{"id":17808,"date":"2025-11-09T14:46:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T19:46:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dunany.ca\/?p=17808"},"modified":"2025-11-09T14:46:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T19:46:04","slug":"the-really-fascinating-story-of-the-parkes-house-at-1001-dunany-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dunany.ca\/en\/the-really-fascinating-story-of-the-parkes-house-at-1001-dunany-road\/17808","title":{"rendered":"The Really Fascinating Story of the Parkes House at 1001 Dunany Road."},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is the fascinating story of a a large piece of land of about 200 acres at the east entrance of Dunany that was originally a farm developed by John James Evan’s family<\/strong> who came to Canada in 1823 from Cavan County in Ireland. It was later sold to James Morrison<\/strong> (1870-1940) of Shrewsbury and then in 1927 to James Stowell Parkes<\/strong>, a prominent businessman in Montreal who came from Britain in 1885, known primarily as the founder of the Stowell Screw Company.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Parkes house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Parkes house was probably built in 1927 and abandoned sometime in the late 70’s; most likely because it had become inhabitable having previously been sprayed with foam insulation that contained toxic formaldehyde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time in Qu\u00e9bec, the use of this insulating material gave birth to ” Le scandale de la MIOUF”. After it was installed, it was discovered that the foam could release formaldehyde gas, especially in the presence of moisture. Many homeowners who had used the product saw the value of their properties decrease and faced costly removal processes. It was banned in 1980.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is unfortunate as the view from this house is exceptional. On a clear day, one can see Mont-Royal. I witnessed it myself on a summer visit many years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very reliable local source confirms this scenario and adds that, by that time, the house had been acquired by J.F. Wilson<\/strong>, another wealthy businessman, who was the owner of Price \/ Wilson in Lachute. He also owned a large cottage facing west at Clear Lake which was later sold to Georges-H\u00e9bert Germain who spent a lot of time there for many decades.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The ruins of the Parkes House are located on the top middle of the map. The 200 acre piece of land on the east side of Dunany Road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Finally, this large piece of land of about 200 acres where the Parker house sits was acquired many years ago by Mousbah Naamani <\/strong>who, earlier this year, sold it to Ducks Unlimited<\/strong><\/a> who purchased it for conservation purposes. The site has already been cleaned up and the decaying garage removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ducks Unlimited<\/a> plans to develop the site with trails and attractions such as the ruins of the house, the tiny cemetery and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, you should be able to safely visit the site in the not too distant future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since an image is worth a thousand words, have a look at those!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click on the slides to enlarge and escape to reduce.<\/p>\n\n\n