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The building located at 1 Holland St. West was originally built as a hotel (Central Hotel, Uneeda Hotel, H. Hulse Hotel). Tom and Len Saint worked on the construction of the building. George Webb ran the hotel for a while before he moved to Saskatchewan. Tom Bell was the manager for many years until he retired and moved to the east side of Simcoe Street. Around 1917 it became the Imperial Bank of Commerce. A large safe and living quarters for the bank staff were located upstairs. The entrance to the apartment was on the west side of the building. John McDowell and his family lived here in the 1930’s. The bank was robbed by the notorious “Boyd Gang” in the 1940’s. At one time the front offices were used by the police, and the back offices were used by Mr. Scanlon (a lawyer). The bank closed in 1972 and was moved further west on Holland Street. This building then became a real estate office, a convenience store, and as of 2014, the Coffee Culture Café. (1, 2)

The original building located at 4 Holland St. West (on the southwest corner of Holland and Simcoe Streets) was built in the 1840’s and was situated on land originally owned by James Drury. He was one of the early immigrants who reached Upper Canada. Drury rented the corner lot to Thomas Driffill (a blacksmith), who opened a hardware store at that location. The lot was later sold to Robert Cooke, who leased the property to Driffill for another 20 years. Thomas Driffill became the village of Bradford’s first reeve when it was incorporated in 1857. The great fire of 1871 destroyed all but the building’s foundation. It was rebuilt incorporating the intact, old vault and locally-made bricks. Thomas Driffill bought the building in 1885, eventually retired, and left the business to his sons, Joseph and James, who eventually sold it to Andrew Thompson, Driffill's partner. It became Thompson's Hardware. A series of different owners and different types of enterprises followed. William Barron bought the building in 1946 and relocated his hardware business to this site. He made several renovations, including adding a new stone façade, new plate glass windows, and an elevator to facilitate deliveries to the tinsmithing shop upstairs. He retired and left the business to his son Norman. The building later became a motorcycle shop, and eventually, for several years, the Winchester Arms Restaurant. (1, 2, 4, “Four Holland Street West: A Short History” by Lorraine Philip - Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library, Local History Collection).

The mid-block building located at 10 and 12 Holland St. West was built in the Ontario Vernacular style around 1872-1899. The two-storey, commercial, detached ‘row’ building had a narrow rectangular plan with an asymmetrical organization. ‘Main street’ frontage with a typical storefront façade was located at the street line. The plain façade was characterized by a high, flat, ‘boomtown’ façade and cornice with brick dentils. The two bay-façade each had its own entrance and storefront. Existing doors and storefronts are not original. The original, large, second-floor windows (characterized by segmented arch openings and concrete sills) have been partially bricked in, but are still visible from the brick voussoirs. The building has masonry construction with brick cladding and a flat, built-up tar and gravel roof. (1, 3)
The west side of the building (10 Holland St. West and the location of Pizzaville in this 1995 photo) was once the site of a drugstore run by W.L. "Billie" Campbell. Fred Cook helped him for a number of years. Billie’s son, Lou, and druggist Clarence Ritchie took over the business. Eventually Clarence Ritchie ran it on his own before he retired. Fred McKay sold phonographs on the upper floor and there was a pool room run by James Ferguson. The Salvation Army held services here in the 1930’s. (1, 2)
Sutherland’s Grocery Store was once found at 12 Holland St. West (site of Karen’s and Tina’s Flowers in this 1995 photo). Alec Sutherland was a baker. He had a bakeshop on the south side of Simcoe St. that was run for many years by his daughter Jessie and sister Mrs. Bessie Ryan (and her daughter Betty). They eventually retired and moved to St. Catherine’s. There were living quarters upstairs. William Compton and his wife bought the store and ran it as an IGA grocery store. Gord and Marilyn Compton later took over the store. They built a new store on John St. (where Frank Kilkenny’s house had been). The Comptons’ store eventually moved to what was known as the IGA plaza (located at the corner of Collings Ave. and Holland St. West). As of 2014, 12 Holland St. West is the site of The Holland Bloom florist shop. (1, 2)

The building located at 23 Holland St. West may have been owned by George Stoddart Jr. at one time. It had living quarters upstairs. The ground floor once housed a bank (possibly the Imperial Bank) and there was a large vault in the back. The manager was Fred Stevens. He moved to Barrie when the bank closed. This left the Canadian Bank of Commerce as the only bank in Bradford at that time. The Bradford Witness newspaper, under the direction of Stewart and Ina McKenzie, later moved to this location from the Seim Building. (1, 2)
The building located at 27 Holland St. West also had living quarters upstairs. The ground floor housed the practice of lawyers Gardner, Morris and Denney for a while after WWII. Mrs. Marg Fallis lived upstairs for many years before moving to John Street. (1, 2)

Photograph of the delivery wagon for J. G. Gray's Grocer & Deli store, located on Holland Street East.

Article from the May 31, 1906 - special edition of the Bradford Witness and South Simcoe News featuring local businesses and members of the community. This article provides a history of L.J. McConkey's Store, which provided groceries, teas, and seeds. L.J. McConkey was from Lefroy, and first worked at C. Goode's Grain Elevator before purchasing this store on January 1, 1906, from William Hockridge.

This drawing is a map of Bond Head in the 1860's based on historical data of the era.

Article about the history of Harvey's business - the Bradford Seed House building

An ad for Anne’s Style Shop in Bradford from 1957. Appeared in the Bradford Witness.

A page of Bradford business ads from 1933. Includes: Willson's Men's Wear Store, Nolan Motor Sales, Wm. Semenuk Electrical - Plumbing, Douglas Hardware, Bradford Flour Mills, L. J. McConkey & Son Supplies, Sutton's Hardware, Colly's Smoke Shop, Campbell's Drug Store, The Mercantile Co., Harry Barron Plumbing - Tinsmithing - Electrical, Melbourne Transport Service, Bradford Witness Print Services. Ads appeared in the March 1, 1933 issue of the Bradford Witness.