Feds send $600,000 to help fix Whitby’s Rowe House and other projects

The federal government has promised $600,000 to fund several tourism projects in eastern Ontario including cash to restore Whitby’s Rowe House, the former home of the town’s first mayor.

Whitby MP Ryan Turnbull announced the funding boost today on behalf to the Minister of Federal Development Filomena Tassi (MP Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas).

He wentt down to the Whitby waterfront to learn about the town’s waterfront revitalization project. He announced the funding of $600,000 for nine projects in Durham Region, Kawartha and Northumberland County.

A third of the total is going into the Rowe House renovation. James Rowe was born in Ireland in 1799 and immigrated to Canada at age 25. He moved to Port Whitby to build piers by 1843. He immediately proved successful in the area, establishing the grain shipping company James Rowe and Co. in 1849.

He was soon elected town reeve, Warden of Ontario County and finally Whitby Mayor. He served the community until 1865 and died in 1869. For much of his life Lowe lived in a home he built at 1600 Charles St in 1856.

The home was set to be demolished in the late 90s but the community, led by late Councilor Shirley Scott, rallied to save the structure. In 1999, the town had the entire house picked up and moved to a new site on the lakeshore at 301 Front Street, about a kilometre away. The original Charles Street site is now home to a large condo building.

In 2003, the Whitby Heritage Community Association took over the site for a 25-year lease. The lease allows the tenant to pay only $1 a year to operate the home as a historic site. The town took over this lease in 2023.

Inspired by the runaway success of the Craft Beer Garden in the old town Pump House, the town has decided to take a similar approach to the Rowe House. As part of the town’s ongoing push to improve the lakefront, the town cleaned up the Pump House last year.

The town plans to put a restaurant or pub in Rowe House to help attract people down to the lake. It’s part of a larger program to fix up the area space for outdoor water sports, recreation and placemaking areas overlooking the harbour, a rest stop for cyclists, public art, and a new visitor information hub with a hop-on-hop-off food and lights tour.

““Enhancing Whitby’s waterfront is a key priority for our community and myself as Whitby’s Member of Parliament. Whether drawing visitors to our town or being enjoyed by residents, the recreational trails, our marina, boat launch, parks, and historic sites, all add value to what our waterfront has to offe,” Turnbull said. “The support I announced today marks another step forward in realizing the community’s vision for a more vibrant waterfront. It gives me great pleasure to deliver another major federal investment to our community.”

Mayor Elizabeth Roy, a longtime advocate for Rowe House in honour of her friend Scott, agreed saying, “Thank you to FedDev Ontario for supporting our work to develop Whitby’s waterfront into a thriving tourism destination that diversifies the local and regional economy and provides residents and visitors with cultural opportunities and active outdoor experiences. Enhancement of the waterfront is one of the key action items in Whitby’s Community Strategic Plan and we are grateful for this investment in building our tourism capacity.”

The announcement also included funds for;

• Arbru Solar Brewery in Mallorytown ($115,000)
• Capitol Theatre in Port Hope ($225,000)
• an Augmented Reality program for Central Counties Tourism ($132,695)
• Kawartha Lakes Museum & Archives ($90,000)
• Kick and Push Brewing Company Ltd. in Sharbot Lake ($76,625)
• seasonal markets in Hastings Highlands ($75,000)
• Springtide Music Festival  in Uxbridge ($118,193)
• Theatre on the Ridge in Port Perry ($150,000)