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Henry Becker Store and House - Digital Archive
The Digital Archive and complementary Interactive Heritage Register Map are initiatives to provide historical information regarding properties included on the Township’s Heritage Register. The Digital Archive only includes properties which have consented to include their heritage property on this archive.
The lands we know today as the Township of Puslinch have been home to
Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. We acknowledge that we are on the
traditional territory of the Hatiwendaronk, as well as the treaty lands and traditional
territory of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee.
With increasing encroachment by non-Indigenous settlers in the Township of Puslinch, the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee could not continue their traditional lifestyle and settled in their villages along the Credit River and in the Grand River Valley. These Indigenous nations uphold their Treaty Rights within our jurisdiction.
Today, the Township of Puslinch remains home to Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island. We are grateful to have the opportunity to share and respect Mother Earth and are committed to building constructive and cooperative relationships with Indigenous nations.
Henry Becker Store and House
Biographical Info
The Henry Becker Store was constructed by stonemason Angus McPherson around 1874. The stone store replaced the pre-existing log store on the property. The stone building had a main entrance with two display windows on either side. In the 1960s, Douglas Mast and his wife Lois McCaig purchased the property, now vacant and in disrepair. The Henry Becker Store was renovated, with a new roof, a north side addition, and a new entrance, the east entrance closed off. The now commercial residence is of a unique stone Ontario House style. The Henry Becker House has an interesting blend of pointed stonework and a rubblestone band below the central gable and Gothic window.
German-born shoemaker Henry Becker and his wife Elizabeth appear on Lot 26 as early as 1861, according to the Puslinch census. Becker originally operated a shop on the lower west floor.
The property is historically associated with Prussian immigration, as well as general commerce in Crieff and Puslinch.
Categories: Decade Built – 1870s, Decade Plaqued – 2000s, Gothic Style, Historical Association – Prussian/Prussia, Materials – Stone, One-and-a-half storeys, Ontario House Style