As you walk up the front steps of what was once called “The Hynes House” you are greeted by a charming maroon-coloured door. Once you step into the three-story mansion at 220 Main Street in Shawville you are suddenly transported.
The house was first built in 1897 by . . .
George Hynes, a contractor in Shawville, for George F. Hodgins, the owner of the general store at the time. According to the Pontiac Archives, Hodgins built the house to impress his voters because at the time he was running in the federal election. He was first elected in 1900, then again in 1908 as Liberal MP for Pontiac County.
Hodgins was a well-known figure in his community. He was a businessman who, according to the archives, “helped build Shawville.” In the original designs, the mansion also included a ballroom, that didn’t end up being built. It was said that Hodgins never returned to live in his estate after he was defeated in the 1911 federal election.
The three-storey red-brick mansion was later used as a funeral home in the 1940s by Larry Hynes and his family who moved into the second floor of the home and operated their funeral parlour from the first floor.
In 1972, Larry Hynes was the last person to have his wake in the original Hodgins home. In 1974 Donald and Louise Lavallée turned the funeral home into their family home. Donald, who was a lawyer and accountant at the time, also ran a notary business in the back of the house. The Lavallées also continued to maintain and preserve the intricate woodwork and interior of the house.
After almost 40 years, Garry Morin and his husband bought the mansion in 2011 and lived there for almost ten years. He described one of his favourite features as the original 19th-century staircase with intricate floral woodwork designs along the arch of the staircase that goes up three stories high. Morin compared it something you would see in the British drama Downton Abbey.
In August of 2021 the 141-year-old home found its most recent owners, Giuliana Albanese and Richard St-Jean who bought the house from Morin because they fell in love with the endless possibility of things they can do with it.
They told THE EQUITY, they want to create a space where community members can come and hang out, have lunch, bike, and visit the antique store that they hope to open in their new home.
“We want to do something that’s gonna bring people to Shawville,” said St-Jean.
As antique collectors themselves they appreciate the craftsmanship, “this house was drawn by a good architect for sure,” said St-Jean.
One afternoon driving down Main St to go visit his partner in Otter Lake, St-Jean stumbled across this house, stopped to admire it and took a photo to show Albanese. A few months later to his surprise, Albanese bought a piece of furniture from Morin and sent St-Jean to 220 Main Street and that’s when he asked the previous owner to go in and get a tour of the mansion.
“I said if you ever sell the house, please let me know. He says ‘well maybe next year we’re going to sell’ so I said think of me,” said St-Jean. St-Jean, who is a carpenter and contractor does a lot of renovations himself. His partner Albanese, who owns the White Buffalo Vintage Furniture on Main Street, upcycles furniture and does interior design. The couple believe they can modernize the mansion while still preserving it.
For both Albanese and St-Jean, this is a dream project because “we like antiques, we like old stuff. Someone that doesn’t like old stuff is gonna hate it here because it’s a lot of work,” said St-Jean, who added they intend to keep all the original mouldings of the house.
“Next summer we’ll be living here but I’m gonna be renovating as I go,” he said.
Some of the things they mentioned they wanted to do is add a matte finish to the staircase.
St-Jean pointed out that the mouldings are made of oak and will stay unchanged as to get something like this currently would be expensive. The couple highlighted how they would also love to open the first floor and take down walls to create a more open space and restore the high ceilings that were originally there.
One of the things the house does not have is proper insulation, said St-Jean.
“The most important insulation is in the attic because the heat goes up so if you don’t have nothing to stop the heat it just goes out like a chimney. So, once we put insulation here the heat from downstairs is gonna come up and stay here,” said St-Jean.
Albanese with an excited look on her face, mentioned her favourite part to renovate is the attic as they plan to turn it into a master bedroom.
She also emphasized that she fell in love with the house because it holds such historical background and has character. Her partner echoed the sentiment and said, “there’s a charm in this village, all the old brick houses, it reminds me a bit of downtown Ottawa, there’s something special on this street, the building, the architecture, it’s very nice.”
