ERB, Isaac Clemens. (1855-1949), one of the first architects in Western Ontario to operate an international practise, with offices on both sides of the border, one in Petrolia, Ontario and, from 1893 onward, in Port Huron, Michigan. Born in Thedford, Bosanquet Township, Lambton County, near Sarnia, on 2 September 1855, he was the son of Abraham Erb, a builder and contractor from Preston, Ont., and he presumably received his training in the building trades under the supervision of his father. By 1885 he was already offering his services as an architect in nearby Petrolia, Ont. In May 1893 he announced that he had opened a new office in Port Huron, Michigan, directly across the St. Clair River from Sarnia, Ont. (Sarnia Observer, 12 May 1893, 8). However, he continued to maintain an office in Petrolia, Ont. where he was listed in the Western Ontario Gazetteer & Directory, 1898-99, and he completed designs for churches and schools in that town in 1896-99. His last commission in Ontario appears to be for a public school in Dresden, Ont. in 1908. Erb later died at Port Huron, Mich. on 30 January 1949 (obituary Port Huron Times Journal, 31 Jan. 1949, 1; death notice, Detroit Free Press, 2 Feb. 1949, 20). A short biography of Isaac C. Erb was published in Ezra E. Eby, A Biographical History of Waterloo Township, 1895, Vol. 1, p. 642 (inf. David J. Ellwood; inf. Ian Mason, Sarnia).
(works in Ontario)
PETROLIA, ONT., residence for Thomas Kelly, Lorne Avenue near Queen Street, 1887 (Heritage Petrolia - Designation Statement 13 Feb. 1984)
PETROLIA, ONT., I.O.O.F. Odd Fellows Hall, Petrolia Street near Tank Street, 1888-89 (Heritage Petrolia - Designation Statement 13 Feb. 1984)
PETROLIA, ONT., First Baptist Church, Greenfield Street at Walnut Street, 1896-97 (Petrolia Advertiser, 11 March 1897, 10, illus. & descrip.)
PETROLIA, ONT., East End public School, 1897 (C.R., viii, 22 July 1897, 1, t.c.)
PETROLIA, ONT., St. Paul’s Methodist Church, Main Street at Albany Street, 1898-99 (Daily Advertiser [London], 31 May 1897, 5; Christian Guardian [Toronto], 6 April 1898, 212; C.R., ix, 20 July 1898, 1, t.c.; Petrolia Topic, 10 Aug. 1899, 1, descrip.; St. Paul’s United Church Centennial 1865-1965, illus.)
DRESDEN, ONT., public school, 1908 (Construction [Toronto], ii, Nov. 1908, 34)
(works in Michigan)
PORT HURON, MICH., First Presbyterian Church, Wall Street at Eighth Street, 1893 (Petrolia Advertiser, 2 June 1893, 5; Port Huron Daily Times, 4 Aug. 1893, 5)
PORT HURON, MICH. residence for Gilbert Cronshaw, Sixth Street at Griswold Street, 1893 (Port Huron Daily Times, 4 Aug. 1893, 5)
PORT HURON, MICH., residence for James A. Davidson, 7th Street at Union Street, 1896 (Times-Herald [Port Huron], 12 June 1988, p. F 28; inf. Ian Mason, Sarnia, Ont.)
PORT HURON, MICH., Jefferson Elementary School, Washington Avenue at 10th Street, c. 1897 (inf. Ian Mason, Sarnia, Ont.)
DRYDEN, MICH., St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1898 (Detroit Free Press, 28 Aug. 1898, 20)
YALE, MICH., large residence for James McColl, 1899 (Detroit Free Press, 9 April 1899, 11; Kathryn B. Eckert, The Buildings of Michigan, 1993, 357-58, descrip.)
ST. CLAIR, MICH., residence for Mrs. A.R. MacArthur, 1899 (Detroit Free Press, 16 April 1899, 11)
HARBOUR BEACH, MICH., public school, 1899 (Detroit Free Press, 24 Sept. 1899, 11)
HARBOUR BEACH, MICH., a residence for the Roman Catholic priest, 1900 (Port Huron Daily Times, 16 April 1900, 5)
YALE, MICH., residence for R.G. McLaughlin, 1900 (Port Huron Daily Times, 16 April 1900, 5)
YALE, MICH., a large 3 storey hotel for Jerry B. Paisley, 1901 (Detroit Free Press, 31 March 1901, Section Two, p. 2)
PORT HURON, MICH., parochial residence for St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Church, 1901 (Port Huron Daily Times, 12 July 1901, 6, t.c.)
HARBOUR BEACH, MICH., German Lutheran Church, 1901-02 (Detroit Free Press, Section Three, 10 Nov. 1901, 11)
DECKERVILLE, MICH., High School, 1901-02 (Detroit Free Press, 24 Jan. 1902, 3, illus. & descrip.)
PORT HURON, MICH., major additions to Port Huron Salt Works, including granaries, warehouses, and drying rooms, 1903-04 (Port Huron Daily Times, 29 Oct. 1903, 7, descrip.)
PORT HURON, MICH, Young Men's Christian Association, 1907 (Port Huron Daily Times, 9 Feb. 1907, 9, t.c.)
MEMPHIS, MICH., a large two storey brick public school, 1913 (Port Huron Times-Herald, 18 Feb. 1913, 8, t.c.)
PORT HURON, MICH., major addition to the County Court House, with interior spaces to be shared by the City, and by the County Courts, 1925-26 (Port Huron Daily Times, 19 Nov. 1925, 1, descrip.)