The one-storey building with a flat roof located at 21 Barrie St. has been used by many businesses over the years. Tommy Lautonee owned the blacksmith and carriage factory once situated in this structure. George Geddes was the blacksmith there until late in 1937. There was a stable door at the south end of the building and two sets of windows running along the front. There was also a large door going to the rear where there was a stall for shoeing uncooperative horses and a large flat stone circle with a hole in the middle (for pestling steel rims on wheels). In later years, the Bradford Witness (owned by Stewart and Ina McKenzie) moved from Holland St. to this structure. The newspaper also ran a printing shop here. Harvey Marks was a typesetter. Frank Edney and Fallis also helped. After Stewart passed away, Ina ran the business until she retired. (1, 2)
The one-storey building with a flat roof located at 23 Barrie St. (as seen in the photo) replaces the round, metal building originally found on this site. It was an implement store and later the home of a pop business moved here by Keenty O’Keife (?) and run by Dave Smith (who helped deliver in and around the county). The building became a Chinese restaurant owned by Jack Pong around 1938. He ran it until after WWII (when he moved to Holland Street). (1, 2)
The southwest corner of John and Barrie Streets, which is now recognized as 28 Barrie St., was a vacant lot for many years. When Highway 11 was widened, Allan (Wink) Crake built a service station here. Bill Aikens ran it until his death during WWII. After the war, Mr. Hodgson (a retired O.P.P. officer), and then Frank Adamson, ran it. When the station closed, the pumps were removed and the structure became a Becker's Milk store. It was still in operation when this photo was taken in 1995. (1, 2)
The Methodist Manse is located at 96 Barrie St. on the southwest corner of Barrie and Frederick (formerly known as Letitia) Streets. It was built around 1885 in the neoclassical style. The building was used as the Methodist Manse until 1970. It later became a nursing home. The two-storey, rectangular building has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The two-storey, rear portion is a modern addition. A broad entrance has sidelights and a transom. There are large, 6/6 double-hung windows with wood sills and high floor to ceiling dimensions. Eaves and cornice returns are found at the end gable walls. The porch, as well as the stepped-cornice moulding with quatrefoil decoration and drop finials (a Gothic Revival detail), appear to be twentieth-century additions. Colour variations are seen in the solid-brick construction because of the different batches of brick that were used. The building has a stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, additions to the rear of the building over time have been somewhat ad-hoc and are stylistically inconsistent. (1, 3)
The house located at 111 Barrie St. was owned many years ago by Minnie (Spence) Hammel. It was rented to Alec and Mary Spence and Betty. When this house was built (before WWI), a wooden tank with a zinc liner was erected in the floored attic. Water was pumped to the tank by a wobble pump from a cistern in the basement. The cistern collected water from the eaves- trough around the roof. The water that flowed (by gravity) from the wooden tank was used to flush the toilet and fill up the tub before the town had water sewers in 1931. Annie Stone (from Bond Head) eventually moved into this house. She had it updated and an apartment was added upstairs. (1, 2)
The Professor Day House is located at 162 Barrie St. (on the northwest corner of Barrie and Queen Streets). It was built in the early 1880’s in the Gothic Revival Cottage style. Stables were originally located in the rear yard. Mrs. Creighton, a daughter of Dr. Stevenson, once lived here. A granddaughter, Gretchen Dewhurst, was still living here in 1996. The 1½-storey, three-bay cottage has a 1½-storey, rear ‘kitchen’ wing. It also has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, and a medium-pitched, gable roof with a centre gable over the entrance. An open porch with a gable roof is supported on plain wood posts with an open railing. The house has large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights. There are large double-hung, multi-paned windows at the ground floor and smaller, double-hung windows at the second floor. Shallow, pediment-shaped trim is found over the ground floor windows as well as plain, wood trim on the sides with wood slip sills. There are shutters at the windows on the front façade. The house has wood frame construction with painted, stucco cladding and a stone-rubble foundation and cellar. A stone chimney and fireplace were added in the 1950’s by Reverend Creighton. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in excellent condition with many original features (including doors and windows). It also notes that the changes that have been made to the house are in keeping with its original character. (1, 3) Please contact the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (905-775-3328) if you have any other information about this photo.
The two-storey, wood frame house located on the west side at 196 Barrie St. was built more than one hundred years ago. The original farmhouse did not have the front addition (as seen in the photo) and it was clad with white stucco (not vinyl). This building was once the home of the Tupling family, including Ed (crate factory). At that time (1940’s), there was still a shed containing a cistern at the back. Years later it was the home of Bob Petrie (father of Ev). The house was purchased by the Kulcsar family in 2001. During the various stages of the restoration, thick, stone foundation walls were discovered. These walls were reinforced with 1’-square timbers fastened together with wooden pegs and square-headed nails (likely produced by a local blacksmith). Segments of horsehair-plastered walls and cascading ceilings were also found. (1, Letter by S. Jacqueline Kulcsar)
The original Trinity Anglican Church (located at 60 Church Street) was built in 1851 and then destroyed by fire in 1900. Eight months later, the current structure (built in the Gothic Revival style) was opened for service under the Rev. Canon George Benjamin Morley. The structure has a cruciform plan, 1½ storeys, and a steeply-pitched, gable roof with a steeple. The main entrance is through an enclosed narthex dominated by a large, gothic, arched opening. It has large, rectangular, double doors with a multi-foiled transom light above (not original). Shallow buttresses support the side walls and steeple. Three narrow, gothic, arched windows are set into wide, rectangular openings to light the nave. The windows are narrow with a vertical emphasis. There are concrete lintels and lug sills. The three-part, gothic, arched windows refer to the Trinity. The building has wood frame construction with brick cladding and a cut-stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the church is in excellent condition with most of its original features. In 2004, Trinity Anglican Church purchased the adjacent former Presbyterian Church building and land. The vacant building was demolished in 2005 to provide additional parking for the congregation of Trinity Anglican Church. (1, 3, 5, Trinity Anglican Church Bradford website)
The building that is located at 67 Church St. (on the southeast corner of Church and James Streets) was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was moved to this site many years ago. The Robinson family once lived in this house. Mr. Robinson worked for Spence Lumber and he belonged to the Band. He had a daughter named Jean. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a rectangular plan with a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. It also has a symmetrical façade and a shallow-pitched, hip roof. The enclosed porch (added after the house was moved to this location) has a hip roof with a grade level entrance. It has a simple entrance with a single door opening to one side of the porch. Single windows to the primary rooms are found on each side of the porch. Double-hung, 2/2 windows appear to be original. The building has wood frame construction, wood shiplap siding, and a parged, stone foundation. There is a single, brick, masonry chimney at the exterior south wall. According to the 2000 inventory, this modest cottage probably had few decorative details originally. It notes that other than the building’s form, few existing building elements appear to be original. Existing James Street appears to be built at a higher level than this lot. This indicates that the house was moved here before the street was paved or town services were installed. (1, 3)
