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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)

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 90 Church St. was built pre-1900 in the Gothic Revival style. The 1½-storey, five-bay ‘farmhouse’ has a modified ‘L’-shaped plan with an off-centre hall, an asymmetrical façade, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The open, covered porch with a hip roof is raised above grade. It is a replacement. The house originally had a full-width verandah supported by wooden posts. The upper-floor windows are offset from the ground-floor windows. There are small window openings with low floor to ceiling heights and plain, wood trim and sills. The double-hung windows and shutters are not original. The house has wood frame construction, vinyl siding, and a parged, stone foundation. Originally, the cladding was probably wood cove siding. According to the 2000 inventory, few remaining features are original other than the somewhat atypical form. It appears (by its size) that the portion of the house where the entrance is located is original and that the side wing was added later. That could explain the slight setback in the façade wall where the two join. It also notes that this modest house probably had few decorative details originally. (1, 3)

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)

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 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)

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 Nesbitt House is located mid-block on the west side at 88 Barrie Street. The two-storey, ‘L’-shaped building with a hip roof was built around 1920 in the Eclectic Edwardian style. The shallow, two-storey bay with a wide projecting gable roof is a classical, pediment-like form. The porch roof and balcony above are supported by rectangular colonnettes on brick piers. Other Edwardian features are the large, double-hung windows with shorter, upper-sash windows that are proportioned to resemble rectangular transoms. The wood-shingle texture at the exposed gable is an Italianate feature and the roof curb is reminiscent of an Italianate motif. There are precast lug sills and column bases. The house has load-bearing, brick masonry construction, a stone foundation, and painted-wood porch details. According to the 2000 inventory, the house has been maintained well. (1, 3)

The mid-block structure located on the east side at 87 Toronto Street was built around the 1870’s in the Ontario Vernacular style. It faces the lane and was once the home of Harry Bugler.
The 1½-storey, rectangular building has a one-storey rear addition, a centre hall, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. Its front porch was open originally. The replacement windows have the original, plain, wood lug sills and trim. Metal storm windows and the door are also later additions. There is vinyl siding over the wood frame construction. The original cladding was probably wood cove siding. The structure has a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, little of the original building is apparent other than the form. (1, 3)

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)