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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)

This mid-block building is located close to the street (on the south side) at 72 and 74 Holland St. East. It was built in the 1870’s (after the fire of 1871) in the Neoclassical Duplex style. According to historic maps, it may have been one of a pair of buildings built side by side on Holland Street.
The Prolbert family lived at 72 Holland St. East for many years. “Pentypool” worked for Bill Sutton and was a sign painter. The house at 74 Holland St. East was rented to a number of people, including Jim and Jane Armstrong (when they were first married). Later it was the home of Dan Collings, Mrs. Campbell, Neil and Dorothy. Dorothy was Dan’s housekeeper for many years. He built a horse stable and had a team. Barney Campbell drove the team on the marsh to and from sales.
The two-storey, four-bay, semi-detached house has a simple, rectangular form with a medium-pitched, saltbox roof. It has slightly-raised entrances that are located at either end of the façade. This placement gives greater privacy than paired entrances, but it places habitable rooms along the party wall. The doors are set into high, rectangular openings and are not original. A transom is still in place on the east entrance, but the transom has been closed in over the west door. There are large window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Unlike in typical neoclassical buildings, the windows (not original) are not aligned. The large, front, ground-floor window in the east half has been partially filled. Windows are set into plain, rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. Smaller, upper-storey windows are offset from the ground floor. The building has wood frame construction, vinyl siding (not original), a parged, stone foundation, and a basement. According to the 2000 inventory, few original details remain other than the building’s general form. (1, 2, 3)

The house located at 113 John St. East (on the southeast corner of John and Nelson Streets) was the last house on John Street East. This area was known as French Town at the time because of the French families living there who had come to Bradford to work at the sawmill and planing mills. Fred Stoddart’s pasture fields were over what is now called Colborne Street.
The small, one-storey, square-frame house with a cement cellar was built by Dan Collings in the 1940’s. He used materials from the barns behind his house in the construction. Dan eventually moved to Holland Street. He died in his 97th year. The house was sold to Couvert during World War II. Later it was owned by Len Fuller, his wife, and sons (George and Leonard). (1, 2, 4)

Event Date : Saturday, July 27, 1957
Event Type : Death

Description : The end came suddenly for Bradford's veteran, and well-known townsman, Benjamin Briton (B. B.) Collings, last Saturday morning. During the past year Mr. Collings had shown some signs of his advanced years, but the firm step, the indifference to weather conditions, and the ready reply to all greetings, remained with him to the last. He had not been well for a week or more, but on Thursday he was downstairs in his home and returned to his room unaided. Friday he acknowledged he was tired and stayed in bed and on Saturday morning he was dead. He never had pain. He kept going to the last, and just quit. B. B. Collings was looking forward to the Centennial celebration and meeting old friends, and to many who are returning, Bradford has lost one of the interests for them, in his passing. Few will disagree that he was the most colourful character in Bradford. He knew everyone, and everyone knew him. He had a greeting for everyone, a greeting which seldom was particularly complimentary, but because it was B. B. Collings' remark, it was accepted with a laugh. Few days passed that those whose duties caused them to be about the street, did not have a few words with B. B.
"Mr. Collings was born in Bradford on August 9, 1876 the youngest member of a family of sixteen. From childhood days he was working. He told stories of the days when Amsterdam was a thriving village with its mills and he was an errand boy down there. The Collings family was associated with the Holland Marsh and did a profitable business in cutting marsh hay and selling this hay for packing and mattress making. B. B. decided that if this hay was worth Toronto mattress makers transporting it to Toronto he better get into the business. In the 1890's he went to Toronto and learned the trade and came back to Bradford and opened a little mattress making factory here where he employed some of the lacrosse players of the day. Today it is common practice for sport enthusiasts to give employment to star players but B. B. Collings began that nearly 60 years ago. He then went into the furniture and undertaking business taking a course in embalming. Then back to the marsh hay business and commercial fishing and his final business venture was the draining of what was named the Colbar Marsh area a big portion of which is now Federal Farms' gardens and in this he was singularly successful. This last project was accomplished after he was in his seventies.Mr. Collings and his men were recognized in the Lake Simcoe district as an able life-saving crew. Their business as commercial fishermen took them to all parts of the lake and the river and they were familiar with the water. Few accidents or tragedies have occured on the river or lake to which Mr. Collings and his men were not called to lend their help and they have many rescues to their credit.Mr. Collings was always keenly interested in sport particularly lacrosse and had served in official capacity on various lacrosse clubs. But few sporting events occurred in Bradford throughout the years which he did not attend whether hockey ball or lacrosse.Mr. Collings served on the Bradford Public Utilities Commission for several years and also on Bradford Board of Education.In September 1902 Mr. Collings married Etta May Waldruff of Bradford who survives him with their family of two daughters and one son namely Bernice (Mrs. Gordon Crutcher) of Thornhill; Kathleen (Mrs. Ken Blevins) of Toronto and Norman E. of Bradford. Five grandchildren also survive: Gordon Stephen and Tony Crutcher Tom Collings and Mary Jane Collings. Of the family of sixteen only two survive Dan Collings of Bradford and Libby (Mrs. Selby) of Eston Saskatchewan.The funeral was held from Bradford United Church yesterday afternoon. The services were taken by Rev. F. G. MacTavish assisted by Rev. H. P. Maitland of the Presbyterian Church and Rev. H. G. Blake of Toronto. Interment was in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The pallbearers were C. T. S. Evans, A. L. Veale, Fred Collings, Roy Collings, Phil Latchman and James R. Webb."

The two-storey frame building located at 93 and 95 Holland St. East was originally a dry hotel and a boarding house. It was later divided into two separate living quarters. Henry Pringle and his family lived on the west side (93 Holland St. E.) for a number of years before moving to the north side of John Street. Tom Fuller and his sons Leonard and George lived on the east side (95 Holland St. E.) for years before moving to John St. (on the northwest corner of Colborne Street) to a house built by Dan Collings. (1, 2)