The Dan Collings House is located mid-block at 33 Colborne Street. It was built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1880’s. There were once barns (for animals and equipment as well as for marsh hay) on the property. It was the original home of Dan Collings. He was always a teamster who worked the marsh and he later bought and sold junk and farm machinery. Dan had three daughters, Edna, Olive (Al Readman) and Emily (Chet Wilkinson). Dan was considered to be a real character who lived to the age of 93 years. Mrs. Collings died in the 1920’s.
The 1½-storey, two-bay ‘farmhouse’ has an ‘L’-shaped plan with an off-centre hall and a medium-pitched, gable roof. There is a single door with a multi-paned transom and sidelights. The structure has large window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Large, replacement, double-hung windows are set into the original openings with plain, wood trim and sills. The house has wood frame construction with vinyl siding. Originally, the siding was probably wood. According to the 2000 inventory, despite its new colours, the basic Gothic Revival form is very evident in this house. (1, 2, 3)

The house located at 62 Essa St. was once the home of the Metcalfe family. Mr. Metcalfe was a drover. (1)

This house is located at 99 Essa St. (on the southwest corner of Frederick and Essa Streets). It was once the This house is located at 99 Essa St. (on the southwest corner of Frederick and Essa Streets). It was once the home of Dick Lee. (1)

This house is located at 62 Frederick Street. The section of this street from Moore Street to Barrie Street was originally known as Letitia St., and was named after Letitia Magee (a land speculator in the 1830’s). The name was later changed to Frederick St. to avoid confusion during emergency calls. (1, 2)

This house is located at 68 Frederick Street. (1, 2)

This house is located at 106 Frederick Street. (1)

The house located mid-block at 56 Hurd St. was built in the 1860-1880’s in the Gothic Revival style. The level of the sidewalk above the front yard suggests that this house was built before the street was paved or town services were installed. It was the home of the Gummerson family (before moving to 151 Church Street). Charlie Wilson and his family lived here in later years.
The 1½-storey, ‘L’-shaped house has an asymmetrical façade, a centre hall, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The roof has an off-centre gable at the front façade projection. The Regency-style entrance has a flat, narrow transom with multiple lights and sidelights set into a rectangular opening. Wide, wood framing is topped with a shelf projection. The house has tall, narrow windows with high floor to ceiling heights. They are set into narrow, rectangular openings with plain, wood frames topped by shelf projections and plain, wood sills. A ground-floor bay window has a shallow hip roof supported on brackets. The 2/2 windows are the only original ones in the structure. Wood frame construction is covered with vinyl siding which replaces the original cove siding. The house has a parged, stone foundation. When the house was inventoried in 2000, a single fragment of ‘gingerbread’ was found hanging from one corner of the eaves. This suggests that more elaborate decoration was original to the house. (1, 3)

The Old Presbyterian Manse is located at 129 James St. (on the northeast corner of James and Essa Streets). It was built around 1875 in the Neoclassical style. It was being used as a manse at the turn of the century and has since been converted into duplex units.
The two-storey, rectangular building has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan and a medium-pitched, gable roof. It has large window openings, high floor to ceiling heights, and large, 6/6, double-hung windows. The original entrance probably had sidelights and a transom. There appears to have been a broad verandah at the front entrance and identical chimneys at both ends of the gable roof at one time. The building has sculptured, curvilinear, soffit brackets, solid brick construction (Flemish bond), and an exposed, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the existing entrance and many windows and doors do not reflect the original design intent. It also notes that the existing duplex unit arrangement suggests major interior modifications. (1, 3)

This series of photographs depicts the demolition of the Van Voorst-Armstrong house on Line 6, next to Bradford Valley Nursing Home. Dave Chambers (of Bond Head) used some of the bricks from this site for an outdoor fireplace.
See related descriptions "No heritage designation for ca. 1850s home" for more information.

Description : See "Davis Stoddart / Frank Ritchie farm house" for more information on the home.