Home Appraisals in St. Marys

St. Marys sits in Perth County but stands apart from it. Perth County says the City of Stratford and the Town of St. Marys run their own municipal governments, independent of the county’s. The site was surveyed for the Canada Company in 1839, at the junction of the Thames River and Trout Creek, and mills at the Little Falls of the Thames formed the first settlement.

The Thames once ran over limestone ledges here, powering the first mills, and the stone beside it could be quarried for building. Many 19th century limestone churches, commercial blocks and private homes survive, which gave the town its nickname, Stonetown. The Grand Trunk Railway arrived in the late 1850s, and its two large trestle bridges on limestone pillars became part of the landscape.

Council created the Heritage Conservation District in 2010, by By-law 32-2010, and the Town also has individually designated properties. Alterations to these properties are managed through a heritage permit. The district plan describes a compact commercial core with mainly residential streets around it, including many one and one-and-a-half storey cottages, with wood on many modest homes. A stone house and a modest frame cottage of the same age are not the same comparable, so we match sales by material, condition and heritage status as well as by era.

Town and countryside are separate markets here. The Town owns a groundwater supply system and a sanitary sewer system, so homes in town are compared with one another first. Rural properties beyond the town are in separate municipalities and are compared with other rural homes. Flooding is part of the local picture as well. A floodwall protects the downtown, and the core is a Special Policy Area with its own floodplain rules. VIA Rail serves the station, and the town is also home to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. For the city to the southwest, see our London page.

Municipality

St. Marys is a separated town. It lies within Perth County but has its own municipal government, independent of the county’s. Perth County’s members are North Perth, West Perth, Perth East and Perth South.

Heritage

The Town has one Heritage Conservation District, created by By-law 32-2010, along with individually designated properties. Alterations to these properties are managed through a heritage permit.

Courthouse

The Perth County courthouse is at 1 Huron Street in Stratford. The Superior Court of Justice lists family motions, conferences and trials at this location.

Land registry

Perth is Ontario land registry division No. 44.

Conservation authority

St. Marys is a member of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, which has jurisdiction over the Thames, Trout Creek and Birches Creek in town. Ontario plans to consolidate conservation authorities, so this name may change.