Laurent Quetton St. George House

Laurent Quetton (1771-1821) was a French Royalist who, grateful for the sanctuary provided by the British, added “St. George” to his name. He arrived with the Comte de la Puisaye to settle on property on north Yonge Street. While the others returned to the old world, not liking the cold Canadian winters, he stayed and built a drygoods business. By 1802 he had moved into the Town of York, and business florished. He became lifelong friends with the Baldwin family and was a business partner of John Spread Baldwin. His home, at 204 King Street East, the northeast corner of Frederick Street and King, which also served as a display for his goods and for storage, was designed by Dr. William Warren Baldwin. It was a two storey brick Georgian style house facing King Street, and was much admired in its time. This was the first residence and second building in the district to be built of brick. On either side of the front door were two pairs of shuttered windows, and five bays across the second storey. There, the central window had a fan light above it and side lights. When St. George returned to France after the restoration of the Bourbons, the Baldwins got the house. They rented it to the Canada Company, for use as headquarters, until 1895. After the break-up of the Baldwin estates, the house deteriorated and was demolished in 1904. This had been one of the first fine residences on King Street, and later the headquarters of the Canada Company.

Information from “A Glimpse of Toronto’s History” MPLS # 244