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Photograph of the Thompson Fisher House with the previous Fred C. Cook Senior Elementary School/ Bradford High School in the background. The Thompson Fisher House was built in the 1880s. Thompson Fisher was an insurance agent in Barrie and Alliston, and live to the age of 91 in 1944.

Gordon, Trudy, Frances, and Auke Ellens in front of their home in the Holland Marsh. They are standing beside their cookstove, which was used outside the house until the chimney was installed (the chimney pictured was newly installed). Auke Ellens had immigrated from the Netherlands.

An interview with Miriam Swan by Joe Saint. They discuss the Jeff's Homestead, which is Miriam's home, and the Strafford's home.

This was the home of Sam and Gilbert Lukes. It was originally built by John MacLean Stevenson in 1876. It was sold, first to Robert Bingham in 1877, then to James Boddy in 1894(?) who named it "Fairview". Later, after a number of other sales, it became the property of Rev. Egerton R. Young in 1903, and was renamed "Algonquin Lodge". Rev. Young in turn sold it to the Lukes family in 1910. The Lukes family, who owned the Bradford Flour Mill, made several repairs and alterations to the house under their ownership. In 1949, the house and property was sold to the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the Diocese of Toronto, but they soon sold the house to the Ursuline Order of the Diocese of London. In the years since, the building has been sold, re-sold, had court cases fought over ownership until late in the 1980's. In 1994, the building was torn down and the "Common Roof" facility was built.

"Demolition of the old convent on Barrie Street was scheduled to begin this week. The site, north of Frederick Street, will be the home of a new multi-service facility. When it's done in March 1995, it will be 15,000 square feet in size and will accommodate a child-care facility for 150 children. Bill Bowden, property manager for the Barrie and District Association for People with Special Needs and project manager for the new building, indicated the old convent has been totally trashed and nothing remains of any salvageable value. And as yet, there's no official name. "The Common Roof was the local name for the group attempting to get this project under way. It sort of stuck, I doubt if that will be the final, official name of the building," he said. Bowden said the new structure will house a number of agencies providing child-care services such as a daycare, a nursery, PALS resource centre and a number of other social service agencies for the child and family in the Bradford area. The new building will cost in the neighbourhood of $1.5 million. Bowden said the centre will "service in the neighborhood of 150 children each day. Children will be coming and going. Some will be there all day. Some will be there only in the morning and some only in the afternoon." The demolition work marks the end of a lengthy process. The Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association is working with the architect for the new building to include part of the old convent building in the new structure.

"There was quite a moving experience on Holland Street, Bradford, last week. An Ontario Hydro worker on the roof lifted low-hanging electrical wires as a home was moved to Bathurst Street, disrupting traffic temporarily along the way."

An animal footprint in a building brick. The brick is displayed on a wood mount with a gold plaque. The item was recovered by Bill Patton during the demolition of the Convent in August 1994.

"Farm home owned by Frank and Mima Ritchie. This picture was taken during the 1930's by their son-in-law, Reginald Coker. The farm was owned by the Ritchie family and was worked and operated as a dairy farm first by father Frank Ritchie, and then by his son Milton Ritchie. The farm consisited of 188 acres of land and during the Ritchie era was worked mainly with horses. In 1954, the farm was sold by Milton Ritchie to Elmer Stong. The house was built by Davis Stoddart in 1879. Off the main hall there was an oak circular staircase with an oak banister, which was fun to slide down on in the morning for us kids. There were approximately twenty-five rooms in the home with twelve foot ceilings. It was heated with wood and at time coal, but needless to say, in the real winter of yester year, one always wore sweaters indoors. Window shutters kept it cool in the hot summer months. Inside plumbing was not part of the home during the Ritchie era. The floors of the home were maple. The parlour hosted many events from Saturday night dances to weddings, wakes and funerals. Located off the main upstairs hall, stained glass double doors opened to a balcony overlooking the flower gardens adorning the front exposure. Many garden parties were held in the gardens during June, July and August. Sadly, the buildings fell into disarray after Mr. Stong sold the farmland to developers in 1971. The dairy barn built by Frank Ritchie in 1918 burned in the early 1980's and the house was allowed to deteriorate until it became only the shadow of what it had once been, which is now portrayed in some paintings. Mercifully, it was finally put to rest a few short years ago and another chapter of Bradford West Gwillimbury history became a distant memory." Written by their grandson, Alan Ritchie.

Article features local news, such as the reflection of the life of the publisher, and Bradford's housing situation which is reflecting in the weekly editions of The Witness.

"The Pines" a few years later. It is still well maintained.