Showing 410 results

Front door of the old town hall building which now houses the offices of the town financial department.

The Dougald MacDonald House is located mid-block at 63 Frederick Street. The house was built pre-1900 (around 1882) in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was built by George (Geordy) MacDonald, a bachelor, stone mason, and contractor who emigrated from Scotland at the age of 27. He was responsible for building homes and schools in this community, as well as the first Presbyterian Church in Bradford that once stood on John Street. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a square plan with a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. The house has a symmetrical façade and a simple, gable roof. The grade-level entrance has a single entrance door with a rectangular, glazed transom. The large, 8/8, double-hung windows have plain, wood trim and sills. The house has wood frame construction covered with aluminum siding. According to the 2000 inventory, the original siding was probably wood. It also notes that the building was largely obscured by trees and that it probably had few decorative details originally. A photo (and brief article about the renovations) in Century Home Magazine (April 2002, page 18) reveals that the two cedar trees in the front yard have been removed and that a porch has been added at the front of the house. (1, 2, 3, 5, Century Home Magazine)

Bradford United Church is located at 66 Barrie St. The structure in this photo was built in 1865 in the Gothic Revival style. There was an original church built on this site in 1851.
The 1½-storey building has a rectangular plan, tall and narrow window openings, and a steeply-pitched, gable roof. The enclosed narthex is a recent addition. It is not considered to be consistent with the original style. Tall, gothic-style, trefoil arched openings light the nave. A round, rose window (with muntins set in the shape of a cross) is set into the gable portion of the façade. These cross-shaped muntins replace the original four-leaf clover muntins. The vergeboard has small, gothic arches. Octagonal pinnacles are found at each of the four corners. These pinnacles were originally topped with ornamental spires. Shallow buttresses extending the full height of the façade divide it into three parts. The trefoil arch and the three-part façade refer to the Trinity. There is brick masonry construction with stucco cladding and a parged, stone foundation. The original dichromatic brick cladding is concealed under the stucco cladding. Originally, the underlying red brick walls had buff-coloured brick buttresses and framing at the door and window openings. According to the 2000 inventory, the building is in good condition with some original features. (1, 3, 4)

The building that is located at 67 Church St. (on the southeast corner of Church and James Streets) was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was moved to this site many years ago. The Robinson family once lived in this house. Mr. Robinson worked for Spence Lumber and he belonged to the Band. He had a daughter named Jean.
The one-storey, three-bay cottage 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, hip roof. The enclosed porch (added after the house was moved to this location) has a hip roof with a grade level entrance. It has a simple entrance with a single door opening to one side of the porch. Single windows to the primary rooms are found on each side of the porch. Double-hung, 2/2 windows appear to be original. The building has wood frame construction, wood shiplap siding, and a parged, stone foundation. There is a single, brick, masonry chimney at the exterior south wall. According to the 2000 inventory, this modest cottage probably had few decorative details originally. It notes that other than the building’s form, few existing building elements appear to be original. Existing James Street appears to be built at a higher level than this lot. This indicates that the house was moved here before the street was paved or town services were installed. (1, 3)

The Davey House is a large, two-storey house located at 79 Barrie St. (on the northeast corner of Barrie St. and Scanlon Avenue). It was built in the Gothic Revival style around 1880. There was a two-storey, frame barn on the back of the lot originally. Bill Davey and his family - Minto "Scott", Leona, Oswald, Archie, and Margaret - lived here many years ago. Bill was a carpenter’s helper for local builder A.J. Saint. Bill was also a noted lumberman, butcher, and hunter. He owned a slaughterhouse on the west side of Simcoe St. (Picadilly Hill) and a butcher shop at the corner of Holland and Moore Streets. Bill died at his hunt camp in his nineties.
The ‘L’-shaped house sits quite near the street line. It has large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and a medium-pitched, gable roof. Elaborately-carved bargeboard trim and finials, a coloured glass, arched transom over a main-floor window, and the original wood lug sills remain. The house has wood frame construction and a stone foundation. Deterioration of the brick veneer at the grade level indicates a lack of adequate, subsurface drainage. An original rear, one-storey addition with a simple shed roof (once used as a summer kitchen) still remains. According to the 2000 inventory, the replacement windows, doors, and the two-storey addition at the entrance are unsympathetic with the original building. (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 Methodist Manse is located at 96 Barrie St. on the southwest corner of Barrie and Frederick (formerly known as Letitia) Streets. It was built around 1885 in the neoclassical style. The building was used as the Methodist Manse until 1970. It later became a nursing home.
The two-storey, rectangular building has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The two-storey, rear portion is a modern addition. A broad entrance has sidelights and a transom. There are large, 6/6 double-hung windows with wood sills and high floor to ceiling dimensions. Eaves and cornice returns are found at the end gable walls. The porch, as well as the stepped-cornice moulding with quatrefoil decoration and drop finials (a Gothic Revival detail), appear to be twentieth-century additions. Colour variations are seen in the solid-brick construction because of the different batches of brick that were used. The building has a stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, additions to the rear of the building over time have been somewhat ad-hoc and are stylistically inconsistent. (1, 3)

The William Melbourne House is located at 97 Church St. (at the corner of Church and Frederick Streets). It was built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1870-80’s by Bill Curry. The 1½-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and a steeply-pitched, gable roof. There is a centre gable over the entrance. The building has a rectangular plan and a centre entrance hall. A ‘Regency Style’ entrance has arched tracery in the multi-paned transom and sidelights. The shallow pediment, entablature, and pilasters framing the entrance indicate a neoclassical influence. The bay windows at the ground floor have three-sided, angular projections and a hip roof. A semi-circular, arched window with a transom of multi-paned fanlights is located fully within the centre gable at the second floor as well as decorative gingerbread along the eaves and verges. There is a wood ‘drop’ or pendant suspended from the mid-point of the centre gable. The finial was originally above the gable. The cornice around the roof of the bay windows is decorated with dentils. Paired brick chimneys (with stacks set on the diagonal) are found at each side of the house. The house has wood frame construction with painted stucco cladding (1933) on the original wood cove siding. It has a stone foundation. The double-hung windows and storm entrance door are not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in excellent condition with many original features. The gingerbread trim was removed and the stucco was replaced with vinyl siding after the inventory. (1, 3)

The William Melbourne House is located at 97 Church St. (at the corner of Church and Frederick Streets). It was built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1870-80’s by Bill Curry. The 1½-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and a steeply-pitched, gable roof. There is a centre gable over the entrance. The building has a rectangular plan and a centre entrance hall. A ‘Regency Style’ entrance has arched tracery in the multi-paned transom and sidelights. The shallow pediment, entablature, and pilasters framing the entrance indicate a neoclassical influence. The bay windows at the ground floor have three-sided, angular projections and a hip roof. A semi-circular, arched window with a transom of multi-paned fanlights is located fully within the centre gable at the second floor as well as decorative gingerbread along the eaves and verges. There is a wood ‘drop’ or pendant suspended from the mid-point of the centre gable. The finial was originally above the gable. The cornice around the roof of the bay windows is decorated with dentils. Paired brick chimneys (with stacks set on the diagonal) are found at each side of the house. The house has wood frame construction with painted stucco cladding (1933) on the original wood cove siding. It has a stone foundation. The double-hung windows and storm entrance door are not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in excellent condition with many original features. The gingerbread trim was removed and the stucco was replaced with vinyl siding after the inventory. (1, 3)

"Yesterday afternoon Mr. Geo. Stoddart met with a serious accident. He was working on the new school building at Middleton, and the scaffold on which he was standing at the time gave way precipitating him, and Mr. Fred McKay, to the ground a distance of about 25 feet. Mr. McKay escaped unhurt, while Mr. Stoddart sustained a broken leg at the ankle. The nature of the break is considered to be quite serious, and may mean amputation of the right foot."