Advertisement of Driffill's Hardware Store

Grand opening of John Evans' Dry Goods and Hardware store on October 1st, 1865 on Holland Street.. It also tells us that Mr. Trott's Merchant Tailor shop and S. Trott's Cabinet Shop were on Holland Street at the time.

Advertisement for Thomas Driffill's hardware store. He began with a blacksmith's shop in December, 1831, and later moved on to hardwares.

Hardware store owned by Alonzo Feaver in Bond Head.

The original building located at 4 Holland St. West (on the southwest corner of Holland and Simcoe Streets) was built in the 1840’s and was situated on land originally owned by James Drury. He was one of the early immigrants who reached Upper Canada. Drury rented the corner lot to Thomas Driffill (a blacksmith), who opened a hardware store at that location. The lot was later sold to Robert Cooke, who leased the property to Driffill for another 20 years. Thomas Driffill became the village of Bradford’s first reeve when it was incorporated in 1857. The great fire of 1871 destroyed all but the building’s foundation. It was rebuilt incorporating the intact, old vault and locally-made bricks. Thomas Driffill bought the building in 1885, eventually retired, and left the business to his sons, Joseph and James, who eventually sold it to Andrew Thompson, Driffill's partner. It became Thompson's Hardware. A series of different owners and different types of enterprises followed. William Barron bought the building in 1946 and relocated his hardware business to this site. He made several renovations, including adding a new stone façade, new plate glass windows, and an elevator to facilitate deliveries to the tinsmithing shop upstairs. He retired and left the business to his son Norman. The building later became a motorcycle shop, and eventually, for several years, the Winchester Arms Restaurant. (1, 2, 4, “Four Holland Street West: A Short History” by Lorraine Philip - Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library, Local History Collection).

Advertisement of Driffill's Hardware, Book, Stationary, and Fancy Goods House.

This building is located at 26 Holland St. West. H.F.S. Gardner, his wife Bertha, and children Tom and Ada (who was in a wheelchair) moved from Newmarket to this area in 1920. They opened a combination general and hardware store that sold clothing, boots, shoes, paints, tools, coal, oil, etc. The business used all the available space in the building, including the two floors and the basement. The family lived on Simcoe St. in a house owned by Miss Hill. (1, 2)

An account bill made out to the Bradford Lawn Bowling Club by Robert Neilly for hardware, dated December 31st, 1914.

An account bill made out to the Bradford Lawn Bowling Club by Moore Bros. Goods Store, dated May 14th, 1913. Paid May 15th, 1913.

Two ads for Bradford businesses, including H.R. Douglas and McKinstry’s Garage, c. 1933.