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A proposed drainage scheme to relocate the drainage canals in the Holland Marsh will cost an estimated $8.7 million. This sum is too great for the Marsh farmers alone so they are attempting to extend the assessment area to 65,000 acres of upland property in Bradford West Gwillimbury, King Township, New Tecumseth, Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, and Caledon but this idea has been met with legal challenges. Due to the legal fees surrounding this the Holland Marsh Drainage Committee has asked the province for $2 million in extraordinary funding for the scheme. After being completed in 1930 the 17.5 miles of canals that ring the Holland Marsh have been dredged several times, and after Hurricane Hazel were even widened and deepened. Although, recent studies show that the canal is almost filled in at certain points. Studies have also shown that due to south canal being filled in so much the north canal is handling four times the flow of the south canal. Relocation of the canal is the preferred solution to this problem.

Art Janse has been involved in the Holland Marsh all of his life, as a resident, a farmer, a Town employee for 45 years, and drainage superintendent for Bradford West Gwillimbury and King Township. Janse is retiring due to the response from many of the farmers to his ideas for the Holland Marsh Drainage Scheme improvements that would also improve the safety for motorists. The project has a high price tag of bout $17 million but Janse has won the right to assess upland residents a share of the cost, and has made the case for contributions from municipalities, OMAFRA, Transportation, Natural Resources and Environmental Ministries, and Conservation Authorities.

"Professor W.H. Day is the original father of the Holland Marsh but for the past 36 years, that role has fallen to Art Janse. On April 30th, Janse retired from his role and it is now up to the new Holland Marsh Governance body to make the new Marsh relocation scheme a reality..."
Article continues on to highlight Art Janse's contributions to the marsh, and upcoming projects and renovations.

Bradford West Gwillimbury and King Township received $10.2 million from the Ontario government to reconstruct the Holland Marsh canal.

The mid-block building located on the west side at 150 Toronto St. (on the corner of Toronto and Queen Streets) was built around 1890-1910 in the Gothic Revival style. The 1½-storey, original farmhouse has a recent, two-storey addition, a simple rectangular form and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The original brick masonry construction was totally reclad with new brick veneer in the 1980’s. Replacement windows and doors may, or may not, be the original size and/or at the original locations. A new, parged-block foundation covers the existing stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, little of the original building is apparent apart from the form. It also notes that the new, brick cladding with dichromatic quoining, belt course, and window heads are not a convincing replication of the old-style detailing. The side-wing addition was thought to relate minimally to the main house. (1, 3)

The two-storey house located at 205 Simcoe Road was bought and renovated by Mr. Bruce around 1928. Len Saint did the cement work and the plastering. William Ward and his family lived here later. He raised dogs and had a greenhouse and a garden at the back. He moved to James St. after he retired. (1, 2)

The house located at 64 Simcoe Road was built on what was originally a vacant lot to the west of the Aiken’s property. The lot was sold to Leonard Saint by the McDonald sisters in 1946. Len built a frame, stucco house on the property in the winter of 1946-47. That was the year of a huge snow storm. The structure had a cement foundation, a cellar, and a water heater. A garage was built later on the laneway. Nellie (Saint) James once lived here. Her husband Ernest began a liquor store with his brother and son Ronnie. Nellie remained here with Ronnie after Len died. Ronnie sold the house when Nellie died. (1, 2)

The mid-block building located at 61 Simcoe Road was built around 1850-1880 in the Classic Revival style. Emerson Glover and his wife and children (Betty, Wilma, Joe and Mary) moved to this house from Coulson’s Hill. He had Len Saint build a cement garage for the trucks he used in his general trucking business. There was a large garden at the back. Andy Simurda (a gardener) bought the house when the Glovers moved to Toronto. He also used the garage for his trucks and for vegetable storage. The garage was eventually demolished. In 1925, Billie Ward, his wife Evelyn, and children (Gwen and Connie) lived here. He worked for Spence Lumber Co. and was a master machinist as well as a clock maker. This structure later became the home of Gwen (Ward) Kilkenny for many years.
The 1½-storey, two-bay house has a rectangular, simplified, ‘temple’ plan with an off-centre entrance and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The pediment roof shape is facing the front and there is a central chimney. A hip roof on the grade-level, entrance-porch verandah is supported on wood half-posts on a solid, wood railing. The roof supports are not original. A door set into a plain, rectangular opening is also not original. There are small window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. A single, ground-floor window and the smaller, upper-floor windows are set into plain, rectangular openings. They are not original. The small, upper-floor windows are offset from the ground-floor openings. The house has 4” poured-in-place, concrete construction with vertical, metal siding. It was originally clad in stucco. According to the 2000 inventory, there are no original details remaining other than the building’s form. (1, 2, 3)

The mid-block building located at 52 Simcoe Road was built post-1900 (1902?) in the Gothic Revival Cottage style. The house, which is larger than other older cottages of a similar style in Bradford, was built on property owned by Charles Adams. Originally, there was a garden to the west and a barn on the lane. Later residents of this house included Joe Brown (a retired farmer from the 10th line) and Jessie, who lived here until he died. Joe was a noted gardener who raised his granddaughter Margaret Turner. Paul Margetiak and his wife and son also lived here at one time. He was a gardener, too, and he built a garage on the property. Len Saint did the cement work and added a closed-in porch. Eventually the property was bought by Gary Swagerman. He lived in the house with his wife and family and eventually had the barn remodelled to become the site of a dry cleaner. The garden was paved and used as a parking lot for the business.
The 1½-storey, three-bay cottage has a rectangular plan, a centre hall, and a symmetrical façade. The medium-pitched, gable roof has a centre gable over the entrance. There are single windows to the primary rooms on each side of the covered entrance porch. A raised, open porch has a hip roof supported on simple, wood columns set directly on the porch base/foundation. The porch has a simple, wood handrail and balusters. A single entrance door is set into a segmented, arched opening. Windows are set into segmented, arched openings with brick voussoirs and concrete lug sills. The windows and door are not original. A second-storey window set halfway into the centre gable is a reference to the Gothic Revival style. Locally-made bricks were placed by Tom Saint on the wood frame construction. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition. (1, 2, 3)

The building located at 46 Simcoe Road (on the corner of Thomas St. and Simcoe Road) was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. James Church, and then Jimmie Jackson, his wife, and son once lived in this house. Jimmie worked for the town, was a noted drain expert, and did road work. Mrs. Jackson remained in the house for many years after her husband died. It was also once the home of Lorne Faris (a jeweller) and his wife (Ona). Lorne converted the shed that was on the property into a garage. John Kanyo Jr. lived here when he was first married. After the Kanyo family, it became the home of Budd Robson. Years later, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson Madill (retired farmers from the south side of the 10th Concession near Highway 400) resided here.

The one-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a simple form with a symmetrical façade, a rectilinear plan, and a shallow-pitched, gable roof. It has a centre hall entrance from a covered, open, front-entrance porch which is accessed from the side. Originally, the porch stairs were in the centre and aligned with the front door. The hip roof on the porch is supported on turned posts. Decorative, wood fascia is found at the porch roof. There is a plain, wood handrail and balusters and the porch foundation is enclosed with wood lattice. The building has narrow window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Windows are set into rectangular openings with plain, wood trim and sills. The house has wood frame construction with brick cladding and a parged, concrete foundation. Originally, the cladding was stucco. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition with some original features that have been maintained well. (1, 2, 3)