The mid-block building located at 19 John St. West was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular style. Frank Adamson, who ran a gas station, lived in this house after World War II. It later became the home of Henry Bell and Phyllis for a short time. The 1½-storey, three-bay cottage has a rectangular plan, a centre hall, a symmetrical façade and a shallow-pitched, gable roof. It has a kitchen at the rear and a simple porch at the front. Wood frame construction has brick veneer cladding which is not original. The structure has a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, apart from the modest form, little of the original building is apparent. It notes that the (replacement) entrance canopy, windows, and cladding successfully hide clues regarding the structure beneath. (1, 2, 3)
This building is located at 57 John St. West. Originally, it was the site of a small, mud-brick house with a porch on the front (on the west side) and a frame kitchen in the rear. Roy Gordon, a lawyer, eventually bought the house and had it remodelled to become his law office. (1, 2)
This house is located at 187 John St. West (on the northwest corner of John and Toronto Streets). The 1½-storey, frame building was originally clad in stucco and it had a kitchen and rooms upstairs at the rear. There was also a garden and lawn at the back of the house. George Mapes and daughter Ella (wife of Jack Gapp), Curly Madian (?) and their daughters (Vivian and Margaret) lived here at one time. George was a retired farmer, dealer, and buyer. Years later, carpenter Joe LeBlanc and his family bought the house. He remodeled it and built a porch on the east side of the kitchen. Originally, there was a long barn (with a frame loft above) at the rear of the property. Joe’s daughter eventually had a nursing home built where the barn had stood. (1, 2)
This one-storey, cove-sided house is located on a hill at 207 John St. West. It was built well and has been maintained well over the years. Originally, there were stables and a woodshed behind the house. It was once the home of the Robert Spence family. Daughters, Kay (a hairdresser) and Isabel, lived here. After Mr. Spence died, the house was sold. The family inherited, and then moved to Bertha Sinclair’s house on Holland Street. (1, 2)
The mid-block duplex located at 13 and 15 John St. West was built pre-1900 in the Neoclassical Duplex style. During the 1920’s, the building was moved back from the street and onto new concrete foundations that were built by Leonard Saint. The building was a rental property that was possibly owned by Jim Webb at one time. The 1½-storey, rectilinear building has a shallow, gable roof and paired entrances at the centre of the building. Window and door openings are not original and they have been significantly altered. The chimneys and shutters are also not original. Bevelled, vinyl siding conceals alterations to the structure beneath. Originally, the cladding may have been wood cove siding over the wood frame construction. According to the 2000 inventory, apart from the building’s form, little of the original building remains (including the parged-stone foundation). Additions and alterations, such as the front metal awning, entrance doors with side panels, and the windows are unsympathetic with the original character of the building. (1, 2, 3)
The mid-block building located at 23 John St. West was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was the home of retired farmer Walter King (during and after the war) until his death. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a rectangular plan, a centre hall, a symmetrical façade and a gable roof. It had a kitchen at the rear originally. There are single windows (with low floor to ceiling heights) to the primary rooms on each side of the porch at the front. The wood trim is original, but the windows and the door are replacements. Metal supports for the porch roof are not original, but the roof itself may be authentic. The house has wood frame construction with vinyl siding. The original wood siding is probably still under the newer cladding. According to the 2000 inventory, few existing building elements appear to be original other than the building’s form. It also notes that this modest cottage probably had few decorative details originally. (1, 2, 3)
The one-storey, frame house located at 45 John St. West originally had a kitchen and a woodshed at the rear and a veranda at the front. It was the home of Stan Cairns' parents Isaac and Grace (Fisher). The family lived here before and after World War II. (1, 2)
The small, frame house located at 52 John St. West was built by Art Saint after World War II for his father (Frank) and sister (Lena). After Frank’s death, Lena moved to Toronto and the house was sold. (1, 2)
