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The stately house located at 108 Moore Street (on the northwest corner of Moore and Frederick Streets) was built around 1880 in the Eclectic Gothic Revival style. Originally, it was the home of the Andrew Thompson family. He was the owner of a hardware business. There were extensive sheds (used to house their horses, buggies and feed) to the north of the house years ago. These sheds were eventually demolished and a two-car garage was built. In later years, this structure was the home of Lorne (Paul?) West and his family. They were followed by Norman (Dodger) and Jean Collings, who lived here for many years. This house was listed on the Bradford Heritage Registry in 2014.
The two-storey, ‘L’-shaped building has a medium-pitched, gable roof, an asymmetrical entrance, and large, asymmetrical window openings. There is a projecting, ground-floor bay window. The dropped finial at the front gable is another Gothic Revival feature. A simple and elegant portico with Doric columns and a projecting entablature is a neoclassical feature. There is a round-headed, sash window beneath the front gable and original, 2/2 wood, sash windows at the second floor. Replacement windows are found at the ground floor. The shutters are original. There is a projecting brick belt course and recessed brick panels (bay window), loadbearing, brick masonry construction, and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is well-maintained. (1, 2, 3)

The mid-block building located at 71 John St. East was built around 1900 in the Edwardian Classicism style. It was once the home of Sam Stein and his son and daughter. He was the owner of the Toronto Manufacturing Co. (maker of baby carriages and wicker furniture). His business was located on the northwest corner of Dissette St. until around 1929. After its end, the house was rented to a number of O.P.P. officers and their families, including Ivan Spence and Sam Irwin (a talented violin player). It was also the home of Joe Kanyo (a market gardener) and his family at one time. Leonard Saint built a large cement garage at the rear of the house. It had a basement for storing vegetables and a ground-level room for vehicles. The house was eventually sold and redesigned into rental apartments.
The large, 2½-storey house has a rectangular plan with a side hall, an asymmetrical façade and a simple, formal composition. It has a prominent, gable roof. The Classical roof form is expressed as a pediment with extended eaves and mixed with the Queen Anne texture of wood shingles. A raised, entrance portico with a flat roof and balustrade with access from the second- floor portico roof is set on a plain entablature ornamented with a band of dentils and set on double posts on brick piers. The single door is off-centre. There are large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights. Multi-paned, double-hung windows are reminiscent of the Queen Anne style. Ground and second-floor windows are set into segmented, arch openings with brick voussoirs and concrete, lug sills. The third-floor windows have wood entablature and plain, wood trim and sills. Wood frame construction is covered with smooth brick and wood-shingle cladding. There is a parged, stone foundation. The portico steps, foundation and balustrade, and entrance door are not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition. It also notes that the original form and many details are still intact. (1, 2, 3)

The building located at 15 Holland St. East was bought by Harold Boyd many years ago. He ran a pool room on the ground floor on the west side. He added a second floor above the pool room for living quarters. Jack Pong owned a restaurant on the east side of the building in the 1930’s. (1, 2)
The two-storey, brick and cement building located at 19 Holland St. East was owned at one time by George Simpkins. He ran a plumbing, heating, electrical, and eavestroughing company upstairs. There was a show room downstairs and the east side was a workshop. George and his family lived on Moore St. across from Joseph Street. Ethel Gapp was his bookkeeper, Ted Gapp was his electrician, and George Manton did the heating work. They drove for miles around the country in a Model T truck. Harry Barron bought the business in the 1930’s and kept the same workmen. Then the business was moved to the southwest corner of Holland and Simcoe Streets. (1, 2)

Many businesses have used the flat-roofed structure located at 29 Barrie Street. It was once the home of a farm machinery business run by Reuben Tindall. When he retired, he sold the business to Dick Crake. Dick, who sold machinery and 28 Chevrolet cars, was a bachelor who did not drive. Allen Ceeiry(?) was his chauffeur. Dick had one of the first radios in town and his shop was a popular hangout for farmers and teenage boys who wanted to listen to hockey games. Dick ran the business until he retired. Then John Morden (from Kirkland Lake) started a body, fender, and paint shop at this location which he ran until his death. A businessman from Bond Head ran a blacksmith shop here for a period of time after WWII. (1, 2)

The structure located at 29 Holland St. West was vacant for many years. Howard Bowser bought and restored it as a shop with living quarters upstairs. Ted and Audrey Gapp lived here for a number of years. Helen Bantam ran a ladies’ shop downstairs and lived upstairs. She may have bought it from Bowser. At the time of this photo (1995), it was a barber shop.
The building located at 31 and 33 Holland St. West (on the northeast corner of Holland and Moore Streets) was built around 1880 in the Ontario Vernacular style. It was constructed on the site of the former Edmanson Bakery (33 Holland St. West). The bakery was the origin of the big fire on May 23, 1871 that destroyed much of downtown Bradford. E.P. Snow had a harness and saddle shop at 31 Holland St. West for many years. He lived on the north side of John Street. Later it was bought by Secondo Cavallo, who ran a shoemaking business at this location. He lived on the south side of John Street. Cavallo’s daughter (Aida) ran the business for a few years and then it was sold. Lash Davey and Bill ran a butcher shop at 33 Holland St. West for several years. They had a slaughter house on Piccadilly Hill (Simcoe St. South). James Webb, a butcher and lacrosse player, later ran his shop here. Webb was joined by his son Jim, who eventually took over the business and employed Harold Boyd. Jim originally had an ice house at the back of the property. A freezer locker was built later by Len Saint at the back. The building and business were eventually owned for many years by the Pezzanitti family.
The one-storey, commercial, semi-detached ‘row’ building has a wide, rectangular plan with an asymmetrical organization. There is “Main Street” frontage with a typical, storefront façade located at the street line. A plain façade is characterized by a high, flat, ‘boomtown’ façade with brick dentils. The two-bay façade is dominated above the storefronts by an applied, pressed- metal cornice with stone brackets at each end. Existing doors and storefronts are not original. Wide, glass, storefront windows with stone sills are also not original. The building has masonry construction with brick cladding, a stone foundation, and a flat, built-up tar and gravel roof. According to the 2000 inventory, the modest building is in good condition. (1, 2, 3)

This house is located on the south side at 156 John St. West. It was originally a garage built by Merle Woodcock on his property. The structure was on the laneway that went to Holland Street. This laneway was a popular spot for sleigh rides when the Moore family had creek property many years ago. (1, 2)

The mid-block structure located at 79 John St. East was built around 1860-1890’s in the Gothic Revival style. Originally, there was a shed and garage attached to the house at the rear and a vacant lot on the east side. This building was the home of Charles Aitcheson and his wife Carol for many years. He was a painter and decorator and he worked for Bill Sutton. Cyril Mestagh was the next owner of the house. He and his wife Jennie and their daughters (Vera and Gladys Irene) lived here. Cyril was a small, market gardener and a well-known grower. He hauled vegetables to the Toronto market. The house was sold when Cyril retired.
The 1½-storey structure has an ‘L’-shaped plan with a centre hall, a one-storey, rear, kitchen wing and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The asymmetrical façade has an off-centre, front gable above the façade projection. There is a raised, front porch with a shed roof set onto wood posts on brick. The steps, door, windows, and enclosing walls of the porch are not original. This building has small windows with high floor to ceiling heights. A wide, Regency-style, ground- floor window has a wide, centre opening flanked by narrow lights. It is set into a rectangular opening with a plain, wood frame and sill. An upper window is centred above the lower window in the projecting bay. It is also set into a rectangular opening with a plain, wood frame and sill. Only the 2/2 windows in the structure are original. The building has wood frame construction, vinyl siding (not original), and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, some original details still remain. (1, 2, 3)

The mid-block building located on the north side at 93 John Street East was built pre-1900 in the Gothic Revival Cottage style. A large horse stable and a barn for storing marsh hay once stood behind the house. A fence also ran across the length of the rear of the property. Brunnetto Caesar lived here with his wife Grace (Stamper). He worked on the marsh harvesting marsh hay and as a teamster. He later bought a tractor and did custom work (draining and breaking marshland). Bill Wilson and his wife bought the house after World War II. He worked on the railway and retired here. He had a large garden at the rear, as well as a barn. Bill eventually sold the house to Ferrara and moved away.
The 1½-storey, three-bay house has a rectangular plan with a centre hall, a symmetrical façade with a centre gable over the entrance, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The entrance porch does not appear to be original because the peak and eaves of the hip roof of the porch interfere with the ground and second-floor windows. Double-hung windows are set into rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. The house has wood frame construction, stucco cladding, and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the main-floor windows, screen door, and the two-storey addition at the rear are not original. (1, 2, 3)
Please contact the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (905-775-3328) if you have any other information about this photo.

The structure located at 98 John St. East was the home of the Collings family years ago. The large, two-storey, frame and stucco-clad house has a long shed at the back that was once used for automobile storage (and later as a utilities room). Before World War II, there was a small building used for repairs and a blacksmith shop located east of the house. Along the lane fence at the south end of the property was a large, one-storey building used for storing marsh hay. South of the main house was a cement sidewalk that led to Holland Street. There was a garden (and later, grass) on each side of the house. Originally, the family owned a horse stable located at 100 John St. East.
Bill Peters and his wife were housekeepers for Ernie Collings Sr. when he lived here around 1907. Ernie owned marshland on the west side of the Holland River at the 10th Line. Years later the house was bought by James Armstrong and his wife Jane (Saint). Jim was a marsh hay worker and he owned land above the 10th Line on the west side of the river. Jim was an implement sales man on Holland Street (around the time of WWII) after marsh haying was finished. He also ran a garage at 11 Holland St East with Fred Gregory after Dennis Nolan closed his garage. Jim and Jane raised their daughters in this house. Daughter Shirley and her husband Bill Watson remained in the house after Jim and Jane died, but it was eventually sold. (1, 2)

This two-storey structure is located at 218 Simcoe Road. It is the fourth house on the west side (south of the “Y” in Simcoe Road). Robert Stewart, his wife, and family lived here many years ago. His son George, who married Ethel Waldruff, played lacrosse and was a painter and paper hanger for Billie Sutton. Robert owned 75 acres of land and worked as the town clerk for 25 years. He also farmed (and later rented) his land. Ed Cave and his wife (Ida) and daughter (Violet) moved to this area from Newton Robinson and eventually bought and worked a farm. He delivered milk and had a dairy in town. Ed was a staunch Orangeman who played King Billie riding his white horse at the 12th of July parade. There was a gravel pit on the property. He eventually sold his farm to Mike Sklencar, John Kulha, Steve Brinkos and John Kashmere. They divided the remaining land and sold the lots along Simcoe Road. The large house was converted into four apartments that were used as their living quarters while they each built a house. The structure was still being used as an apartment building in 1995. (1, 2)