STOKES, John Thomas (1824-1891) was born at Portsmouth, England, the son of George Stokes, a tavern owner, and Henrietta (Brown) Stokes. He was trained as a civil engineer and architect in England and emigrated to Canada in 1849 where he settled at Sharon, near Newmarket, Ont. He served terms as the Postmaster in Sharon, as Inspector of Public Schools, and later as Clerk-Treasurer of East Gwillimbury Township, and began to advertise his services as an architect in November 1853 (New Era [Newmarket], 15 Dec. 1854, 1). By 1859 his keen interest in the Gothic Revival style was evident in his distinctive design for the mansion for Joseph Gould at Uxbridge, Ont. This patronage by Gould was significant and led to other important commissions being awarded to Stokes by Gould for the Mansion House Hotel (1872) and the Mechanics Institute (also called the Joseph Gould Institute) in 1886. In 1874 Stokes was chosen by the York County Council from a field of twelve candidates to succeed Silas James as Superintendent of Public Roads, a post which included many architectural and engineering duties. Although his business office was located at the York County Court House on Adelaide Street East in Toronto he continued to reside in Sharon and complete designs for both county engineering works and for private architectural commissions in York County and elsewhere.
Stokes was one of the founding members, with Sir Casimir Gzowski, of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers in 1887. He died at Toronto on 30 November 1891 from pneumonia and was buried at Newmarket Cemetery. At the time of his death he was noted as 'an energetic and intensely practical businessman' who was 'stern and inflexible in purpose'. A portrait of him can be found in the Council Chamber of the East Gwillimbury Township Hall (obituary in the Toronto Daily News, 1 Dec. 1891, 1; The Globe [Toronto], 2 Dec. 1891, 8; Newmarket Era, 4 Dec. 1891, 3; 11 Dec. 1891, 3; 'John Thomas Stokes, C.E.' by Ian M. Hamer, in The York Pioneer, lxxxiii, 1988, 39-46, with biography and list of works).
SHARON, ONT., 'Maplehyrn', a residence for the architect, 1852 (inf. Ian M. Hamer, Whitby)
MOUNT ALBERT, ONT., reconstruction of the Royal Oak Hotel, 1854 (inf. Ian M. Hamer, Whitby)
SHARON, ONT., residence for Robert Brammer, 1857 (inf. J.L. Brown, Sharon)
NEWMARKET, ONT., major alterations to residence for Walter Dudley, 1859 (Newmarket Era, 1 July 1859, 3, t.c.)
UXBRIDGE, ONT., residence for Joseph Gould, 1859; demol. 1918 (North Ontario Times [Uxbridge], 21 Nov. 1918, 1, descrip.)
NEWMARKET, ONT., Northern York County Registry Office, Main Street South, 1863; demol. 1956; and replaced in 1884 by a new Registry Office following a standard plan from Kivas Tully, adapted by John T. Stokes (Newmarket Era, 9 Oct. 1863, 2, descrip.; 25 April 1884, 2 and 3, t.c.)
(attributed) NEWMARKET, ONT., The Palace, an exhibition hall located on the Fairgrounds, 1866; demol. 1927
(attributed) SHARON, ONT., Methodist Church, 1867
SHARON, ONT., St. James Anglican Church, 1869 (St. James The Apostle Anglican Church, Sharon, Ont. - A Brief History, n.d.)
KING TOWNSHIP, Concession 2, Lot 32, residence for Mrs. Sarah Rogers, Yonge Street, 1870 (Newmarket Era, 23 Sept. 1870, 2, descrip.)
(with Henry Langley) STAYNER, ONT., Methodist Church, 1870-71 (Church of the Good Shepherd, Stayner, Vestry Minute Book, entry for 31 March 1872; inf. from Rev. J. Woolley)
KING TOWNSHIP, Concession 1, Lot 93, Yonge Street, residence for John Rogers, 1870-71 (Newmarket Era, 23 Sept. 1870, 2, descrip.)
NEWMARKET, Cemetery Dead House, 1870-71; demol. 1940; Caretaker's Residence, 1873-74 (Newmarket Era, 23 Sept. 1870, 2, descrip.)
UXBRIDGE, ONT., Mansion House Hotel, Brock Street, 1872; demol. c. 1960 (Uxbridge Journal, 20 June 1878, 2)
RINGWOOD, ONT., Public School for United School Section No. 2, Whitechurch & Markham, 1873 (Markham Economist, 30 Jan. 1873, 3, t.c.)
NEWMARKET, ONT., St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Water Street at Eagle Street, 1874 (Newmarket Era, 29 May 1874, 2; History of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 1934, 15)
NEWMARKET, ONT., Christian Baptist Church, Main Street, 1874-75 (Newmarket Era, 31 July 1874, 1 & 4; 17 Sept. 1875, 2, descrip.)
BOLTON, ONT., Public School, 1874; demol. (Globe [Toronto], 17 June 1874, 2, t.c.)
BRADFORD, ONT., Stoddard Building, two brick stores for William Stoddard, 1875; demol. (OA, MU 3277, Stoddard Papers, contract)
NEWMARKET, ONT., High School, 1876; burned 1893 (Globe [Toronto], 3 May 1876, 2, t.c.)
TORONTO, ONT., York County Court House, Adelaide Street East near Church Street, alterations and improvements, 1880; still standing in 2022 (Mail [Toronto], 1 April 1880, 4, descrip.)
NEWMARKET, ONT., York County House of Refuge, Yonge Street, 1882; demol. (Globe [Toronto], 28 Jan. 1882, 6, descrip.; 4 March 1882, 8, descrip.)
NEWMARKET, ONT., residence for Sir William Mulock, Yonge Street, 1883 (City of Toronto Archives, SC74, Letter Book of J.T. Stokes, 1883-86)
KING TOWNSHIP, Glenville School, S.S. 9, 1883 (Newmarket Era, 5 Jan. 1883, 2 and 3, t.c.)
NEWMARKET, ONT., Northern York County Registry office, Main Street South near Millard Avenue, 1884; an adaptation of the standard plan for provincial Registry Offices from Kivas Tully; still standing in 2022, and now the Elman Campbell Museum (Parks Canada, Canada's Historic Sites, designated 4 May 1987)
VAUGHAN TOWNSHIP, on the Maple Sideroad, extensive alterations to residence for Peter Patterson, 1884 (City of Toronto Archives, SC74, Letter Book of J.T. Stokes, 1883-86)
(attributed) EAST GWILLIMBURY TOWNSHIP, near Queensville, residence for Dr. E. Morton, 1885
WOODSTOCK, ONT., Patterson Brothers Agricultural Works, 1886 (Globe [Toronto], 8 May 1886, 15, t.c.; 21 Aug. 1886, 2, t.c.)
(attributed) UXBRIDGE, ONT., Joseph Gould Institute and Library, 1886 (Uxbridge Journal, 15 Dec. 1887, 2)