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The former Anglican Church Manse is located at 81 Frederick St. (on the northeast corner of Church and Frederick Streets). The structure was built around 1880 in the Eclectic Neoclassical style. The two-storey, rectangular building has a medium-pitched, hip roof. The line at the front façade suggesting that the building originally had a full-width, front porch is another Regency Revival feature. The symmetrical window openings (with high floor to ceiling heights), a centre hall plan, and a wide entrance with sidelights and a transom are neoclassical features. Dichromatic brickwork at the quoins and window labels, as well as the ‘droopy’ label stops at the windows are Gothic Revival features. The house has solid, brick construction and a stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the existing porch and entrance motif are unsympathetic with the original design. It also notes that, unlike the originals, the replacement windows have no muntins. (1, 2, 3)

The mid-block structure located at 83 Holland St. East was built in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was constructed pre-1900 on what was once the site of a pop manufacturing plant. According to local history, bottles were still being unearthed many years later. After the plant closed, the property became the site of a blacksmith shop run by Bill Cukens. The house seen in this photo originally had a back kitchen and wood shed at the rear, as well as a large, two-storey barn with loft above (for horse feed). It was the home of Bob McKinstry, his wife and children Michael (Mike), Maisil, and Dorothy. Bob was a huge man and a blacksmith for several lumber companies after the local mills folded. He was also a noted field lacrosse player on the team that won the championship in 1905 (1907?). Bob and his son both played lacrosse until their worn-out legs forced them to quit. In those days, lacrosse players worked ten-hour days at hard physical labour, played lacrosse for a couple of hours, and then ran the six miles to Bond Head to cool off. Mike was a bookkeeper who also worked for his father in the garage and blacksmith shop. Maisil became a nurse and Dorothy worked in a restaurant and stayed at home to look after her family.

The one-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a rectangular plan with a centre hall, a symmetrical façade, and a shallow-pitched, gable roof. The enclosed porch has a hip roof and the entrance is raised above grade level. There is a simple entrance with a single door with windows on each side. The porch stairs are not original and the entire porch may be a later addition. There are double-hung windows at the ground floor. The 2/2 widows appear to be original and are set into simple, rectangular openings with plain, wood surrounds and sills. Exterior aluminum storm windows are a later addition. The building has wood frame construction with vinyl siding and a stone-rubble foundation. It had wood cove siding originally. According to the 2000 inventory, the building’s form is one of the few existing original building elements. It also notes that the modest cottage probably had few decorative details originally. (1, 2, 3)

The mid-block building located at 84 John St. East was built around 1920-1930’s in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was erected on property that was originally owned by Tom Saint and was the site of his storage lot (behind his business on Holland St. East). Tom was a noted stone mason, brick layer, and plasterer. He ran his own business from 1871-1925, at which point his son Leonard took over. A two-storey shed and horse stable (with loft above) stood on this lot originally. There was a 6’ wide and 7’ deep open ditch running from Barrie Street beyond Colborne Street. Tom had a large number of hard cement cloth bags that were used as abutments for a pole bridge. Tiles were eventually laid and the ditch was filled before World War II. The storage property was sold years later.
This 1½-storey, three-bay cottage has a rectangular plan, a centre hall, and a symmetrical façade. A box hall was typical for this style. It has a shallow-pitched, hip roof with dormer windows. The enclosed porch has a hip roof with a raised entrance, a single door opening, and windows on the three exposed sides. Its roof is supported on double, wood half-pilasters that are infilled with brick. There are large windows (with low floor to ceiling heights) to the primary rooms on each side of the porch and double-hung windows at the ground floor. The 2/2 windows appear to be original. They are set into rectangular openings with a brick, rowlock course above and concrete sills. The house has wood frame construction, brick siding and a parged, stone foundation. Aluminum siding is found on the dormers and porch. There is a single, brick masonry chimney at the centre of the house. According to the 2000 inventory, the one-storey rear addition and dormers do not appear to be original because of the style of windows, different roof types, and the shallowness of the main roof pitch. It also notes that some other building elements did appear to be original. (1, 2, 3)

This house is located on the west side at 84 Williams Street (at the top of Back Street). It was the home of Bob Root, his wife (Sarah), and children (Bill Jr. and Mildred). Originally, there were barns and sheds at the back and they kept cows, horses and chickens. Bob was a noted wooden pump maker. He later sold and repaired pumps. Bob also dug graves and installed and dug field drains. (1, 2)

The two-storey house located at 87 Simcoe Road (at the corner of Edward St. and Simcoe Road) was the home of Miss Henderson many years ago. She was a kind, elderly lady who helped a number of poorer people in Bradford. There was a barn and a garden (vegetables, raspberries, etc.) behind the house. A pump on the side of the building produced excellent water. (1, 2)

The two-storey, frame house located at 89 Holland St. East was the home of Tom and Mary (Harman) Saint for many years. The structure was moved across the river to this site from the Thompson Smith Saw Mill (at Amsterdam) after it closed. A crawl space under the back kitchen was replaced in 1936 by a cellar under the front part of the house. It was dug by Jim (Dummy) Peters, Donald Campbell, and Joe Saint using pick-shovels. They then poured an 8” concrete wall. An oil furnace was installed after the front cellar was completed. It replaced the wood-fueled cooking stove previously used as a heat source for the house. Tom owned the property from Holland St. through to John Street. There was a lane behind the house that led to a woodshed. At the bottom of the lot there was a shed for a wagon, buggy, implements, etc. Upstairs was a loft for hay and on the east side there was a horse stable. Tom was a stone mason, brick layer, plasterer, and cement layer. He used a horse to haul his materials. Six children (William, John, Sadie, Leonard, May and Jane) were raised in this house. Sadie married Walter Reeves, a lacrosse player and a one man/one dog police force. Sadie lived at home and Dorothy married Harvey Marks and stayed in the family till 1989. A front porch and a car port at the back were eventually added. The lot at the back was sold to William Smith. (1, 2)

The mid-block building located at 89 John St. East is set well back from street. It was built around 1860-1880’s in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. John Edwin (or Harry) Cerswell, a retired gentleman, lived here at one time before selling the house. Dave Mundy and Walter moved here from their farm on the 10th line. Dave worked for Holland River Gardens and Walter worked for the Spence Lumber Co. Walter built a garage at the back of the house. When Dave died the house was sold. Years later, a small house was built along the back fence to provide housing for marsh workers. Joe McMillan and his daughter rented it, as did Dick Roberts and Wilma. Lorne Campbell and his wife also lived here after World War II. It was later demolished.
The one-storey, three-bay cottage seen in this photo from 1995 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, gable roof. There is a simple entrance with a single door set into a rectangular opening. It opens directly into the house from slightly above grade level. No porch or weather protection shelters the entrance. The house has small windows with low floor to ceiling heights. There are double-hung windows on either side of the entrance. The 2/2 windows appear to be original. Windows are set into simple, rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. The building has wood frame construction, vinyl siding, a stone-rubble foundation, and a basement with window openings. Originally, the siding was wood. A one-storey addition at the side of house is not original and it has different foundation material. According to the 2000 inventory, this simple cottage probably had few decorative details originally. It notes that other than the building’s form, few existing building elements appear to be original. (1, 2, 3)

This house was once located at 89 John St. West. It was probably built pre-Confederation and it was considered to be one the best examples of the Regency Cottage style of building in Bradford. The one-storey, stucco, square building had an addition at the rear that contained a couple of rooms. There also was a long wooden shed behind the house. Mr. Robinson lived here in early 1930’s. Later it became the home of Bill Hounsome and his wife, Lena, and son Allen. Sam Caen (?) and his wife Daisy and their sons lived here after World War II. In its final years this building was the home of the Everitt family. It was demolished on April 11, 2014 (Bradford Times, April 24, 2014). (1, 2)

The building seen in this photo (from 1995) was once located on the north side at 9 John St. West. It was a long, one-storey, frame house with a verandah on the south side and a small porch on the east side (facing Barrie Street). Dick Crake and his sister lived here for a number of years after he moved from a large house on the northwest corner of Holland and Church Streets. They both died here around the time of World War II. John Metcalfe later moved here from a farm on Highway 88 (at the west end of town). He lived in the house as a bachelor until his death. The house was eventually demolished and the Bradford Post Office was built by Art and Leonard Saint at this location. (1, 2)

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)