The Deacon Home

I was asked if there were any photos of the old Deacon home on the South-West corner of Pembroke and Cecelia Streets and if I had any historical information pertaining to the home. 

Unfortunately, aside from the one half view of the house posted below, there does not seem to be any photographs that I have knowledge of. There is a drawing of the home, done in 1987 for the 1988 calendar issued by the Ottawa Valley historical Society. The artist was Jennifer Buske, a local high school student at that time. There was an accompanying comment by historian Bruce Pappin which reads…

              Although this Pembroke Street landmark was built by dry-goods merchant Andrew Forbes, c1885, the building is invariably associated with the Deacon family who owned it for 68 years. The home was purchased by Thomas Deacon, mayor of Pembroke in 1890 and a prominent lawyer. In 1911 it was inherited by his son Dr. John D. Deacon and was passed on to Thomas R. Deacon in 1930. In 1947 it was sold to Thompson Smyth who converted the building into apartments. It has had nearly a dozen owners since that time. Once surrounded by a wrought iron fence, the house boasts a slate roof and retains its original iron cresting on bay and tower. During Dr. Deacon’s ownership the house had a conservatory on the west side and a trained gardener was brought from England to maintain the conservatory and grounds.

             In my research into the businesses of Pembroke throughout the early years Mr. Andrew Forbes first shows up in 1867 when in March of that year he opened a dry goods and millinery store located in “White’s old stand. Corner of Main and McKay Streets.” This would have been on the North East corner of Pembroke and Mackay Streets although other references seem to place him in the brick building located around where City Hall is today. The store was, in many references, said to be just west of Dr. Dickson’s office which was about where Memorial Park is today, facing Pembroke St. It should be mentioned that in those days a business said to be at the corner of two streets did not necessarily mean it was “on the corner” but rather was in the general vicinity of that corner.

             In 1873 he took on a business partner, a Mr. Pratt and the store is now called Forbes & Pratt advertising dry goods, ladies wear, millinery, winces, carpets, etc. In Feb. of 1875 the partnership ended with Mr. Forbes retaining the business and hiring a tailor and dress maker for the business and a year later hiring Mr. J. McKinnon as a cutter for his tailor made men’s suits. He continued in business until 1878 when he sold the business to Messrs Russell & Lillie. After that he completely dropped out of sight. There was no mention of him in the newspapers of the day and he was never again listed in any of the government gazetteers of the era. Unfortunately I have no knowledge of what he was doing between 1878 when the business ended and 1885 when his home is reputed to have been built, or as to what he did in the ensuing years to maintain the home.

              Thomas Deacon first shows up in my survey in 1865 as a “lawyer, conveyancer and notary public.” He also, a few years later is the agent for the Scottish Provincial Life Insurance Co. In 1881 he was joined in his practice by William Deacon and in 1884 a Mr. Delahaye joined the firm to become Deacon, Delahaye & Deacon. At this time their offices were upstairs in a now long gone building at the block at the bridge, south,  side, perhaps about where the Madawaska Coffee shop is today.

             Before purchasing the Forbes home Mr. Deacon lived somewhere on Cecelia St. In 1892. After he had been in the Forbes home for a couple of years there was a mention of his “furnace tender,” Mr Hamilton Walker, having had a fire in his home. So we know that along with a gardener he had someone to tend the furnace and boiler.

            In 1895 Mr. Thomas Deacon is dropped from what is then the law firm of Deacon, Delahaye & Reeves and I believe at that time became a judge as a year later there is mention of Judge Thomas Deacon being a part owner of the Pembroke Lumber Co. which at the time was located where the grounds and office of the Ottawa River Power Company are today.

             In 1897 Dr. J.D. Deacon shows up for the first time with offices in the Wellington Block which was a brick building, now long gone, “opposite the post office” which at the time was what is City Hall today. He is only listed until 1911 and whether he retired from practice I don’t know however if a professional man was very well known they often didn’t bother with advertising. In a 1916 directory he is listed as a physician but by 1925, the next reliable source, he is not among the listings of practicing physicians. At that time he and Minnie, I believe his daughter, are living in the family home. 

             In 1929 both Dr. John and Minnie are living in the home but in the 1931 directory only Miss Minnie Deacon is listed. She seems to have lived alone in the house until the late 1930’s or 1940. In 1941 she is still living there but the home has been turned into apartments or perhaps a boarding house. Of the five boarders(?), four of them are army officers.

               In 1950, after the sale to Mr. Smyth, the house is now called the Deacon Apartments and Miss M. Deacon is still there along with four other apartments and in 1957 she is still there although this was her last appearance. By 1961 there are no more Deacons living in the house or even listed in any Pembroke directory. What ever became of Thomas R. Deacon who inherited the home in 1930 I have no idea. He is never mentioned in any Pembroke directory.

              I should mention that there is another old home in Pembroke that is very similar to this one and when looking at old photos may be mistaken for it. This house is now the Murphy Funeral Home on Isabella Street. There are a number of old photos of this house which can be identified by the round window on the tower of that home which the Deacon home does not have. Also, in old photos the dormer window on the roof of the Deacon house is peaked, the other appears rounded. Old photos of that building often show it clan with a fancy veranda on the front and west side.

          Over the decades the Deacon House has fallen into some disrepair but at this writing (Nov., 2021) it has been restored with a great degree of historical sensitivity and once again looks as befitting one of the grand old homes of Pembroke.