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and was known throughout Canada. Porter was eventually offered positions on the Supreme Court of Ontario and what was then the Supreme Court' of the Union, but declined both for personal reasons. In 1891, at 32, he was elected mayor of Belleville. Ironically, Porter's opponent in the race was the man who built his house, Vandusen. A second run at politics took Porter to the House of Commons in 1904 with the Conservative Party. The next 20 years saw his continued re-election. On the local level Porter was a charter member of the Ro- tary Club of Belleville, which formed in 1920, and served as the first president. Such a distinguished career was not without its rewards and Porter's house, although purchased early in his career, was one. The most obvious and unique characteristic of the house's exterior is its crenellated (castle battlement-style) roof line on the north side. This sits above what was once a library, added by Porter. A porch on the north side sags noticeably today but it once gave the building a stately appearance. Inside there were marble fireplaces and oak parquet flooring in the reception room. The exterior doors had leaded glass panels. In 1896 Porter bought the property immediately north of his lot and built a stable at the back. After the Porter family's tenure at the house ended in the 1930s, it was occupied by a number of residents. F.W. Ball lived there in 1940, and John and Marie Collins in 1951 (he was with the RCAF). But by 1959 the building had been made into five apartments and remains divided today. Mayor E. Gus Porter Mayor Porter on platform at left, possibly at the welcoming of the Duke of Devonshire P 3 U""" a