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Alex Sutherland’s bakeshop was located at 27 Simcoe Road for many years. It was later sold to Howard Bowser. Howard converted it into a rental dwelling. The building was eventually owned by a market gardener who had a cement garage and storage building constructed by Len Saint on the property. Neil Lathangue and his wife lived here for a time years later. After they left, Tommy and Bill Whiteside moved in and remained here until they died. (1, 2)

The southwest corner of John and Barrie Streets, which is now recognized as 28 Barrie St., was a vacant lot for many years. When Highway 11 was widened, Allan (Wink) Crake built a service station here. Bill Aikens ran it until his death during WWII. After the war, Mr. Hodgson (a retired O.P.P. officer), and then Frank Adamson, ran it. When the station closed, the pumps were removed and the structure became a Becker's Milk store. It was still in operation when this photo was taken in 1995. (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)

The building located at 30 Holland St. West (on the southeast corner of Holland and Drury Streets) has been the site of many businesses, including Bradford Travel (as seen in this photo from 1995). Many years previously, George Ogilvie, a tailor, moved to this area from Bond Head. He employed five or six cutters and seamstresses to help run his business. It occupied the first and second floors of the building. John Depew moved here years later. He ran a barbershop on the ground floor and lived upstairs with his children (Oswald, Eddie and Georgina). The two boys became barbers and Georgina was a nurse in the Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Orillia. Archie Hammell and his wife Minnie (Spence) opened and ran a grocery store here for a time. Gerry McTavish worked for them, and he and his wife took over the business when the Hammells retired. (1, 2)

The building located at 30 Simcoe Road was known as the Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home when this photo was taken in 1995. The Kilkenny family was the first to serve Bradford with a funeral home in 1836. Neil Lathangue owned the business from 1950-1963. Mac Lewis was the owner from 1963-1973. He brought Bill Skwarchuk into the business in 1968. Today (2017), the funeral home is owned by Bill Skwarchuk and his family. (1, Skwarchuk Funeral Home web site)

The building located at 31 and 33 Holland St. East once housed an implement business run by Frank Allan and his son George. Leonard Saint and Sinclair MacDonald cemented the building and flattened the roof. There were four rental apartments upstairs. In the front there was a large plate glass window, a door, a smaller plate glass window, and another door for bringing in machinery. There was also a counter and parts department. The workshop in the rear had a small and a large rear door. (1, 2)

Allan (“Wink”) Crake, a nephew of Dick Crake, owned the one-storey building located at 31 Barrie Street. When Wink retired, Bradford Public Utilities bought the building and opened its offices here. There was a laneway behind Reuben Tindall’s house to the back entrance for the residents of John Street. (1, 2)
This photograph depicts the exterior of the building after a renovation.

Allan (“Wink”) Crake, a nephew of Dick Crake, owned the one-storey building located at 31 Barrie Street. When Wink retired, Bradford Public Utilities bought the building and opened its offices here. There was a laneway behind Reuben Tindall’s house to the back entrance for the residents of John Street. (1, 2)

Ed Cave built the flat-roofed, cement building located at 32 Holland St. East. It was originally used as a milk creamery. Around 1934, Cousins Dairy (from Aurora) took over and put Roy in charge. A restaurant was added at the front that was run by Mrs. Walt Mussen and Mrs. Ossie Depew. It employed several local girls over the years. There was a bus stop in front of the building and bus tickets were purchased in the restaurant. Jim Phillips (a butter maker) and Gord Bantam worked here. Ossie Depew delivered butter, milk, and buttermilk to Beeton, Lefroy, etc. Cousins Dairy later sold the building to Jim Phillips. He worked there until his death. When the business folded, Roy went to Brussels where he opened another creamery. In this photo taken in 1995, the building was the home of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Times newspaper. La Mexicanada Restaurant is located here in 2014. (1, 2)
Please contact the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (905-775-3328) if you have any other information about this photo.