Prospect Park
This grand Victorian home was constructed in the mid-1800s for the Warren family. It was later resided in by William H. Gibbs, business owner and politician. The home was a three-storey building, featuring a mansard roof, and it was reported to be “the most handsome residence and grounds to be found in the Province of Ontario.”¹
Other residents of this grand home included Col. James Mulligan and Eli S. Edmondson. It was under Edmondson’s ownership that the grounds of the home were opened as a private park. He encouraged the public to visit his “park,” for a small fee, and provided ample entertainment for when they arrived. It was described in 1898, as follows:
The Park is located on the northerly outskirts of the town, on the highest point of land in the vicinity, and is reached by the electric railway direct from the railway station and boats, the cars passing by the entrance gates. The grounds of the park, eleven acres in extent, are beautifully laid out, costing, together with the buildings, $35,000. Situated in the western extremity of the grounds is a picturesque mansion of white brick with shady verandas, from ·which a full view of the park is obtained, the spacious, lawns dotted with shrubbery and ornamental fountains, the cool green of fragrant balsam and cedar contrasting with brighter tints of beech, maple and silver birch, the universal of greensward intersecting by gravel paths, the whole forming pleasing picture of sylvan beauty. To the right through the intervening foliage peeps the roof of the refreshment pavilion and dining-room, a commodious, well-ventilated building, containing at one end a small stage for concerts and entertainments; beyond is a first rate quarter-mile bicycle track, elliptical in form, and planned and graded under the supervision of a competent civil engineer; the foundation is of hard, white clay, with a surface of brick dust and ashes; inside this track is the ball ground, whe1·e games and sports are indulged in, and a spacious new grand stand affords accommodation for the spectators, from which a fine view of the undulating country is enjoyed. To the left of the house are the fine tennis courts (four in number), and adjoining these is the bowling green. Fronting the house are a pretty glass summer house, and ice cream parlor, and beyond are to be found “fairy glens” of balsam and cedar, cunningly planted in circles and semi-circles, with seats conveniently ranged round the insides, and in the shady recesses fountains, spanned by rustic bridges. At night the grounds are lighted by electric lights, throwing into deeper contrast the avenues, shrubbery and dark dells, making a veritable fairy scene, with the musical splash of the fountains playing a soothing accompaniment; the whole scene enlivened by the music of the fine town band of thirty-six pieces.²
Edmondson’s Prospect Park remained a popular destination until around 1915, when the home was sold to R. S. and Adelaide McLaughlin. Shortly thereafter, the house was demolished, and Parkwood was built in its place.
Note: The address provided is for mapping purposes only.
- T. E. Kaiser, Historic Sketches of Oshawa, 24.
- Oshawa: The Manchester of Canada, 37.
“Construction of Parkwood,” accessed via: parkwoodestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Construction-of-Parkwood.pdf
