THUNDER BAY — For decades, the "McIntyre house" at 1017 Isabella Street East has been portrayed as the oldest surviving house in Thunder Bay.
But that distinction actually belongs to a house at 30 Bendell Street, just west of Cumberland Street near McVicar Creek.
Although the error evidently came to light a number of years ago, up to now the city's website has not been changed.
Going forward, the Thunder Bay Museum — where one record about the Bendell Street building curiously carried the notation "non-extant," suggesting it had been demolished — will be revising its own files to help set things straight.
The McIntyre house was built beside the Kam River near the present site of the Thunder Bay Rowing Club in the late 1870s and served as the retirement home for the last chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Post at Fort William.
In the winter of 1907-08 it was moved to Isabella Street, where it is still in use today as a residence.
Michael deJong, the curator/archivist at the museum, said there are still a few gaps in the records, but the Bendell Street building was the first house occupied by Robert McVicar, who arrived in 1860 at what became known as Prince Arthur's Landing ten years later.
"He built a house shortly after his arrival. We still don't know the exact year of construction, and we may never know that, but it's reasonable to assume it was in the next few years after 1860."
The house was originally situated at Water Street and what is now Red River Road, and was taken over by the Ontario Bank in 1870.
It served as the first banking institution at Prince Arthur's Landing.
In the early 1880s the bank built a new bank nearby, "so a reasonable guess is that the house reverted back to non-commercial ownership after that, and at some point it got moved to Bendell Street," deJong said.
The McIntyre House was added to the city's historic registry in 2009.
The Bendell Street house has come to the attention of the city's heritage advisory committee but is not registered.
A neighbour said the house was occupied as recently as a few years ago, but it has deteriorated and currently stands empty.
A spokesperson for the heritage committee suggested it could be challenging to arrange for funds to preserve it for historical purposes.
TBnewswatch was unable to contact the registered owner, who acquired the property in 2015.
According to deJong, the fact that more has been discovered about the building's history shows why it's important to preserve records at the museum, in the city's archives and elsewhere.
"There's an overwhelming amount of information within these walls and in Thunder Bay as a whole. Sometimes people go down the wrong track ... It's always good to continually reevaluate what we know and make sure we have the most accurate information. We're going to be taking some of this and rejuvenating our own research files on these properties, now that we've been able to do a deep dive into their history."
He added that the museum will be cooperating with the city in adjusting its records as well.
