Haggart House, located at 41 Mill Street, Perth, Ontario, was formally recognized for its heritage value in 1984, and a commemorative plaque was attached to the entrance gates. One of the grandest homes in the town, the history of the early occupants, the Haggart family, is one filled with both triumph and tragedy.
Haggart House, as it appeared in the early 1900s
photo: Parks Canada
photo: Parks Canada
John Haggart Sr.
John Haggart Sr. arrived in the Perth, Ontario, in the 1820s from Breadalbane, Scotland. He was a stonemason, and worked on both the Rideau Canal and Welland Canal. He also constructed Chaffey’s Locks, and operated a four-mill business on the Tay River.
He formed a partnership with George Buchanan in 1832, and he had acquired a lease to operate Alexander Thom’s grist mill in Perth, on what came to be known as Haggart’s Island in the Tay River.
By 1840 he had erected a group of carding, flour, and sawmills and a finely crafted stone house of Regency design.
He married Isabella Graham, native of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, in January of 1836, near Kingston.
John and Isabella Haggart had five children:
John Graham Haggart (1836-1913)
Duncan Archibald Haggart (1838-1851)
Norman James Haggart (1839-1840)
Mariam Anne ‘Mina’ Haggart (1840-1879)
Isabella (Haggart) Millar (1846-1917)
Hon. John G. Haggart
Hon. John G. Haggart, Minister of Railways and Canals — photo: Library & Archives Canada
John Graham Haggart was the eldest child of John Haggart and Isabella Graham. He was educated in Perth, and after the death of his father he abandoned his studies and focused his attention on the management of the family’s mill. Through several successful business partnerships, he established the Perth Mills, and in 1870–71 the flour mill was rebuilt and he converted it to roller-mill technology. By 1896 he had also become President of the Tay Electric Light Company Limited.
He entered politics and was elected Mayor of Perth, and later was elected as a Member of Parliament representing Lanark, and also served as Postmaster General.
He married Caroline Douglas, and they had two children, one who died in infancy, and Duncan, a young law student, who died at age 22 from typhoid fever.
Hon. John G. Haggart, Postmaster General – photo: Library & Archives Canada
“Haggart left all of his property
to his widowed sister, Isabella (Haggart) Millar.”
Duncan Archibald Haggart (1838-1851)
The second child born to John Haggart Sr. and Isabella (Graham) Haggart, Duncan Haggart, died at the age of 12 years.
Jan. 10, 1851,”The Perth Courier”
Norman James Haggart (1839-1840)
The third child of John Haggart Sr. and Isabella (Graham) Haggart, Norman Haggart, died in infancy
Mariam ‘Mina’ (Haggart) Bell (1840-1879)
Mina Haggart, was the fourth child of John Haggart Sr. and Isabella (Graham) Haggart. In 1866, she married James Bell, a banker, at the family home, Haggart House.
Mina and James Bell had eight children:
Mariam ‘Minnie’ (Bell) Armour (1867-1950) Twins: Norman and Amy (1870-1870) who died of pneumonia, Louise (1871-1941), Alice Mary (1873-1949), Graham (1874-1929), George (1876-1906) and Agnes (Bell) Stone (1878-1949)
Mina died, in 1879, at age 38, from double pneumonia.
Isabella (Haggart) Millar (1846-1917)
Isabella Haggart, their fifth child, was born in 1846. She married in 1868, at the age of 21, to James Morton Millar, a Chicago businessman, and they lived first in Perth, later in Chicago, then retired in Perth. They had no children, and he passed away in 1889, age 47. After James died, Isabella moved in with her brother, John Graham Haggart, who was Postmaster General at that time.
“The late Mrs. Isabella Millar, Perth, left many bequests of from $5,000. to $10,000 to relatives and institutions, and gave her home, the late Hon. J.G. Haggart’s place to Perth to be used as a home for returned soldiers.”
1 Oct 1917, “The Ottawa Journal”
Minnie (Bell) Armour (1867-1950)
In 1923, after serving as a convalescent home for soldiers returning from WWI, the house was returned to the family. When John. G. Haggart passed away, he left the house to his sister Mina (Haggart) Bell.
When Mina passed in 1917, the house was willed to her eldest daughter, Minnie (Bell) Armour.
Haggart House Dedicated
Heritage Building in 1976
In 1976, Haggart House was the home of Judge Edward Shortt. He and his family moved to Perth in 1964.
Judge Edward Shortt (1915-1978) took possession of the old stone mansion in 1965, purchasing the home from the son of John Haggart’s nephew.
At that time there were a total of 11 rooms in the house, with 12-foot ceilings. When Judge Shortt purchased the house, he was told that some of the furnishings were quite old. The bookcases in the library were built by an English cabinet-maker, whose previous job was making coffins. A small table was brought back from the Spanish-American war, and the original wooden desk used by John Haggart was still functioning.
Oct. 18, 1976, p. 21, “The Ottawa Journal”
Martin Family
Following the death of Judge Edward Shortt, in 1978, his widow, Willa (Dole) Shortt (1913-2005), remained in the house until the 1980s, when the property became too difficult to manage by herself.
Mrs. Shortt advertised the house for sale, and it was purchased by David and Connie Martin. David owned Randall’s Paints in Ottawa, along with his two business partners, since 1976.
Over the years the Martin family did extensive work on the house. They renovated the kitchen, added a new cedar roof and a copper roof on the front porch. They also replaced old plumbing and wiring and added two new furnaces – one to heat the upstairs and one for the downstairs. They added a garden room with heated tile floors and large windows. They built a pergola, a deep koi pond, and designed large flower beds with perennial gardens. They also replaced the old carriage house with a new garage designed in the same style. The doors of the carriage house were narrow, built for horses and the stone pillars holding the iron gates at the road were moved farther apart to allow cars and construction vehicles onto the grounds.
Jamie Shortt, son of Judge Shortt, shared some stories with the new owners about his time living in the house:
“And there are, of course, ghost stories. There’s a body buried in the back yard in a grave with a stone frame around it – allegedly a stable boy who got kicked in the head by a horse.
When the Martins first moved in, they’d get up in the morning thinking they’d left a radio or TV on because they heard voices mumbling downstairs.
Jamie Shortt told them he had heard the same sounds when he was growing up. One night, he and his sister had both dreamed that they saw a woman going up the attic stairs. And a workman who stayed in the house swears he saw a woman in the window.”
Early in 2004, the Connie and David had a new granddaughter, living in Ottawa, and they wanted to be closer to her, and so put the house up for sale. At that time, it was listed as having 6,000 square feet, a library, living and dining rooms, fully renovated kitchen, a garden room, five bedrooms, four bathrooms and a billiard room. Their original asking price for the mansion and 2 1/2 acres of gardens and lawns was 1.2 million dollars.
June 26, 2004, p. 85, “The Ottawa Citizen”
July 10, 2004, p. 86, “The Ottawa Citizen”
Bartleman
Although the specific dates are unknown, during 2008-2009, James Bartleman (1939-2023), former diplomat and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and his wife, Marie-Jeanne were living at Haggart House with their three dogs. In 2008, they participated in a Christmas House Tour.
Nov. 15, 2008, p. 95, “The Ottawa Citizen”
Haggart House was included with nine other distinctive homes, decorated for Christmas, as a fund-raiser for literacy programs.
Into the Future
Although specific dates of ownership are not known, Scott Reid, MP, and his wife, Robyn Mulcahy, became owners of Haggart House, and were recognized for their work on the home.
In 2017, Perth Mayor, John Fenik, right, presented a “Heritage Perth Architectural Conservation Award”, to Robyn Mulcahy, wife of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston MP Scott Reid, in recognition of their restoration work on Haggart House. The specific improvements were the installation of a new cedar shake roof and the extensive landscaping maintenance of their home.
photo: Desmond Devoy, “Inside Ottawa Valley”, Feb. 10, 2017
And so, through the years, the Haggart House has a long and storied history in the town of Perth, from the early days of the first occupants – John Haggart Sr. , his wife, Isabella Graham, and their children.
Through the decades there were members of the Haggart family who experienced tremendous success, and at the same time, other members of the family who suffered a series of tragic losses.
This elegant home remained in the Haggart family until it was sold to Judge Edward Shortt in 1965.
The Haggart House is one of the architectural gems in the town of Perth, and its history and proud tradition elevate it as one of the many remarkable homes in Lanark County, with a uniquely interesting story to tell.
Arlene Stafford-Wilson
Honorary Life Member, Lanark County Genealogical Society
Member, Association of Professional Genealogists
Author of : “Lanark County Christmas”, “Lanark County Comfort”, “Lanark County Collection”, “Lanark County Calling”, “Lanark County Classics”, “Lanark County Connections”, “Lanark County Calendar”, “Lanark County Chronicle”, “Lanark County Kid”, & “Recipes & Recollections”
arlene stafford wilson 