Harris, Thomas | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

HARRIS, Thomas (c. 1842-1863), recorded as an architect and builder who lived and worked in Richmond Hill, York County, just north of Toronto. In 1842 he prepared a Gothic design for the Methodist Church, RICHMOND HILL, ONT., an ecclesiastical landmark finally completed in 1847. The church stood until December 1879 when it was destroyed by fire. In a historical article on the church published in 1888, he was referred to as “..the late Thomas Harris, architect and builder” (The Liberal [Richmond Hill], 30 Aug. 1888, 1). Harris is also credited as the designer of a unique octagonal Dead House (or cemetery vault) which still stands in the centre of the Presbyterian Cemetery, Yonge Street, RICHMOND HILL, ONT., 1863, immediately adjacent to the Presbyterian Church. The structure was restored in 1996 (inf. LACAC Committee, Richmond Hill). He may have been related to John Harris, another architect active in Richmond Hill during this period.