Whitehern, Neoclassical national historic site in downtown Hamilton, Canada

Whitehern is a two-storey Late Classical house built shortly before 1850, with a symmetrical facade, large sash windows and a central door topped by a Palladian window. Its north and east walls are limestone, the other walls rubble stone. Inside are a central staircase hall with wall niches, stucco mouldings and panelled doors.

Built by Richard O. Duggan in 1848, the villa was bought by Dr. Calvin McQuesten in 1852 and stayed in his family until it was given to the City of Hamilton in 1959. Thomas McQuesten, an Ontario cabinet minister, altered the house and had the grounds relaid by the Dunnington-Grub nursery. The museum opened after restoration in 1968–1971.

The house tells the story of the McQuesten family through furnishings and personal objects collected over multiple generations. You can see how the family lived here and what mattered to them.

Visitors can only enter the house through guided tours offered on several days each week. It is worth checking ahead to find out which days and times work best for your visit.

The 1848 garden layout survives, with curving paths and historic plantings of trees and flowers. A heart-shaped flower bed faces the front of the house, and the east stretch of the low stone wall around the grounds is original. The garden was relaid by the Dunnington-Grub nursery firm in Thomas McQuesten's time.