated Bell house has remained untouched for a year. Since Stafford Homes purchased the house and surrounding property in 2011, various planning approval delays have halted the restoration process. Most of Stafford’s “Bell Estate” housing development has been constructed and many residents occupy the new residences south of the old home.

Updated site plans for land use immediately surrounding the house are now approved by the Scarborough Community Preservation Panel and Toronto Preservation Services. Car ports for the house and nearby townhomes are a part of the plan. The ports will be constructed in a modern style, yet are to be made of wood and stone, to not clash with the character of the historic home.

Now that all planning is approved, Stafford Homes hopes to complete the Bell house renovation this year. The interior will be renovated, with new interior walls installed to divide the structure into two Heritage Home condominiums, part of Stafford’s “Elite Collection”, each measuring over 2,400 square feet in area. The original cooking fireplace and built-in bake oven in the basement kitchen stone wall will be retained in the basement of Unit 1, in accordance with the building’s heritage easement agreement.

A short history of the Bell Estate home, by Rick Schofield:

In 1828, 100 acres of land on the east side of what is now Warden Avenue, south of St. Clair, was first inhabited by Richard and John Thornbeck.

A lovely, cut fieldstone house standing one and a half storeys in height was erected about 1830 to house the Thornbeck family. The 1861 Census verifies the occupancy of the property by Richard Thornbeck, his wife, six children and his widowed mother. The four bedroom home was also equipped with a cooking fireplace and built-in bake oven in the basement kitchen stone wall.

The house and property were sold to William Bell in 1882 for $11,800 and later passed on to his son George. However, a massive fire gutted the interior shortly thereafter and the Bell family set about rebuilding the interior around the surviving, massive stone walls, which measured about two feet in thickness. To provide more headroom on the second floor, the walls were raised and the house became a full two storeys in height.

In 1931, John H. Bell and his brothers: Joseph, Robert and William established a dairy known as Bell’s Scarboro dairy, which flourished on the property until 1943 when it was sold to Donland’s Dairy. At one time, Bell’s Scarboro Dairy had their own embossed milk bottles and was one of the largest dairies serving rural Scarborough.

The farm was eventually subdivided and rezoned industrial, but even though John Bell passed away in 1954, two years after his brother Joseph. The remaining family members decided to keep the stone farmhouse and a small area of surrounding land. Ironically, the area to the south of the stone house became the Becker’s Milk plant, keeping the dairy theme for the property. However, the house was hidden from public view, surrounded by trees and behind the plant’s parking lot.

Ella and Ethel Bell, surviving spinster sisters remained in the house until they, too, passed away. Determined to have the 150 year old stone dwelling survive, Ethel Bell’s will included a clause that the building not be demolished for at least 25 years after her death (1988) and the proceeds of any sale of the property be given to charity. The house was later renovated and served as a seniors’ drop in centre for a short time.