1412 Highway 15
‘Cataraqui Grange’ Built in 1828
$875,000.00

Flagstone walkway leads to gracious rebuilt front entrance. Interior foyer with great light from sidelights and transom window. Painted pine plank floor with custom wool carpet runners in hall and on stairs. All trim and windows taken back to original. Original staircase banister and spindles leading to second floor.

Formal living room with pine floors, fireplace with exposed brick and limestone hearth, hand crafted mantle built to the era, and original built-in shelving. Original trim rebuilt. Dining room with pine floors, chair rail, massive deep set cooking fireplace with limestone hearth, exposed original brick, rebuilt with cooking utensils, mantle
rebuilt as original with side brick bake oven.

Gourmet eat-in kitchen with cherry cabinets, cove moulding, heated porcelain tile floor and granite counter-tops. All appliances built-in; Miele ceramic cook-top, stainless steel Sub Zero refrigerator, Kitchen Aid ovens and Miele dishwasher. Pot lights, built-in desk and cookbook shelves, large centre island with granite top, and ceramic back-
splash. Terrace doors with transoms and side door opening to flagstone patio and gardens. Wood- burning fireplace with antique mantle.

Sweeping staircase leading to second floor. Master bedroom with pine floor and windows facing southeast. Fireplace with original brickwork and neo-classical mantle; limestone hearth. Two piece ensuite with wide painted pine planks, vanity with granite top and large deep set window. Second bedroom with original fireplace, chair rail, and two windows facing east. Main bath with heated porcelain tile floor and wainscotting, separate shower with porcelain tile. Deep air tub, pot lights, and vanity with great views of conservation area. Second floor mezzanine with original rails and floors with wool carpets. Third bedroom with wide pine floor, closet, and window overlooking side gardens.

Large bright Great room with natural wide pine plank floor, windows on three sides, beaded wainscotting, wall of built-in bookshelves with pine beading, wood-burning fireplace with beautiful replica mantle, reclaimed brick, pot lights, built-in entertainment area and large windows overlooking sunsets, conservation area and Rideau River. Large adjoining walk-in closet for storage.

Rear hallway with porcelain tile, heated by hot water, with closet and two piece powder room with wide baseboards and pot lights. Unfinished basement with storage areas and laundry.

Extensive stunning perennial gardens throughout the property and large fenced summer vegetable garden.

OTHER FEATURES:
In-floor hot water heating (in tiled areas).
In-floor heating electric – 2nd floor main bath.
Boiler replaced in 2000.
UV filter.
Water softener.
Interior colours replicated from historic colours discovered from renovations.
Wide baseboards.
Kitchen wired for speakers.
Exterior flagstone walkways and brick patio.

IMPROVEMENTS:
New furnace 2000.
New filter bed and roof.
Exterior stone walls fully re-pointed.
Chimneys rebuilt.
Professionally landscaped (including lighting) and
hardscaped (this includes walkways and patios).

UTILITIES:
Hydro (07): $1,300
Oil (07): $4,500 (Heats hot water as well).

FIREPLACES:
Master bedroom and 2nd bedroom across hall are exposed but never used.
Dining room cooking fireplace not working.
Kitchen in working order.
Family room has not been used for 6 years.
Living room has not been used for many years.

MAIN LEVEL:
Living Room: 23’2 x 13’
Dining Room: 18’8 x 12’9
Kitchen: 13’ x 14’5
Breakfast Area: 14’5 x 11’8
Bath: 2 Piece

SECOND LEVEL:
Great Room: 20’ x 14’8
Master Bedroom: 16’8 x 12’10
Ensuite: Two piece
Bedroom2: 13’ x 11’9
Bedroom3: 11’ x 13’8
Bath: Four piece

THIRD LEVEL:
Bedroom4: 13’ x 13’
Bedroom5: 13’ x 12’

LOWER LEVEL:
Laundry
Storage

Style: Two and a half storey.
Taxes: $7,893.67 (2007)
Lot Size: 650' x 683' (approx. 10.2 acres)
Exterior Features: Landscaped, Patio
Exterior: Stone
Interior: Alarm system, Built-in appliances,
Ensuite, Fireplaces, Wood floors
Site features: View, Waterfront
Basement: Full, Unfinished
Parking: 3 Car detached garage, Paved drive
Heat: Hot Water
Fuel: Oil
Possession: TBA
Ontario Heritage Act designation - Part 4

Chattels Included: Dishwasher, Subzero fridge, Cooktop, Double ovens, Window coverings
Fixtures Excluded: Foyer, Hallway and Breakfast area lights, some perennials

HISTORY OF CATARAQUI GRANGE
BUILT IN 1828

George Baxter emigrated from Dundee in 1818. He had been educated at Oxford to be a Presbyterian minister. In Kingston, he was hired as an assistant to the headmaster of the Royal Grammar School, where he eventually became headmaster. A few of his former students were: Sir John A. MacDonald, who Baxter said wasn't very clever, but he had an exceptionally good memory, and Sir Oliver Mowat. Both these men attributed their success in life to the canings they got from Baxter, a strict disciplinarian.

George's wife, Grace (Baillie) was born in Kingston.

Grace and George were first cousins. Therefore, her parents objected to their marriage. So they eloped. First they lived in Kingston around Johnson and Sydenham Streets.

George bought 450 acres of land from Mr. Cartwright. Stone walls had been erected for a house. The highway (called Point Rd.) was directly in front of the stone walls and was later moved out, creating the large front lawn in front of Cataraqui Grange.

George had his parents and their daughter, Isabelle move here from Dundee in 1820. When they arrived in Montreal, William Lyon Mackenzie met them and married Isabelle Baxter. The parents, Peter and Margaret Baxter, then came to Kingston and moved into Cataraqui Grange when it was finished. Peter supervised the builders. In 1837, Peter was gored by a bull at Cataraqui Grange.

A gardener from Ireland began beautiful gardens surrounding the house. There were so many roses planted that the surveyors called the place Rose Hall on their maps.

After the Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada, led by his brother-in-law Wm. Lyon Mackenzie, George Baxter lost his position as Headmaster of the Grammar School, because he supported Mackenzie's beliefs. (But he never took part in the uprising). As a result, the Baxter's family fortunes were reversed.

Folklore about Wm. Lyon Mackenzie's escape to the USA: When a price was put on his head, he turned to his brother-in-law, George for help. Mackenzie hid in the attic behind partitions. Meanwhile the 'red coats' searched the house and camped on the front lawn. After several days in the attic, Mackenzie donned Mrs. Baxter's clothes. Black Tom (an escaped slave from the USA who worked for George) took him to his cabin one dark night. Then Tom guided him through the forest to Lake Ontario where a boat was waiting to take him across to the USA.

Wm. Lyon's wife, Isabelle followed her husband into exile with 11 children. Their youngest child, also named Isabelle, spent many summers with the Baxters at Cataraqui Grange. She later married Mr. King and was the mother of the former Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King.

THE HOUSE

The drawing room was on the second floor on the south side (driveway side) of the house. The mantelpiece in this room is original. The library and Mr. Baxter's bedroom were below (present living room). The daughters' bedrooms were in the other two second floor rooms. The son's rooms were on the third floor.

The wood for the banister came from Scotland and every forth spindle rod in it is iron (these are colder to the touch). It is said that this is the reason it has lasted all these years, in spite of generations having slid down it!

The present kitchen would have been used as the ‘summer’ kitchen. The original kitchen was in the present dining room. The original cooking fireplace and bake oven were exposed and restored in 2000. The two fireplaces in the front bedrooms on the second floor were also exposed around the same time.

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT LIVING HERE

Privacy

Great neighbours.

Observing the natural world (trees, flowers, birds and animals) as it cycles through the seasons: the call of spring peeper frogs, the first blush of green over the grass and trees, the daily return of song birds as spring progresses, the re-awakening of the perennial gardens, cardinals, orioles, humming birds and other birds bringing their young to the feeders.

The ripening of ornamental grasses and the change of forest colour in the fall.

Hikes in the woods and down to the water.

Eating dinners out on the patio.

Viewing the sunsets always beautiful; never the same.

Dramatic skies.

Rainbows (sometimes double) arcing across the sky.

Almost always a breeze during the heat of summer. No need for air conditioning.

Creating and enjoying gardens that give year round interest and joy.

Eating produce from the vegetable garden.

Having so many choices of where to sit outside.

Pure, clean snow cover. Crisp winter mornings.

Thousands of daffodils happily welcoming in spring. Very old lilacs and peonies following close behind.

The sense of history from living in a house that is 180 years old walls of stone 2-3 feet thick, original wood work, floors and fireplaces... a house lovingly restored.

BIRD AND WILD LIFE ON THE PROPERTY

Birdlife is abundant through all of the seasons with over 120 different species to be seen and /or heard in the span of a year. Many birds nest on the property each year... robins, wrens, catbirds, orioles, cardinals, humming birds, four species of wood peckers, several species of warblers, thrushes, swallows, fly catchers, hawks, falcons, wild turkeys and many more.

The river that borders the property supports geese and ducks in nesting and in fall, winter and spring provides a refuge for migrating waterfowl. In addition the river is patrolled regularly by bald eagles.

Great horned owls can often be heard hooting at night in the forest and from mature trees near the house.

Other wild life that are frequently seen on the property include deer, fox, coyote, porcupine, ground hog, otter, muskrat, turtles and several kinds of frogs that peep during the day and through the night.

Although this information has been compiled from the best sources available,
Royal LePage Proalliance Realty does not warrant the accuracy of this transaction.
All dimensions and dollar amounts are approximate and prospective buyers should
review this information independently and draw their own conclusions. E&EO