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This unique frame home, built by Allan N. Sexton about 1869, was one of the few in town to feature a mansard roof. Before being destroyed by fire in 1890, it was located on Lot 56, on the north-east corner of Lilla (Simcoe) and North Street, Port Perry. Allan Sexton Residence 289 North St. Plan H-50020 Lot 56 Part One, Corner Lot 97.50 frontage This attractive home was located at the corner of North and Simcoe St., Port Perry and featured a unique mansard style roofline, which gave the large house a full third floor. It was one of only two houses built with this style of roof in the village during the 1870s. The convenient corner property was purchased in 1854 by W.S. Sexton who took out a mortgage in 1869 to build this large, attractive home. The house was described as being “well and substantially built and consisting of eight rooms and a kitchen.” The largest section, facing onto North St., was about 25’x30’ in size, with an addition for the kitchen and pantry area to the north. Compared with some of the larger homes along Cochrane St., the house was not as elaborate, but the wraparound porch, decorative posts and trim, arched windows, and the special attention to the window trim along the mansard roof, made the home look very striking and large. William Sexton built this home for his brother Allan, who assumed ownership in November 1871. Very little is known about Allan Sexton, although when the new municipality of Port Perry was formed in January 1872, he served with Reeve Joseph Bigelow as one of the village's first councillors. Allan’s brother William ran into financial troubles in the mid 1870s and since he was holding a $6,000 mortgage on his two properties, the house was taken over by the Ontario Bank in 1877, and Allan had to leave. The house was rented out for about five years and then in December 1881, the Ontario Bank of Port Perry ran a large advertisement in the Ontario Observer offering the former Sexton home for sale. In October 1882, the Ontario Bank transferred ownership of the home to Louisa McMurtry whose husband WJ. McMurtry was appointed manager of the Ontario Bank about eight months later. Mr. McMurtry had the reputation of being a shrewd man of business and was a most unassuming gentleman. In January 1888 he resigned as manager of the Ontario Bank and moved to Clinton, Iowa, where he entered into the produce business. The next owner of the house was Sara Paterson, wife of well known lawyer Norman F, Paterson, who also held the position of clerk of the Village of Port Perry. The Patersons purchased the house from the McMurtry family in October 1888 for $1,500 and lived there until it This map shows Lot No. 56 on Lilla St. where A.N. Sexton’s house was located. 38 FOCUS - APRIL 2010