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The house at 10387 McCowan Road is located on a part of the west half of Lot 23, Concession 7. John Henry Pingle, one of the Berczy settler group, receive the Crown patent for the property in 1818, after William Jervois lost the property, perhaps because he may not have completed his settlement duties to qualify for the land grant.
In 1838, Thomas Peach, an English immigrant who came to Canada with his family in 1834, purchased the west 100 acres of Lot 23 from John Smith after it had changed hand several times since the 1818 patent date. The Peach family were strong supporters of their church and Peach’s Chapel at the north west corner of today’s McCowan Road and Elgin Mills Road East was built on land donated by Thomas Peach. Thomas “Daddy” Peach was a lay-preacher or class leader in the Methodist Church.
Thomas Peach was a farmer, and his son John was a labourer, perhaps working on the family farm or in one of the local industries in the nearby hamlets of Cashel or Milnesville. According to the 1851 census, a two storey brick farmhouse (10387 McCowan Road) was standing on the property at that time.
John Peach was willed the family farm in 1880. A relative by marriage, Thomas Peach Morris, was living in the household and along with John Peach was farming the land at the time of the 1881 census. Thomas P. Morris was a son of Charles Morris, an American-born carriage trimmer living in Norfolk County, and his wife, Ann.
John Peach married Martha M. Lewis. After Martha died in 1898, Elizabeth Lewis (possibly Martha’s sister) lived with John Peach as a household servant. Thomas P. Morris had stayed on in the local area, farming another Peach family property on Lot 26, Concession 6 after moving out of John Peach’s household. After the death of John Peach in 1916, Thomas P. Morris became the owner of the property where 10387 McCowan Road stands when it was willed to him in 1917 by John Peach.
In 1928, John W. Morris, one of the executors of Thomas P. Morris’ will, became the owner of the farm. In 1965, the property was sold out of the family by Mary Morris, who sold to George Ledson.
The Thomas Peach House is an exceptionally fine example of a farmhouse in the Georgian architectural tradition, with the influence of the Neo-classic in its front door surround and large front windows. The full two storey height of the main block and the use of Flemish bond brickwork on the front wall are indications of a superior class of dwelling. The shallow depth of the main block lends a sense of verticality to appearance of the house and sets this example of a mid-nineteenth century rural dwelling apart from other brick farmhouses of the same period in Markham which were typically one and a half storeys in height and two bays in depth. The overall effect of the Thomas Peach House is a character of formality and authenticity. The presence of original gable-end chimneys enhances this aspect of the building.
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