The Thorpe House is located at 33 Joseph St. (on the northeast corner of Joseph and Moore Streets). It was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular style. The two-storey, two-bay house has a simple, rectangular plan, a side hall, and a medium-pitched, hip roof. A large addition has been added to the rear. The original, wood trim is still apparent around the replacement windows and door. Wood frame construction is clad with vinyl siding. The original cladding was shiplap siding. According to the 2000 inventory, the modern, metal awning over the entrance is not sympathetic with the remainder of the building. It also notes that this modest house probably had few decorative details originally and that few existing building elements (other than the building’s form) appear to be original. (1, 3)
The Wilkinson House is a mid-block building located at 31 Simcoe Road. It was built by Art Saint and/or George Stoddart around 1923 in the Arts and Crafts style. The house was sold to Chris Long, his daughter, and her husband Fred Wilkinson (a printer for the Bradford Witness) and daughter Marjorie. When they moved to Toronto to work at the DeHavill and Aircraft Company during WWII, the house was sold to a market gardener whose family lived here for many years. The 1½-storey, two-bay ‘bungalow’ has a simple form with an asymmetrical façade and a rectilinear plan. A broad, steeply-pitched, gable roof extends down to reduce the scale of the building from the street. It covers the open front porch and is supported on wood half columns on brick piers. There is an off-centre hall entrance from the porch. The porch (entered from the front) is raised and has a simple, wood handrail and baluster. There are wide window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. A wide band of windows across the front of the dormer emphasizes the horizontal lines and massing of this house. The wide windows are set into rectangular openings. Smaller, second-storey windows in the front dormer are offset from the ground-floor windows and have plain, wood sills and trim. The windows and the second entrance door are not original. A mix of exterior cladding materials is common to this style. The house has returned eaves at the dormer roof. Wood frame construction has brick, masonry cladding and vinyl siding on the dormer. The original cladding would have been wood. There is a painted, concrete foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition with many original features that have been maintained well. (1, 2, 3)
The Dr. Clement House is located at 41 Simcoe Road (on the southeast corner of Simcoe Road and Centre Street). It was built around 1830-1860 (1840’s?) in the Classic Revival style. Dr. Clement lived and died here after practising in the 1870-80’s. He was buried in Clement Cemetery on the 2nd Line in Innisfil (east of Highway 11). His wife Rachel lived here until her death. The house was then rented to Walton, a railroad man for the C.N.R. The barn and garden behind the building ran to William St. (as did all the properties on the east side). Sam Catania and his wife Sarah lived here in later years. They converted the house into two apartments and had a dry cleaning business in the garage that was eventually destroyed by fire. Sam sold the house to Bruce and Barbara Verney. They were still living here when this photo was taken in 1995. Bruce was a chiropractor. A building used as a dry cleaner was constructed later on the property. Jack Pong (a restaurant owner on Holland St.) built a house on the back of this property that extended to Centre Street. The street level has apparently been raised considerably around this house as the current 1½-storey, two-bay house was originally 2½ storeys. It has an asymmetrical façade and entrance, a simplified ‘temple’ form, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The pediment roof shape has return eaves facing the front. A hip roof on the raised entrance portico is supported on wood beams with decorative, wood dentils. The corner columns have wooden ‘flutes’ and are mounted on brick pedestals. A wood-panelled door is flanked by narrow sidelights and is topped by a transom light. The house has small window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Small, upper-floor windows are set into rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. A ground-floor, bay window is an angled projection with a hip roof. The brick masonry foundation appears to be a replacement. A horizontal belt line at the top of the foundation is expressed with wood trim. The structure has wood frame construction with stucco cladding and a cut-stone foundation. Bricks found at the bay window foundation and at the entrance porch are probably not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition with many original details. (1, 2, 3, 4)
The two-storey house located at 78 Simcoe Road was once the home of Bob Root, his wife Sarah, and children (Bill and Mildred). The family moved here from Newton Robinson many years ago. He was a pump maker and a repairman. Howard Robson, Evelyn, Alvin, Garret and Phyllis, Budd and Shirley also lived here at one time. Howard worked on the railway and then at Bender Caskets in Newmarket. He retired and later died in this house. His wife looked after (and nursed) Miss Sterling (Stirling?), an unmarried woman who left her money to many people when she died in the 1930’s. (1, 2)
The large, two-sorey structure located on the east side at 319 Simcoe Road was the home of George Peterman, his wife Sarah (Leopard) and his children (Ernest, Melville, Gurnard, Bertrand, Ila, Norma and Doris) many years ago. He bought Lowery farm (on the south side of Simcoe Road to the 6th Concession, south boundary of Bradford, and north side of the road to the Kneeshaw farm). George raised cows and farmed. Ila and Doris delivered milk (produced by cows on their farm) to Bradford by horse and wagon twice a day. There was a large barn just west and south of the house and road. A milk house was once attached to the woodshed at the back end of the house. Ernie worked on the marsh haying, labored drilling the town well, and then worked for Collings in the marsh. Mell laboured and worked with marsh vegetables and owned marsh land. Gurnard laboured. Bert, a good sportsman, left the farm after finishing school. (1, 2)
Description : As we approach the end of the writing and editing, we are faced with the challenge of marketing our product, the book. We need someone who can help us develop a marketing plan and execute it. We offer the same pay and benefits that we all enjoy as volunteers - an interesting project, good fellowship, positive enthusiasm and the real feeling of accomplishment. Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury is the book being written by the volunteers of the WEGWHIST project. To help pay for publication costs, a Patrons Page has been established. Donors will be recognized in print, in this wonderful book that will be published this year, and hopefully available by December.
Description : The response to our book, Governor Simcoe Slept Here, has been overwhelming. It was never expected that our print run of 1,000 copies would be so well received. While there are still copies available, they are getting few in number. A sincere thank you to all who purchased a copy, or in many cases, more than 1 copy. Our appreciation also to those who have been in touch with us, to compliment us on the format and content of our book. This four-year project started in October of 2001, and culminated in our book launch on December 15th, 2005. Our publisher, Friesens and their representative Orland French provided assistance and guidance as we progressed along the path.
When the WEGWHIST Team launched Governor Simcoe Slept Here last December, we underestimated your response. Hindsight, which always has 20/20 vision, indicates that we should have printed more copies, but by the same token, we didn't anticipate that many of you were going to buy 4 or 5 copies. All 1,023 copies have found a home, and many of you asked if we are going to do a reprint. We have considered this request, and we have decided to do a reprint that will be available about Aug. 15, 2006. Some factual errors have been brought to our attention, so we are preparing a correction addendum that will be included with the reprint, and will be available to all who have already purchased a book. Pre-publication sales of the reprint will begin July 1st. The pre-publication price will be $65, the post-publication price $75.
"Whipper Billy Watson (standing fifth from the left) attended a meeting of the Bradford Lions Club last week to thank some of the people who helped run the Snowarama which raised about $60,000 for crippled children in February. Five hundred and seventy snowmobiles were involved in the event on Lake Simcoe and 100 people helped organize it. Plaques expressing the gratitude of the Ontario Society For Crippled Children (OSCC) were handed out to representatives of nine clubs. Kneeling, left to right: Sue Brower of OSCC, Colleen Townsend of the Aurora Snowmobile Club, and Hank Lapierre of Keswick, York-Simcoe Radio Club. Standing: Bill Melbourne of Bradford, Bill Trent of Aurora, Bernard Horne, president of the Bradford Lions, Tony Townsend of Aurora, Whipper Billy, George Jackson of the Bradford Lions, Jim Derry of the Bradford Snowmobile Club, Cec Smith of the Orangeville and District Snowmobile Club, Terry Davis of Bradford, Frank Crisologo of Keswick and the Georgina Trail Riders, and Wes Styles of the York-Simcoe Radio Club."
