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| Address: |
10235 48 HWY |
| Original Address: |
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| Property Legal Description: |
CON 8 PT LOTS 22 & 23 PLAN 65R14548 PT 1, 2 |
| Historical Name: |
Byer-Shank House |
| Heritage Conservation District: |
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| Ward: |
5 |
| Year Built: |
1829 |
| Architect Style: |
Georgian Tradition |
| Heritage Status of Property: |
Part IV (Individual) |
| Designation Bylaw: |
2024-213 |
| Heritage Easement Agreement: |
No |
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History Description |
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This property is the homestead of the family of Jonas Byer, a prominent early landowner who came to Markham Township from York County, Pennsylvania in 1810-1811 with his wife Elizabeth (Schwartz) Byer and their six children. The family were of the Tunker faith, an Anabaptist Christian sect related to the Mennonites. By 1820, Jonas Byer was the owner of 700 acres in Markham, including the homestead on the west halves of Lots 22 and 25, Concession 8. In 1829, his son David Byer built a large frame farmhouse on Lot 22, just west of Little Rouge Creek. A sawmill established on the property at an early date supplied lumber for Markham’s plank roads in the mid-nineteenth century. The farm passed to David Byer Jr. after his father’s death in 1844. He is best remembered as a healer who developed a treatment for outward growths and tumors known as the Byer Cancer Cure. The Byer Cancer Hospital was established on the property c.1890. A son, Daniel Byer, patented the cure and founded the D. Byer & Co. Cancer institute in 1895, after his father’s death in 1894. Christina Byer, a daughter of David Byer Jr., married Jonas Sauder and relocated the cancer hospital to Mount Joy in 1911, where it operated until the early 1920s. Another daughter, Mary Byer, inherited the farm and married William Shank. The property remained in Byer-Shank family until the 2020s, representing over two centuries of ownership. |
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| Contemporary Photograph |
Heritage Photograph |
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Key Map
Please note that the yellow polygon symbol is not indicative of the actual heritage area and is only meant to highlight the property the heritage building(s) is located at. For a complete description of the actual heritage property please refer to the Designation Bylaw found above. |
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