Woodchester History

The Iconic Octagonal House

Three generations and over one hundred years have passed since Henry J. Bird moved his family into Woodchester, however the designs from over a century ago remain in the Woodchester house.

The eight-sided design was inspired by the writings of Orson Squire Fowler, a 19th century architectural philosopher. Fowler believed that the octagonal design promoted physical and mental well-being, and was the most economical way to use building materials and living space.

Woodchester was the first house in the area to have electric lighting. The home also had forced air heating and ventilation shafts to remove stale air. A dumb-waiter, that still works today, runs from the basement kitchen to the attic with access on each floor. The house may also be one of the earliest examples of a poured concrete house found in Ontario, with sixteen inch thick concrete walls.

Woodchester was built on a one-hundred acre property alongside the North Branch of the Muskoka River. After some time, it was decided that not all of the land was needed for Mr. Bird's home and thus lots were sold along what is now known as Woodchester Avenue. The land on which the Bird home was built fronted on Muskoka Road. 

In 1978, the Bracebridge Rotary Club purchased the house from the Bird family and lobbied to have it designated as a historic site. The Rotary Club's intent was to have Woodchester transformed into a public historic site and they later succeeded in having the house designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. The Rotary Club set out to restore the building and work towards turning the home into a museum. On March 13th, 1980, ownership was transferred from the Bracebridge Rotary Club to the Town of Bracebridge and on June 22nd, 1980, Woodchester was officially opened as a public museum. 

In 2009 the museum was closed and in 2012 another series of restorations began, upgrading both the grounds and the building. Today Woodchester can be used as a private event space, inviting visitors to share a special event within the historic home. 

Woodchester lot and home, pictured from the Muskoka River in the 1800's.
Photograph of Woodchester from an old newspaper clipping. This was taken during the years the old Villa was transitioning from the Bird family home to a historic site.
An article from the Muskoka Sun, June 26th, 1983 features Woodchester as it was hosting the 1983 Strawberry Social.
A photo of the old Woodchester Villa. This was during its time as a museum.
The staged kitchen display from when Woodchester still operated as a museum.
Wash sink display that was staged for the old Woodchester museum.
The dining room display from the old Woodchester museum.
The master bedroom staged for Woodchester's time as a museum.
A child's bedroom staged during the time Woodchester still operated as a Museum.
The front hallway and staircase of Woodchester whilst still a museum.
View of the sunporch, decorated during the time it was a museum.

The Bird Family History

Henry J. Bird settled in Bracebridge during the late 1800's, bringing the Bird Woollen Mill with him from Glen Allen, Ontario. At the time he had no idea that the Bird Woollen Mill would lay the foundation for Bracebridge's continued growth and development.  

If the design of the residence seemed unusual to his fellow-townsmen, Mr. Bird readily replied that he wanted to "build a bird cage to keep my Birds in."

The Bird family exhibited a great deal of family spirit; they were ready to support and take a leading part in societies and associations, always considering it their duty to support any public event from canoeing to musical performances, and drama to snowshoeing.

The Bird family entertained their guests lavishly. If the family knew a friend was in town, a garden party was organized for that afternoon. In the winter, there were snow-shoeing parties, always ending at their back door, just in time for coffee and tea and in the summer months, the family cruised down the Muskoka River to their summer home at St. Elmo, Lake Muskoka. Mr. Bird named their summer home "Conestoga Lodge" after the Glen Allen, Ontario neighbourhood that was located on the Conestoga River where he had lived before moving to Bracebridge. 

Image of the Bird Family

 

Image of Henry James Bird as a young man

Henry J. Bird was born in Woodchester, Gloucestershire, England, on January 3, 1842. The son of Oliver and Catherine (nee Lister) Bird, and the youngest of eleven children.

Henry’s father, Oliver Bird, owned a textile mill in the Stroud Valley, England, and made fine broadcloths, officer’s scarlets and billiard cloths.

In his early twenties, Mr. Bird left England to travel to Australia and then to the United States. He decided to settle in Canada and in 1867 began working as a boss weaver for the Rosamond Woollen Company in Lanark County, Ontario. He spent three years in Lanark County and while there married his first wife, Sarah Jane Fraser, on December 25, 1868. In 1869, he decided to buy his own mill in Glen Allen, Ontario on the Conestoga River.

In the spring of 1870 and again in 1871, the mill was flooded out by a great rise in the water level. It was at this time Mr. Bird decided to move his family to Bracebridge. Just prior to the move Mr. Bird suffered the tragic loss of his wife, their three year old daughter Elizabeth and six month old son, who all died of tuberculosis.

In 1872, Mr. Bird relocated the woollen mill to the upper part of the north side of the falls in Bracebridge.

On June 4, 1873, Mr. Bird married Miss Mary Matilda Ney, of Glen Allen, Ontario and the newlyweds made their home above the mill in Bracebridge.

As the woollen manufacturing business increased, it became necessary to make more use of the floor space in the mill building and within a few years, Mr. Bird set about planning a separate home for his family.

Henry J. Bird was a mindful business man. He was always well aware of any developments in the techniques of woollen manufacturing but beyond that he sought explanations for new scientific inventions and wanted their benefits to be widely enjoyed.

Image of Henry J. Bird in his study   Image of Henry J. Bird with his dog named Bala

Mr. Bird was determined to give Bracebridge the ability to use piped water for domestic use as well as for fire protection.  He was the captain of the first fire company in 1876 and he arranged a system for the mill pumps to give added pressure to town water mains for firefighting purposes.


Mr. Bird played an integral role in the decision making process to inaugurate the municipal electric system in 1894. The Bird Woollen Mill also allowed the Town of Bracebridge to draw water from the head race at the Bird Woollen Mill for power and fire fighting purposes.

Henry J. Bird served as a Bracebridge Councillor, first for the village of Bracebridge in 1878, then as a Town Councillor in 1901, 1903, 1904, 1906 and 1907. 

On January 7th, 1936 Mr. Bird died at the age of 94.

Image of Mary Matilda Ney Bird

Little is known about Mary Matilda (Ney) Bird.

On June 4, 1873, Mr. and Mrs. Bird were married in Glen Allen, Ontario. Mrs. Bird was a friend of Mr. Bird’s first wife, Sarah Fraser.

Together, Henry J. Bird and Mary Matilda Bird had a total of seven children. 

On December 6th. 1912, Mrs. Bird died at the age of 64.

Image of Henry J. Bird Jr.

Henry James Bird Junior was born on March 2, 1874.

At the age of fourteen, he attended Yorkshire College in Leeds, England, where he had special training in the manufacturing of woollen goods. Following that, Henry was a dye specialist at Bird’s Woollen Mill.

From 1922 until 1924, Henry was the Mayor of Bracebridge. In addition to his public service, Henry held high offices in the Masonic Order and the Rotary Club.

Henry married Bertha Fielding (1875-1955) and the couple had one child, Marion. 

Henry died on September 2, 1949.

Image of Robert Oliver Bird

Robert Oliver Bird was born on September 7, 1875.

Robert married Emma May Miller in Hastings, ON, on April 13th 1900, together they lived in Edmonton, AB, where Robert owned a hardware store. Emma May Miller, was born July 15 1867 in Napanee, ON, and died on Aug 29 1950 in Tofield, AB. 



Robert died on February 3, 1963.

Image of William Lister Bird

William Lister Bird was born on April 5, 1878.

On December 8, 1903, he married Eva Stephenson.

William and Eva moved to Fort William, Ontario and he worked for the Kaministiquia Power Company. Over the years, William was the president of the Fort William Rotary Club, Fort William Ski Club, Fort William YMCA, Fort William Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Electric Light Association.

William died on September 3, 1964.

Image of Thomas Ney Bird

Thomas Ney Bird was born on December 13, 1880 in the apartment above the woollen mill.

He joined the family woollen mill business and continued to work there until his retirement.  Following the death of his father, Thomas was the Bird Woollen Mill's president for a short time.

An active member of the community, Robert was a member of the Bracebridge Board of Education, the Bracebridge Rotary Club, the Curling and Lawn Bowling Clubs and in 1904 was a Town Councillor.

He married Mary Isobel Hodgins (1882-1959) who was a member of the Bracebridge High School staff before they were married.

Thomas died unexpectedly in his McMurray Street home in 1958 at the age of 78. 

Image of Margaret Elizabeth Bird

Margaret (Meg) Elizabeth Bird was born at Woodchester Villa on December 31, 1883.

Margaret was an active member of the community and as a testament to this, she was elected the president of a ladies' sport club in 1926.

Her father sent Margaret to look after a Muskoka Home for Overseas Soldiers in London, England. This home was sponsored by the Bird Woollen Mill. 

Margaret died on September 25, 1973.

Image of Catherine Bird

Catherine (Kit or Cassie) Bird was born on April 11, 1886 at Woodchester Villa.

Following in the footsteps of her other family members, Catherine 'Kit' Bird was also sent overseas by her father to help run the Bird Woollen Mill-sponsered hospitality house for Canadian men serving in the War.

Catherine died on September 23, 1975.

Image of Mary May Matilda Bird

Mary (May) Matilda Bird was born at Woodchester Villa on November 17, 1889.

While visiting relatives in England, Mary enlisted as a Voluntary Aid Detachment with the British Red Cross.

During her service, Mary worked in Egypt, England and Russia serving as a nurse. She was granted medals for her war service but never spoke of her experiences.

Upon her return to Canada, she was one of the head nurses and was responsible for training student nurses at Western Hospital. Later, Mary worked in the tuberculosis ward at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and then became a public health nurse for the city.

When Mary returned to Muskoka, she worked with the Muskoka Health Unit for several years.

On January 3, 1977, Mary died at the age of 88.

The Bird Woolen Mill

The rooster and the hen have long been known as a symbol of excellent workmanship in Bracebridge and the rest of Canada. This trademark of quality was first stamped on fine wool products when the mill settled on the banks of the Bracebridge Falls and lasted until the mill closed in 1953.

Image of Bird Woollen Mill Logo

The Bird family has a long history in the textile industry stemming back to Mr. Bird’s home of Gloucestershire, England, in the 1700's where the Bird's produced cloth for billiard tables. This fine textured cloth was renowned in Europe and Bird products won awards in England and France.

The first Bird Woollen Mill was opened in 1869 in Glen Allen, Ontario, however, closed its doors in 1871 after two floods and the death of Henry J. Bird’s wife and two children from tuberculosis.

A saw mill and a grist mill had been operating on the south side of the Bracebridge Falls for a few years. These inspired Mr. Bird’s choice of Bracebridge for the location of his new mill. 

Image of old Bird Woollen Mill   Image of old Bird Woollen Mill Warehouse

In the early years, the mill's operation was dependent on the amount of local wool brought in by farmers. When a farmer brought his raw wool in it could be traded for carded wool or spun yarn. Popularity of this trade system increased in 1888, and at this time an expansion was necessary - stone and brick warehouses were added to the mill in order to store the Muskoka wool.

The warehouse was eventually replaced by a second three storey building. By 1911, a third building was erected and new machinery was ordered from England. By this time, the original mill was almost unrecognizable among the many marks of progress.

This growth meant that supplies of Muskoka wool were not large enough to fulfill the needs of the mill and Mr. Bird began importing wool from other parts of Canada, Iceland, New Zealand and Austria. 

"Indian Point" blankets were manufactured when people began to flock to Muskoka in the summertime. Stocking and legging yarn, sporting cloth, Romney’s, heavy tweeds, and also a black glossy Mackinaw cloth were also produced at the mill. 

The Mackinaw jacket, which was popular with lumberjacks for its water resistance, was what made the Bird Woollen Mill famous. In 1890 they were contracted by Carr’s Mackinaw in Orillia to create this special grey tweed.  This contract was responsible for fifty percent of manufacturing capacity for some time at the mill. 

Image of old Bird Woollen Mill Receipt

Local sales also contributed to the mill’s profits - skeins of yarn, socks, blankets, work pants and sports clothes were sold at Mr. Bird’s store. At the peak of the tourist season almost fifty percent of the mill’s production would be sold locally.

During World War I, the mill changed its production to meet the demands of the war effort. Operating from 7:00 am until 9:00 pm, the mill produced service blankets by the hundreds. Heavy grey coat material was woven for the army and the air force while finer finished khaki was used for the soldiers’ uniforms. During this time, the Bird Woollen Mill still produced its mackinaw but 90 percent of production was devoted towards the war effort.

The mill reached its peak in the years before the Depression. However, by the end of the 1930's, many of the markets had disappeared or declined and the mill closed its doors during the height of the Depression. The mill workers were given work by the town, where they dug sewers and were compensated with vouchers until the mill could reopen.

By the 1940's, the farming and lumbering era had ended and this part of the local market was gone for the mill. When World War II began, the Canadian government refused to give any orders for war supplies to the Bird Woollen Mill. The only local competition at this time was Humphrey Woollen Mill in Simcoe however, some major competition came from England. When Mackenzie King’s government was in power they lowered the tariff on English imports and very fine wool was being brought into Canada at low prices. At this time, the Canadian mills could no longer compete which eventually led to the closing of the Bird Woollen Mill.

The introduction of synthetics such as nylon and polyester claimed a large part of the wool market. The Bird Woollen Mill could no longer afford to keep up with the times. Their machinery was old and slow, and they did not have the financial resources to purchase better equipment. The closing of the mill was a gradual process. During its last year of operation, only 25 of the original 60 workers remained.

In 1953, the Bird Woollen Mill closed its doors for good. In later years, the old buildings were destroyed to make room for a new parking lot. Today, one building remains to mark the place where one of Bracebridge’s grandest traditions began, under the mark of the hen and rooster. Renovated in 1993, today the last remaining building houses the Bracebridge Chamber of Commerce, the Visitor Information Centre and the Riverwalk Restaurant.


Image of Bird Woollen Mills as of toay

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