Johnston Estate Heritage Site

This two-storey house is believed to have been built in 1881 during the city’s first decade of settlement.

It was the homestead residence of one the first settlers of the area, James Arthur Johnston.

The home has had several owners who were significant to the economic and political development of Brandon.

James Johnston was a farmer, cattle dealer, land broker and proprietor of Johnston Estates.

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He owned some 1,500 lots in the city which he sold as business and residential sites.

Johnston was also an alderman on Brandon City Council from 1883 to 1885.

The property was then owned from 1902 until 1922 by Archibald Charles Douglas, the County Court Bailiff.

It was later sold to Marion Doig in 1941 and remained in the Doig Family until 1993.

The Doigs have been local proprietors in Brandon since 1906.

This house is one of the oldest single family residences still occupied in Brandon.

It represents an important feature in the historic development of Brandon and its people.

This yellow brick structure reflects a variety of architectural styles.

The tall narrow paired windows at the front of the building and the brick string course suggest that the predominant architectural style is Italianate Revival.

The rear of the structure is of brick construction, while the front is a wood frame with a brick veneer.

The foundation is a combination of various sized stones and gravel (rubble) with a mortar of lime and sand.

 – Heritage Brandon

The Johnston Estate, a two-storey brick house with an eclectic appearance that reflects its incremental development.

It is located close to the sidewalk on a busy street in a residential neighbourhood in central Brandon.

The 1881 dwelling, with its later additions and matching brick fence, stands apart from the single- and multiple-family residences that surround it.

The Johnston Estate, the oldest known inhabited house in Brandon, is a good representative of pioneer urban dwellings in southern Manitoba that have retained their historical visage while being expanded over time.

Though composite in design, the dwelling presents an integrated and engaging face to its neighbourhood.

It features a complex roofline, variety of windows, wall dormers and decorative brickwork, including Italianate detailing.

Further distinguishing the site is the front fence of matching weathered brick.

Originally developed by James Arthur Johnston, the site recalls his role as an early settler who significantly influenced Brandon’s initial economy and politics.

Key elements that define the Johnston Estate’s eclectic design include:

the irregular roofline characterized by a moderately pitched cross-gable roof.

There is a two-tier front (west) gable, a large front wall dormer with a hipped roof and two smaller hip-roofed dormers

Key elements that define the dwelling’s interior character include:

the irregular configuration of the main-floor hallways and rooms with staircases

the wood plank ceiling and trim, painted dark, in the sitting room of the original part of the house

the fireplaces: one in the sitting room with ceramic Dutch tiles

one in the bedroom with a simple painted wooden mantel

original gas-fired dining and hall light fixtures

– Canada’s Historic Places

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