Notice of Intention to Designate
Pursuant to the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990
TAKE NOTICE that the Town Clerk of the Corporation of the Town of Lincoln intends to designate the following real property, including the lands and buildings, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter O.18.
2944 Twenty-First Street, Lot 21, Concession 8, Louth Township, Registered Plan 30R1313, Part 2, Jordan, in the Town of Lincoln.
Description of Property
2944 Twenty-First Street, also known as the Henry Fry House, is a two-storey residence on the south side of Eighth Avenue in Jordan, Town of Lincoln, Niagara Region.
Historical Value
Built for Henry Fry, among the first Pennsylvania-German immigrants from Bucks County seeking religious tolerance after the American Revolution, the house has strong associative value. Henry was the son of Jacob Fry, a renowned cabinetmaker, and brother of Samuel Fry, a weaver and artist whose works are in public collections such as the Royal Ontario Museum. Henry and his descendants were part of the Mennonites of the Twenty, who intermarried with prominent families including the Highs, Honsbergers, Wismers, Overholts, Housers, and Hipples. These families shaped Vineland and Jordan’s civic, agricultural, and artistic life.
The property reflects the philosophies of the Mennonites of the Twenty, an early and influential group in Niagara. Scholars suggest respected builder Issac Culp may have led its construction, along with other Mennonite-Georgian houses.
Architectural Value
The house demonstrates a distinctive archetype of Mennonite-Georgian homes unique to the Niagara Region. Features include an asymmetrical Georgian façade, gable-adjoining dawdy house, Pennsylvania-German rear façade with porches, three-room interior, large basement for food storage, and an introverted orientation to the land.
Built by a community renowned for craftsmanship, the home exhibits a high degree of artistic merit. Its restrained design and traditional features reflect Mennonite values of simplicity and religious devotion.
Contextual Value
The house is important in defining the area as a rare surviving Mennonite farmhouse in Vineland-Jordan. Today known for tender fruit farming, the area’s agricultural economy was pioneered over 150 years ago by the Mennonites of the Twenty. Supporting attributes include the dwelling itself, surviving fruit trees, archeological evidence of outbuildings, and spaces dedicated to food processing and storage.
The property is also linked to its surroundings through materials likely sourced at Ball’s Falls. Its unusual inward-facing orientation reflects Mennonite cultural traditions, while the location of former outbuildings along both driveways illustrates the community’s practical view of agriculture.
Additional Information
Further particulars of the reasons for designation are available in the Clerk’s Office, Town Hall, 4800 South Service Road, Beamsville.
NOTICE OF OBJECTION to the proposed designation, with reasons and supporting facts, must be served to the Town Clerk before October 25th, 2025.
DATED at the Town of Lincoln this 25th day of September 2025.
J. Kirkelos, Town Clerk