The house located mid-block at 116 Hurd St. was built pre-1890 in the Ontario Vernacular style. It was once the home of carpenter Arthur Moseley. The two-storey, rectangular building has simple detailing. There is a centre hall, a single-storey rear addition and a medium-pitched, hip roof. It has medium-sized window openings. The 2/2 wood, sash windows have plain, wood lug sills and trim. Aluminum, storm windows and a door are more recent additions. Stucco covers the wood frame construction and there is a parged, stone foundation. The structure was probably clad in wood cove siding originally. According to the 2000 inventory, this house once had a verandah and a bay window on the left side. It also notes a lack of decoration or porch addition. (1, 3)
The house located at 138 Hurd St. (on the southeast corner of Hurd and Essa Streets) was built in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style around 1860-90. It was the home of Howard Bowser many years ago. He worked for Dennis Nolan. The one-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a simple, square plan and a pointed, hip roof. It also has a symmetrical façade and there is a lack of decoration or a porch addition. The entrance door has a transom above. Narrow windows (replacements) have plain, wood lug sills and trim. This modest house has wood frame construction and a parged, stone foundation. The original stucco is now covered by wood cladding. According to the 2000 inventory, the building once had a small porch at the front entrance and a large verandah at the rear. (1, 3)
The house located mid-block at 56 Hurd St. was built in the 1860-1880’s in the Gothic Revival style. The level of the sidewalk above the front yard suggests that this house was built before the street was paved or town services were installed. It was the home of the Gummerson family (before moving to 151 Church Street). Charlie Wilson and his family lived here in later years. The 1½-storey, ‘L’-shaped house has an asymmetrical façade, a centre hall, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The roof has an off-centre gable at the front façade projection. The Regency-style entrance has a flat, narrow transom with multiple lights and sidelights set into a rectangular opening. Wide, wood framing is topped with a shelf projection. The house has tall, narrow windows with high floor to ceiling heights. They are set into narrow, rectangular openings with plain, wood frames topped by shelf projections and plain, wood sills. A ground-floor bay window has a shallow hip roof supported on brackets. The 2/2 windows are the only original ones in the structure. Wood frame construction is covered with vinyl siding which replaces the original cove siding. The house has a parged, stone foundation. When the house was inventoried in 2000, a single fragment of ‘gingerbread’ was found hanging from one corner of the eaves. This suggests that more elaborate decoration was original to the house. (1, 3)
The house located mid-block at 115 Hurd St. was built around 1920-1940 in the Gothic Revival Cottage style. It was once the home of Aldie Robinson. The Waldruff family lived here years later. The 1½-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, a medium-pitched, gable roof and a steeply-pitched, gable dormer. The wide, ground-floor windows indicate twentieth-century construction. The openings are original, but the windows have been replaced more recently. They have cut-stone sills and steel lintels. There is a broad, brick header belt course. Long, narrow bricks which are not a standard shape are used. The house has brick veneer on wood stud construction. This indicates post-1920’s construction. There is a parged, block foundation and a wide, basement window with a window well. The use of a basement for ‘living’ space is a more modern concept related to improvements in waterproofing and insulation technologies. According to the 2000 inventory, this house incorporates modern-day construction materials, techniques, and detailing. It also notes that the entrance door and sidelight, metal awning, and wood porch are recent additions. (1, 3)
