Old St. Andrews

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Topside

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In 1897 Captain Thomas Wheelock, of Shanghai and Boston, completed a handsome cottage at the top of King Street he called "Topside." This house like many summer homes in St. Andrews at that time such as Covenhoven on Minister's Island, some of the hotels, such as Kennedy's and the Argyll, and even the train station, used a windmill to draw water.

According to a 1901 St. Andrews item: "Mr. T. R. Wheelock . . . is a man of bright, active disposition, a keen golfer, wheelman and yachtsman. His son Geoffrey and Gordon Wheelock have his love for outdoor sport, they are recognized as two of the steadiest golfers this side of the Atlantic." Mr. Wheelock's sons were instrumental in laying out an additional 9 holes on the St. Andrews Golf Course, making it one of the few in Canada at that time to sport 18 holes. Mr. Wheelock's daughter Florency Ayscough was instrumental in building the Niger Reef Tea House, which open in 1926 and which is still in operation.

Since the mid-1990's the Wheelock house has operated as Kingsbrae Arms.