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The Scott House is located at 110 Church St. (on the northwest corner of Church and Frederick Streets). It was built in the neoclassical style around 1870. The two-storey, rectangular main building has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, and large window openings with high floor to ceiling dimensions. It has a medium-pitched, gable roof with identical chimneys at both ends that have elaborate, corbelled brickwork. The original, single-storey, rear additions have been modernized (as required). There is a wide entrance that includes a glazed door, sidelights, a transom, and deep, painted, wood panel reveals. The semi-circular entrance portico has Doric columns, stylized entablature and a balustrade feature that is not original. It is, however, still considered to be in keeping with the style of the house. The original verandah was on the front and left side of the house and the upper balcony was accessible by an upstairs doorway. The house has large, 6/6 double-hung windows with wide, exterior, moulded-wood casings. Names and a year have been scratched into the bottom pane of glass. There are sculptured, curvilinear soffit brackets and end, gable wall eaves returns. The house has wood plank construction, a painted stucco exterior finish, painted exterior wood trim, and a stone foundation. Stucco was likely the original cladding, as plank construction enabled the plastering of interior wall surfaces and the stuccoing of exterior ones. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is well-maintained. It also notes that the modernization and remodelling are sympathetic with the original building. (1, 3)

The house located at 131 Church St. (on the southeast corner of Church and Hurd Streets) was built pre-1900 in the Gothic Revival style. It was once the home of the Taylor family.
The 1½-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a centre-hall plan and a medium-pitched, gable roof. There is a gable dormer centered in the main, gable roof. At the time of the 2000 inventory, the house had aluminum siding on wood stud framing. The original cladding was wood cove siding. It was notes that only the basic form gives some clue as to the age of the structure. Many historical features are concealed by the use of modern cladding, the replacement windows, and the many trees on the property. (1, 3)

The mid-block building once located at 49 Drury St. was built in the neoclassical style around 1880. James Currie (a retired farmer, businessman, carpenter and noted gardener) and his wife lived here many years ago. Gilbert Lukes, his wife, and some of his family also lived here at one time.
The two-storey, rectangular building had a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. It had large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights. The large, 2/2 double-hung, wood windows had wood lug sills. Aluminum storm windows were modern additions. The house had symmetrically-placed chimneys at both ends of the roof. The metal roof had minimal eaves projection. There were decorative brick dentils at the cornices and stepped brick corbels at the projecting, end gable walls (firewall-type construction). The building had solid, brick construction. At one time the house had a woodshed (with a toilet inside), a chicken run, and a chicken house attached to the barn (with a horse and cow stable), car garage (and loft above) on the laneway. The house was demolished in June, 1997. (1, 2, 3)

The Dougald MacDonald House is located mid-block at 63 Frederick Street. The house was built pre-1900 (around 1882) in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was built by George (Geordy) MacDonald, a bachelor, stone mason, and contractor who emigrated from Scotland at the age of 27. He was responsible for building homes and schools in this community, as well as the first Presbyterian Church in Bradford that once stood on John Street. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a square plan with a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. The house has a symmetrical façade and a simple, gable roof. The grade-level entrance has a single entrance door with a rectangular, glazed transom. The large, 8/8, double-hung windows have plain, wood trim and sills. The house has wood frame construction covered with aluminum siding. According to the 2000 inventory, the original siding was probably wood. It also notes that the building was largely obscured by trees and that it probably had few decorative details originally. A photo (and brief article about the renovations) in Century Home Magazine (April 2002, page 18) reveals that the two cedar trees in the front yard have been removed and that a porch has been added at the front of the house. (1, 2, 3, 5, Century Home Magazine)

The corner building located close to the street (on the north side) at 71 and 73 Holland St. East was built in the Neoclassical Duplex style in 1831. This building was known as the Edmanson Hotel. It is the earliest hotel and possibly the oldest building in Bradford. In this photo (from 1996) it is a residential duplex.
The 71 Holland St. East half was once a boarding place for travellers coming into town by train. These travellers then went on to the surrounding hamlets. There was a garage and shed on Nelson Street. Dave Ogilvie later lived here with his wife (a McKinstry). Their son Gordon was born there in 1911. They eventually moved to the northwest corner of John and Nelson Streets. Butcher George Webb bought it and he and his wife (a Collings) had six children – George, Agatha, Jim, Bertie, Ben and Mary (Mrs. H. Hillary). Mary was still living in the house in 1996.
The 73 Holland St. East half was the home of Jim Webb and his wife Muriel (Houghton). Their son James was in partnership with his father. When Jim died, James took over the butcher shop until he died suddenly. Muriel lived there for a while after that until the house was sold.
The two-storey, six-bay, semi-detached house has a rectangular plan and a shallow-pitched, gable roof with gable end and centre chimneys. The formal façade is symmetrical. Slightly-raised entrances are paired at the centre of the façade and recessed for greater privacy. The entrances have round, arched openings with inset steps and the doors are set into high, rectangular openings and have high transoms. The upper portion of each original, wood-panelled door is glazed. The building has large window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Large, front windows have high sills that are set into plain, rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. Upper-storey windows are offset from the ground floor. The lower windows were changed in the 1930’s. Those in the west half have multiple panes in the original style. The building has wood frame construction, stucco siding, a parged-stone foundation and a basement. The stucco was added by Len Saint in the 1930’s. The chimney on the west side is original. According to the 2000 inventory, the building is in good condition. (1, 2, 3, 4)

The Edmund Garrett House is a two-storey building located at 45 Holland St. East. It was built in the Classic Revival style in the 1880’s (after the fire of 1871 that destroyed much of Bradford’s downtown). The building was converted into two living quarters many years ago and was once the home of the VanZants (on the west side) and the Bennett family (on the east side). George Bennett, a powerful man and labourer, dug (by hand) a large number of the ditches on Dufferin Street. Howard Thornton eventually bought the building and started a crate factory with Bill Fuller in the barns at the rear. He had a crate and lumber yard on Back Street. Howard and his brother also owned Barron’s Hardware store. After Howard died, Mrs. Thornton rented the upstairs apartment and lived downstairs by herself. After her death, the town bought the structure and had it remodeled to accommodate the Bradford Police Station on the ground floor, which it housed from 1980-2008, and the building inspectors’ office on the upper floor.

The building has a modified, rectangular ‘temple’ plan with a projecting frontispiece flanked by two-storey wings on either side. A medium-pitched, gable roof has a plain cornice and frieze supported on small brackets. There is an enclosed, raised porch with a shed roof and a plain cornice and frieze supported on small brackets. The building has tall, narrow window openings with high floor to ceiling heights. Windows are used to highlight the frontispiece with an angular, flat-roofed bay at the ground level and a projecting cornice and eaves on brackets. Double, semi-circular, arched windows at the second floor are highlighted with dichromatic, brick voussoirs. There is a rose window set within the gable into a round opening of cut-stone voussoirs. Other windows are set into rectangular openings with stone (or concrete) lintels and lug sills. The original windows were probably multi-paned and double-hung. Masonry construction has brick cladding and there is a coursed, rubble-stone foundation. The two, two-storey additions have filled in the east corners of the building and the entrance porch has been modified and enclosed. According to the 2000 inventory, the structure is in good condition with some original details remaining. (1, 2, 3)

The building located on the north side at 61 Holland St. West was built in the Romanesque Revival style around the 1880’s. The Scanlon Law Offices building was originally constructed to house the law practice of the two Scanlon brothers. Albert "Ab" Scanlon, a lawyer, and Mrs. Frank (Ethel) Woods, a widow and retired farmer (from the 8th Line) both resided here at one time.
The one-storey building has a rectangular plan, small window openings with high floor to ceiling heights, and a flat roof. The symmetrical façade has a simple, solid form. Round arches are reminiscent of the Roman Empire and rich, decorative details. Originally, there were two entrances contained unobtrusively in simple, rectangular openings on either side of the centre window. This is atypical of the Romanesque Revival style, where the entrance door was more frequently the most prominent element of the façade. The second entrance door to the west of the centre window has been “bricked in”, but its flat, arch opening is still visible by the line of the brick voussoirs. There is a wood-panelled door with an upper, glass light and also a rear entrance. The centre, ground-floor window is a prominent feature. It is exaggerated by the arch form set into the parapet above and subdivided vertically into three parts. Smaller windows to each side are set into segmented, arch openings with brick voussoirs. The windows are double-hung with stone (or concrete) lug sills. A major feature is the heavy parapet with an insert panel decorated richly with brick set in a basket weave pattern. The segmented arch extends the window form into the parapet panel. A cornice line along the bottom of the parapet is decorated with a line of brick dentils. The building has masonry construction, brick cladding, and a cut-stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the structure is in good condition with many, original details remaining. (1, 2, 3)

The Standard Bank is located at 65 and 67 Holland St. West. It was built in the Romanesque Revival style around 1860-1900. O.M. Seim, previous owner of the Bradford Witness newspaper (1916-1932), and his family (Gordon, Ken, Marjorie, Maurice and Betty) once lived here. Dr. McMichael, a dentist, lived on John St. but had his practice here many years ago. Aubrey Stewart (and her son Bruce) at one time had an Insurance company here and the living quarters were rented. The building was eventually converted into apartments.
The commercial building (67 Holland St. W.) is set close to the street. Originally, there was a large, walk-in vault at the rear of the building on the ground floor. Residential quarters were on the second floor. The two-storey building has tall window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and an asymmetrical façade with a simplified ‘temple’ form. There is a medium-pitched, ‘pediment’ gable roof facing the front and a tympanum with a rose window. Brick pilasters support a plain cornice and frieze at both the ground and second floors to create the image of a classical Greek temple (combined with the more Roman arch form). The commercial entrance is contained within one of the two corbelled arches and is raised slightly. A double-panelled door is topped by a multi-paned transom light. The ground floor bank window is set into a corbelled arch opening with a transom light and stone or concrete lug sills. Upper windows are set into rectangular openings with transom lights. The cornice and frieze at the ground and second floors are ‘supported’ on corbelled brick brackets. This building has brick masonry construction and a cut-stone foundation.
The residential wing (65 Holland St. West) is set further back from the street to provide greater privacy to the living quarters. It takes a more recessive form with an open verandah at the ground floor and an enclosed porch on the upper floor running the full width of the house. There is a hipped roof on the residential wing. The entrance door to the house also a transom light, but like the rest of the residential wing, it does not have the rich texture or detail found on the more public portion of the building. The residential porch posts, railing, door, and windows are not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the structure is in good condition with many original details remaining. (1, 2, 3)
Please contact the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (905-775-3328) if you have any other information about this photo.

Miss Sinclair’s House is a mid-block building located on the south side at 92 Holland Street West. It was built in the 1890’s in the Italianate style. Miss Bertha Sinclair lived in this house for many years. When she died, her nieces Kay and Isabel (daughters of Robert Spence) moved into the house. They were hairdressers. Isabel later moved and part of the house was rented to George and Ethel Stewart. The building was eventually sold to a real estate agent. The office of Dr. Fitzsimmons was also here at one time. Next to this structure was a vacant lot belonging to the Sinclair family. Many years ago there was a Temperance Hall and a church located there.
The two-storey, rectangular, main building has a single-storey, rear addition, a symmetrical façade, and a moderately-pitched, hip roof with a central chimney. The grand, Italianate scale is reflected in the large window openings, high floor to ceiling heights, and the large, 6/6 sash windows. There are deep, projecting eaves with ornately-decorated, paired cornice brackets and ‘false quoins’ (wood detailing meant to resemble masonry). The window cornices are exaggerated. According to the 2000 inventory, the stone foundation, wood frame construction, horizontal, wood-sided exterior finish (resembling masonry), and painted, exterior, wood trim are maintained well. (1, 2, 3).

The mid-block building located at 147 and 149 James St. was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular style. The 1½-storey duplex has a medium-pitched, gable roof, a simple form, and a central entrance. An existing projecting, (enclosed) entrance porch is not original. The entrance doors may have had an awning roof projection at one time. There is a lack of decoration. The aluminum (replacement) windows may have been enlarged. Wood frame construction has vinyl siding and there is a parged, block foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, this modest building displays few historical features beyond the basic form. (1, 3)