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 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 house located at 39 Drury St. (at the southeast corner of Drury and Thomas Streets) was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. Bob (“Red”) Armstrong, a bachelor, once lived here. Jim Webb eventually bought the property and rented the structure to Victor Hunter (a carpenter) and his family. Frank Park (a handyman) kept his horse in the small barn on the property. Charles Hounsome (a railway section man) also lived here at one time. Lloyd Houston (a butcher) and his wife Jean lived here after the wars. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a shallow-pitched, gable roof, a symmetrical façade, and a rectangular plan with a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. The simple entrance has a single door set into a rectangular opening. It opens directly into the house from grade level and there is no porch (or weather protection) to shelter the entrance. The windows have low floor to ceiling heights. There are double-hung, 2/2 windows on either side of the entrance that appear to be original. They are set into simple, rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. Wood frame construction is covered with vinyl siding. The original cladding was wood. The house has a parged, stone foundation. There is a single, brick masonry chimney at the centre of house. According to the 2000 inventory, this simple cottage probably had few decorative details originally. It also notes that the concrete block chimney on the exterior south wall is a later addition. (1, 2, 3)
The one-storey house once located on the west side at 44 Drury St. had stucco cladding originally. Many years ago it was the home of Fred McKay, his wife, and son (Bruce). Fred was a retired farmer. He had noted gardens (asparagus, strawberries, raspberries) on a number of lots around town. Fred worked for Thompson Fisher in the old skating rink. He also ran the pool room and sold gramophones over the Campbell’s drugstore on Holland Street. Chris Wren and his family lived here years later. Chris was a store merchant (from Mabel) and a painter and paper hanger. The house was demolished (in the 1990’s?) to make an exit and sewer connection from Joe Magani’s grocery store to Drury Street. (1, 2)
This building is located at 98 Essa Street (on property that was owned by Miss Hill many years ago). The structure later became the home of Ted Gapp. (1)
The house located mid-block at 116 Hurd St. was built pre-1890 in the Ontario Vernacular style. It was once the home of carpenter Arthur Moseley. The two-storey, rectangular building has simple detailing. There is a centre hall, a single-storey rear addition and a medium-pitched, hip roof. It has medium-sized window openings. The 2/2 wood, sash windows have plain, wood lug sills and trim. Aluminum, storm windows and a door are more recent additions. Stucco covers the wood frame construction and there is a parged, stone foundation. The structure was probably clad in wood cove siding originally. According to the 2000 inventory, this house once had a verandah and a bay window on the left side. It also notes a lack of decoration or porch addition. (1, 3)
