The Fred C. Cook House is located mid-block on the east side at 135 Barrie Street. The house was built in the Arts and Crafts style around 1925 by Art Saint. It is believed that this lot was originally owned by Fred Stoddart. This was the home of Fred Cook and Leona (Miller) until they died after WWII. The house was later bought and remodeled by Gary and Rosemary Woodcock. He had a plumbing and heating business. Their son Gary Paul was a business partner. The 1½-storey ‘bungalow’ has a simple form, an asymmetrical façade, and a rectilinear plan. A broad, steeply-pitched, bell-cast roof extends down to reduce the scale of the building. The covered, raised porch is entered from the side. The roof, horizontal siding, and a wide band of windows across the front of the porch emphasize the horizontal lines and massing of the style. Multiple, double-hung windows are set into wide, rectangular openings with high floor to ceiling heights on the ground floor. Smaller, second-storey windows are offset from the ground-floor windows and set into a gable and dormers. The lintels and lug sills are made of precast concrete. There is a parged, concrete foundation and wood frame construction with masonry cladding and vinyl siding. The original siding would have been wood. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in excellent condition and the original features have been maintained well. It also notes that although the porch was enclosed sometime after the original construction, it is in keeping with the original design intent. (1, 2, 3)
This structure was originally a shed located on property owned by Tom Saint. It was moved to its current site at 25 Bingham St. (south of Centre Street) onto property owned by George “Duke” Lowe. After the shed was restored as a house, Duke married Mrs. Storey. Their four children (Clara, George, Dorothy and Betty) joined Mrs. Storey’s previous children (Charlie, Jack, Roy and Harvey). It later became the home of Ted and Clara Brockwell for a number of years after WWII. (1, 2)
The house, which is currently found at 26 Colborne St., was moved to this site many years ago. It was originally located across the river on the west side of Federal Farms Road. The west entrance to Queensville passed through the property. The one-storey, T-shaped house has a living room, two bedrooms, a front kitchen and a smaller room behind. North of the kitchen there was a sloping roof and a long narrow room that was used as a bedroom. Lorne Church, his wife, and their children (Jim, Marion, Aileen, Jack, Gordon and May) once lived here. Lorne worked at Lukes’ mill. There was a shed behind the house for cars and wood. It was later moved into the garden and converted to a greenhouse for plants to be grown on Mr. Bruce’s marshland property. In addition to farming for Mr. Bruce, the boys delivered milk in a small wagon in the early 1930’s. (1, 2)
The house located at 59 Drury St. was considered to be new when this photo was taken in 1995. Bill Aitkens (Aitken?) had a horse stable on the property many years ago. (1, 2)
This mid-block building is located on a sloping lot at 112 Frederick Street. The structure, which was once the home of the Chantler family, was built on a sloping lot pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. The existing Frederick Street appears to be built at a higher level than the lot, indicating that this house was built before the street was paved or town services were installed. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a square plan with a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. It has a saltbox roof, a symmetrical façade, and a single door at the grade-level entrance. There are small window openings with low floor to ceiling heights and plain, wood trim and sills. Double-hung windows are not original. Wood frame construction is covered with vinyl siding. The original siding was likely wood. There is a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, few of the existing building elements appear to be original. It also notes that this modest cottage probably had few decorative details originally. (1, 2, 3)
The two-storey, frame building in this photo (from 1995) was once located at 52 Holland St. East. It and sat on a narrow lot and had long sheds at the back. Several families lived here over the years, including Joe Graham, his wife, and sons Leonard, Ogil, Weldon, Gilford, Leeson and Donald. Joe was a semi-retired farmer from the Cookstown area and he ran a farm on Concession 6 on the south side (west of Simcoe Road). The boys had a butcher shop and Weldon trucked, hauling coal for the dredge on the big canal and fill for the dam from Simcoe Street. Harold Boyd eventually bought the property. He had Sinclair MacDonald remodel the structure and add a rental apartment upstairs. Harold’s daughter and her family lived in the rental apartment before the building was demolished in the 1990’s. A plaza was later built on this (and the adjoining McLain) property. (1, 2)
The two-storey, frame building located at 36 Holland St. East was clad in cement in 1927 by Len Saint. Miss Sarah McDonnell, accompanied by her sister, ran a boarding house here. The frame building located at 38 and 40 Holland St. East was bought many years ago by Mr. McWilliams. He remodeled the structure and put the entrance for the upstairs apartment on the east side (42 Holland St. E.). He died many years ago and Mrs. Mary McWilliams (a sister of William Hirlehey) and her son Bill lived in the apartment. Bill worked on the marsh and in a hockey stick factory. There were two shops downstairs. There was a shoemaker and leather shop for years at 38 Holland St. East (on the west side of the building). There have been several other businesses here including Joyce’s Curio Shoppe (as seen in this photo taken in 1995). (1, 2)
The mid-block building located on the north side at 79 Holland St. East was built in the 1890’s in the Eclectic Neoclassical style. The house was built by Mr. Watson for Ed Coombs, his wife and children (Walter, Victor and Evelyn). Ed had moved into town from a farm (on the southwest side of Concession 6) during WWII. He was on the town council and became a reeve. He ran a coal and wood business for years. After Ed’s death, the business was taken over by his son Victor. There was a garage for cars, but Ed did not drive. He had a horse stable and loft above for a single horse that was used to haul one ton of coal. Walter worked all his life for Rogers Coal Co. in Toronto. He lived in the Walker House Hotel until it was demolished. The two-storey, three-bay house has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, and a medium- pitched, hip roof with a wide overhang. There are large window openings with high floor to ceiling dimensions. The house has arched window heads with stylized keystones and narrow, second-floor windows. It also has a unique, stylized masonry treatment complete with belt course, corner mouldings, and window surrounds. The two-storey, central-bay element was modified in the twentieth century. There is pressed-block construction with replacement siding at the central bay and a parged, block foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the house has been maintained well. It also notes that the ‘modern’, central bay with aluminum siding and soffits is not sympathetic with the original design. (1, 2, 3)
