Built in 1862, Hillary House is a National Historic Site, known as one of Canada’s best remaining examples of Picturesque Gothic Revival architecture. With its wide verandahs, “gingerbread” trim, casement windows and pointed arches, Gothic Revival was a style that influenced many houses in Victorian Canada. It may be seen here in all its original glory.

Hillary House also is important as the former residence and workplace of four Canadian physicians, Dr. Walter Geikie, Dr. Frederick Strange, Dr. Robert William Hillary and
Dr. Robert Michael Hillary, whose professional practice spanned a time of immense scientific change.

Visitors today have the opportunity not only to enjoy an architectural masterpiece, but to see original instruments and equipment used in medical practice from the era of leeches and bloodletting to the development of antibiotics. They also will find how doctors and their families lived through rooms furnished by the Hillary family during their long period of ownership of the house from 1876 until 1981. 

Hillary House continues to play a role in the cultural life of its community through its unique “ballroom,” part of a wing added around 1870 and now restored to house special events and exhibits. This wing also houses what was probably Aurora’s first indoor bathroom with its original metal tub! 

Located amidst spacious grounds, including an original grass tennis court, flower gardens, tall trees and even a small barn which once housed the doctors’ all-important horses, carriage and sleigh for travelling to visit patients, Hillary House can seem like a world apart, even though it is just a few steps away from busy Yonge Street.

The Aurora Historical Society purchased Hillary House in 1981 and the ongoing restoration and operation of the museum builds on the legacy of generous donors such as the Hillary family and the late Murray Koffler, founder of Shoppers Drug Marts. In their honour the site is known as Hillary House National Historic Site, The Koffler Museum of Medicine.

The AHS acknowledges that the Anishinaabe lands on which we live and work are the traditional and treaty territory of the Chippewas of Georgina Island, as well as many other Nations whose presence here continues to this day. As the closest First Nation community to Aurora, we recognize the special relationship the Chippewas have with the lands and waters of this territory since time immemorial. They are the water protectors and environmental stewards of these lands, and we sincerely join them in these responsibilities. We further acknowledge that Aurora is part of the treaty lands of the Mississaugas and Chippewas, recognized through Treaty #13 and the Williams Treaties of 1923. Our team is grateful to be on these lands and look to a collaborative future.

The Hillary / Koffler Medical Collection

The full title of our premiere facility is Hillary House National Historic Site, The Koffler Museum of Medicine. It is indeed a unique institution of medical heritage. The House’s status as a museum of medicine rests first on the fact that it served as the site of both the rural medical practice and family home for no less than four physicians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In the mid-nineteenth century, away from the noise and bustle of Toronto, yet conveniently linked to the city, Aurora proved to be an attractive location for Dr. Walter Bayne Geikie and his family. The Scottish-born Geikie had served as partner to Dr. John Rolph at his new Toronto medical school, but now sought respite from the pressures of teaching and medical practice. At first, Geikie rented an old saltbox-style frame house known as Castle Doan on the north corner of Yonge and Catherine streets. In 1862, however, he determined to build his own house, probably employing the skills of a local builder familiar with the Picturesque Gothic Revival style which was then so popular. Dr. Geikie’s new house was located on the west side of Yonge Street, north of Castle Doan, where Geikie himself could watch its construction in progress. He, his wife Miriam and their two young sons moved there in November, 1862.

Dr. Geikie conducted his medical practice from the front rooms of the house and continued to live here until 1869 when he returned with his family to Toronto. The house was purchased by the young Dr. Frederick W. Strange, recently arrived from London, England, who came to live in Aurora with his wife and infant daughter. Dr. Strange enlarged and renovated the house, but eventually he too felt the call to the city, and sold the house in 1876 to Dr. Robert William Hillary who had first come to the Aurora area with his family from Ireland in 1856.

Dr. Robert William Hillary and Annie Fry Hillary lived in the house with their seven children, along with various cousins and aunts and an old family friend, Mrs. Mary Church Hall. In 1890 his son, Dr. Robert Michael Hillary, took over his father’s practice and continued to live and work at ‘The Manor,’ as the house was called. He and his wife, Edith Mussen, had nine children, all born at The Manor.

The Koffler Museum of Medicine has great significance as a resource for the study of nineteenth and early-twentieth century medical practice. It retains its original layout, which provided for a medical examining room and dispensary at the front, with family living quarters behind. Rather than being incidental to the design, as in other examples of houses built for medical practitioners, the spaces used for the practice of medicine here were very carefully planned to provide convenience and privacy for both patients and family members.

In addition to its architectural resources, the site’s unusually large and complete collection of medical records, books, pharmaceuticals and instruments document the practice of medicine carried out within its walls for the better part of a century.

Short Virtual Tours

Visit @HillaryHouseNHS on our YouTube Channel to see our full playlist, Around the House, featuring condensed narratives about Hillary House National Historic Site and the Aurora Historical Society.

Hillary House is open for in-person tours throughout the year. Check our Visit Us page to see our opening hours. If you are not able to make it to our heritage property, have a look at some short virtual tour videos to introduce the history of this impressive house and grounds.

Interested in a virtual program or more digital resources? Email community@aurorahs.com to discuss other AHS offerings.

Let’s Talk Aurora

Launched on February 28th in 2015, Let’s Talk Aurora was an inter-generational project conducted partially by local high school students who were given training on conducting interviews, AV equipment, video and sound editing, transcribing, and web design. They were all integral in the creation of this library.

The goal of Let’s Talk Aurora was to collect and preserve Aurora’s intangible heritage through the creation of a digital oral history library. This project was funded by the New Horizons for Seniors Program of the Employment and Social Development Canada Department, which promotes organizations that seek to assist seniors in contributing to their communities and making a difference.

Let’s Talk Aurora was in partnership with Hollandview Trail Retirement Community and the Senior Wish Association. Visit @HillaryHouseNHS on our YouTube Channel to see our full playlist, Let’s Talk Aurora.