Description of Historic Place

Surrounded by spacious lawns, the Defensible Lockmaster’s House is set back from the lock at Smiths Falls Combined Lockstation, on the Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada. The two-storey building has ground floor walls of rough-faced stone with loopholes and a clapboarded second storey. The hipped roof is clad with cedar shingles. The symmetrical main façade has a central door flanked by windows balanced by three second-storey windows. An enclosed porch protects the main entrance. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Defensible Lockmaster’s House at Smiths Falls Combined Lockstation is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
The Defensible Lockmaster’s House is a very good example of a building associated with the construction and operation of the Rideau Canal. As part of the Rideau Canal, the building illustrates military defence strategy for Upper and Lower Canada in the 19th century, and the evolution and transformation of the waterway as a federal public work. The Defensible Lockmaster’s House is also an important representative of the formative period in the development of the Smiths Falls community. Currently, the house is a locally operated museum interpreting the historic role of the canal in the area. The Friends of the Rideau currently occupy the building.

Architectural Value
The Defensible Lockmaster’s House is valued for its good aesthetic design and retains the residential character acquired during the early years of the 20th century. The second-storey addition, the summer kitchen, and interior layout reflect increased emphasis on residential design that enhanced the residential function of the building and resulted from the overall change in the function of the canal from defence to commerce and recreation. Very good functional design is evidenced in the thick defensive walls and the interior layout. Very good craftsmanship can be seen in the quality of the regularly coursed masonry of the exterior walls.

Environmental Value
The Defensible Lockmaster’s House is compatible with the domestic character of its park-like setting at Smiths Falls Combined Lockstation and is a familiar landmark to local residents and visitors.

Sources: James De Jonge, Twenty Nine Buildings, Central Area, Rideau Canal, Ontario, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Building Report 91-072 to 91-081; Defensible Lockmaster’s House, Smith falls Combined Lockstation, Rideau Canal, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 91-074.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Defensible Lockmaster’s House should be respected.

Its good aesthetic, very good functional design and very good quality craftsmanship, for example: the simple, square, single-storey massing; the hipped roof clad with cedar shingles and the chimney; the first floor exterior walls of thick evenly coursed masonry and the second floor with clapboard exterior; the placement of the windows and doors and the loopholes on either side of the main entrance; the summer kitchen at the rear; the interior configuration including the central staircase with balustrades, wood floors, and door and window trim.

The manner in which the Defensible Lockmaster’s House is compatible with the domestic character of its park-like setting at Smiths Falls Combined Lockstation and is a familiar local landmark, as evidenced by: its overall scale, design and materials that are compatible with its rural surroundings; its familiarity within the area due to its elevated location and role associated with the canal.

Heritage Character Statement

Disclaimer - The heritage character statement was developed by FHBRO to explain the reasons for the designation of a federal heritage building and what it is about the building that makes it significant (the heritage character). It is a key reference document for anyone involved in planning interventions to federal heritage buildings and is used by FHBRO in their review of interventions.

The Defensible Lockmaster's House at the Smiths Falls Combined Lockstation was built in 1841 by the British Ordnance Department as part of the defence system for the Rideau Canal. In the first decades of the twentieth century, a single-storey frame summer kitchen was added to the rear, and a second storey and new front porch were added to the main structure. It is currently occupied by the Friends of the Rideau. The Canadian Parks Service is the custodial department. See FHBRO Building Report 91-74.

Reasons for Designation

The building was designated Recognized as a result of its historical association its functional design and quality craftsmanship, and the character of its setting.

The defensible lockmaster's house reflects the original military role of the Rideau Canal in the defence of the united Canadas during the nineteenth century, and it is an important representative of the formative period in the development of the Smiths Falls community. The twentieth-century second-storey addition, summer kitchen, and interior layout reflect the emphasis on residential design which resulted from a change in the function of the canal from defence to commerce and recreation.

The park-like setting has remained essentially unchanged since the 1920s.

Character Defining Elements

The heritage character of this structure is defined by its combination of military and residential design features, and its materials and craftsmanship.

The Smiths Falls Defensible Lockmaster's House is a two-storey, hipped-roof structure, with summer kitchen at the rear. As originally constructed, it was a single-storey hipped-roof structure, square in plan. The clapboarded second storey, with a cedar-shingle roof, maintains the simple massing of the original, while the symmetry of the main facade has been retained by balancing the original central door and flanking windows with three windows on the upper floor.

The thick limestone walls of the lower floor, which retain loopholes on either side of the main entrance, reflect the military function of the original structure and the careful construction associated with the Royal Engineers. Some of the first floor partition walls and floor joists, and the base of the hearth in the cellar also date from this period. The balustraded central staircase, wood floors, and door and window trim date from the addition of the second storey in the 1920s, and are consistent with residential accommodation of the period. The change in emphasis from defence to domestic comfort reflects the change in the role of the canal itself.

The building, set back from the lock and surrounded by spacious lawns, retains the residential character of the 1920s. The house is a local landmark. The overall form, historic materials, residential character and setting of this property should be maintained.

1992.09.01