 Charles R. Shaw House
7979 Twelfth Avenue
This home was built by Burnaby's first Reeve (Mayor), Charles R. Shaw. A native of Lincolnshire, England, Shaw arrived in 1889 and purchased land and built this house beside the new tramline located on Sixth Street in 1891. When the movement began to form a local municipality, Shaw became an active participant in public meetings. On October 8, 1892, he was elected unanimously by a show of hands to become the first Reeve of the new Municipality of Burnaby. Shaw did not seek re-election and sold his house and farm in 1894. In 1918, the property was acquired by James Brookes who renovated the house and moved it to its present site to serve as the gardener's cottage for his new mansion in 1927. The house is a typical vernacular Victorian Queen Anne styled house with decorative shingles and gable trim. In 1998, the house was designated as a heritage building by Council as part of the Normanna Rest Home redevelopment.
|
