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108 Moore Street

The stately house located at 108 Moore Street (on the northwest corner of Moore and Frederick Streets) was built around 1880 in the Eclectic Gothic Revival style. Originally, it was the home of the Andrew Thompson family. He was the owner of a hardware business. There were extensive sheds (used to house their horses, buggies and feed) to the north of the house years ago. These sheds were eventually demolished and a two-car garage was built. In later years, this structure was the home of Lorne (Paul?) West and his family. They were followed by Norman (Dodger) and Jean Collings, who lived here for many years. This house was listed on the Bradford Heritage Registry in 2014.
The two-storey, ‘L’-shaped building has a medium-pitched, gable roof, an asymmetrical entrance, and large, asymmetrical window openings. There is a projecting, ground-floor bay window. The dropped finial at the front gable is another Gothic Revival feature. A simple and elegant portico with Doric columns and a projecting entablature is a neoclassical feature. There is a round-headed, sash window beneath the front gable and original, 2/2 wood, sash windows at the second floor. Replacement windows are found at the ground floor. The shutters are original. There is a projecting brick belt course and recessed brick panels (bay window), loadbearing, brick masonry construction, and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is well-maintained. (1, 2, 3)

George Jackson

149 John Street West

The property located at 149 John St. West was once the site of a small, one-storey frame building with shiplap siding. It had a shed at the rear. Mr. Robinson lived here. He was crippled and played the violin on his knees. He particularly loved to play for his children. The house sat idle for many years after his death. After World War II, Al Dimock removed that original structure and built the house seen in this photo from 1995. Al lived there until he died. (1, 2)

George Jackson

20 John Street West

This photo (from 1995) shows the remains of the foundation wall of a large, natural-ice skating rink that was once located on the southeast corner of Moore (Lovers’ Lane) and 20 John St. West. The rink, built in 1910, was owned by Thompson Fisher. It was run by Fred McKay and Bethel Sawyer. The ice surface was also used as a curling rink. There were seats for spectators and the ticket office was on the east side. There was a men’s change room and hoses for watering the ice behind the rink (where snow was piled). A lunch room, ladies’ change room, and toilets were on the west side. Overhead was a viewing platform and an organ provided skating music. There was a very large water tank in front for fighting fires and making ice. The rink was well-patronized before the war and skating to band music was also very popular. The entrance fee was 15 or 25 cents. The curling surface was used by quite a number of older people. Horse shows were held here in the summer. The cleanup man was “Sank” Lowe. He wore a white uniform and used a two-wheeled barrel, broom, and shovel for picking up manure. Box lacrosse was also played here. The facility was demolished after the war and the property became a town parking lot. (1, 2)

George Jackson

23 and 25 John Street East

This mid-block structure is located at 23 and 25 John St. East. It was built around 1830-1860 in the Neoclassical Duplex style. Lewis Algeo, one of the first Irish settlers in West Gwillimbury and a retired farmer, once lived in the west side of the building. T. S. Graham lived in the east side in the early 1900’s. James Glynn lived here around 1916. He left it to James Nolan, son of Denis and Catherine Nolan (reeve of West Gwillimbury), his wife Clare(a piano teacher), and their son, Dennis. The east side was also once the home of Miss Dora Noble, a nurse at the new hospital in Newmarket. She lived here with her retired father (James Noble) until he passed away.
The two-storey, six-bay, semi-detached structure has a rectangular plan with a side hall entrance. It has a two-storey, ‘L’-shaped, rear extension and a medium-pitched, gable roof with chimneys set into each gable end. The formal, symmetrical façade has a series of openings arranged equally across the front. It has paired, entrance doors with side halls along the common, party wall. The raised entrances are set close to the street with side stairs and railings that are not original. Each door has a high transom light set into a plain, rectangular opening. There are large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights. Equal-sized ground and second-floor windows with high sills are set into rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and lug sills. The windows are not original. Wood frame construction is covered with vinyl siding and the building has a cut-stone foundation with a basement. Originally, the cladding was stucco. According to the 2000 inventory, few original details remain other than the building’s form. It also notes that the chimney is not original. An aggressive fire damaged much of the structure on April 6, 2015. Several residents were left homeless as a result of the fire (Bradford Times, April 7, 2015). The structure has since been demolished. (1, 2, 3)

George Jackson

44 Drury Street

The one-storey house once located on the west side at 44 Drury St. had stucco cladding originally. Many years ago it was the home of Fred McKay, his wife, and son (Bruce). Fred was a retired farmer. He had noted gardens (asparagus, strawberries, raspberries) on a number of lots around town. Fred worked for Thompson Fisher in the old skating rink. He also ran the pool room and sold gramophones over the Campbell’s drugstore on Holland Street. Chris Wren and his family lived here years later. Chris was a store merchant (from Mabel) and a painter and paper hanger. The house was demolished (in the 1990’s?) to make an exit and sewer connection from Joe Magani’s grocery store to Drury Street. (1, 2)

George Jackson

47 and 49 Simcoe Road

The mid-block building located at 47/49 Simcoe Road was built around 1830-1860 in the Neoclassical Duplex style. Originally, there was a long, one-storey, frame house located at this site. It had a verandah on the northwest side, a picket fence along the street, a large barn on the south side of the house, a garden at the back and it was the home of Lew McConkey Sr. (a grain and seed merchant), his wife, and son. Lew had an office on the north side of Holland Street. New owner Paul Sadlon had Len Saint build a garage and a storage building at the back. Paul and his wife were market gardeners. Their son owned Bruce Sadlon Motors. The house was later converted into two apartments. Jack Gibney and his wife (Sadie Copeland) and their three daughters (Doris, Joyce and Muriel) lived here at one time. He was a horse trainer and worked for Dick Crake for many years. Jack replaced Alfred Payne (a bachelor who lived at the Queen’s Hotel). The current duplex was built on the same property after the house was demolished. Harold Gwyn, owner of a plumbing and heating business, was the owner of this newer building at the time this photo was taken in 1996.
The two-storey, four-bay, semi-detached house has a rectangular plan, a formal, symmetrical façade, and a medium-pitched, gable roof that has a central chimney (not original). Slightly-raised, separated, side-hall entrances are located at either end of the façade. This gives greater privacy than paired entrances, but it places habitable rooms along the party wall. The doors are set into plain, rectangular openings and are not original. There are large window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Equal-sized, ground-floor and second-floor windows (not original) with high sills are set into plain, rectangular openings. The openings have plain, wood frames and sills. Similar window openings above the entrance doors may have once existed and then been covered. The building has wood frame construction with vinyl siding (not original), a cut- stone foundation, and a basement. According to the 2000 inventory, few original details remain other than the building’s form. It also notes that the slightly-sagging roof suggests insufficient structural supports in the centre of each house. (1, 2, 3)

George Jackson

70 and 72 Simcoe Road

The units located at 70 Simcoe Road (north side) and 72 Simcoe Road (south side) are part of an apartment building that was erected in 1980. The property was originally the site of a large, frame house that had a woodshed, chicken house, and a horse and cow stable on the back lane (Elizabeth Street). It was the home of Mr. Peachman (a farmer), his wife and sons (Wilbert, Harvey and Louis) many years ago. He was a day worker and a labourer. Charles Jackson and his wife (retired farmers) later lived here with their family before the house was demolished. (1, 2)

George Jackson

81 John Street West - Bradford Presbyterian Church

The Bradford Presbyterian Church was once located at 81 John St. West (on the northwest corner of Church and John Streets). A Presbyterian church in Bradford dates back to 1856. The original frame building was built on this site and used until 1893. At that time it was sold to the Anglican Church and moved a short distance north to be used as the Parish Hall. The structure seen in this photo (from 1996) was designed in the Romanesque style by Siddell Baker Architects in Toronto. It was constructed in 1893 for $5,000 by local builder Dougald (George) MacDonald. George was able to do short-hand blueprints and he was also the Sunday school teacher. The church pipe organ was installed in 1915 (with a portion of it funded by the Carnegie Foundation). A seven-foot section of interior, cornice molding fell off and crashed through some front seating and the floor and landed in the basement in 1937. It was rediscovered years later in George MacDonald’s barn.
The 1½-storey building had a modified, cruciform plan with an apse, narthex, and square and polygonal entrance towers. There was a steeply-pitched, gable roof with pyramidal and polygonal roofs on the towers. This structure was a complex massing of heavy, simple forms, each of which had a clear function. The main entrance was through a large, round-arched doorway with a crescent-shaped transom light and a heavy, panelled, wood door. It was set into a high, square tower at the southeast corner of the church and it marked the site as a landmark within the town. Tall, narrow, window openings had thin windows with a vertical emphasis. Some secondary windows were set in rectangular openings (but with the same narrow proportions). Windows having round-arched openings of various sizes in groups, and as singles, lit the nave. The simplicity of this church and the lack of typical Romanesque Revival details such as heavy, stone stringcourses and lintels gave the church a Norman feel with its squared tower and massive walls. Square pinnacles topped the four corners of the entrance tower. The building had masonry construction with brick cladding and a cut-stone foundation. Len Saint, a local stone mason and brick layer, did the plastering for the church. There were metal panels on the steeple and tower roofs. According to the 2000 inventory, the church was in excellent condition with many original features.
The congregation moved to St. John’s Presbyterian Church which was located on the Middleton Sideroad (circa 2004). Trinity Anglican Church purchased the old Presbyterian Church building and land in 2004 and the building was demolished in 2005 to provide additional parking for the congregation of Trinity Anglican Church. (1, 3, 4, Trinity Anglican Church Bradford website)

George Jackson

89 John Street East

The mid-block building located at 89 John St. East is set well back from street. It was built around 1860-1880’s in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. John Edwin (or Harry) Cerswell, a retired gentleman, lived here at one time before selling the house. Dave Mundy and Walter moved here from their farm on the 10th line. Dave worked for Holland River Gardens and Walter worked for the Spence Lumber Co. Walter built a garage at the back of the house. When Dave died the house was sold. Years later, a small house was built along the back fence to provide housing for marsh workers. Joe McMillan and his daughter rented it, as did Dick Roberts and Wilma. Lorne Campbell and his wife also lived here after World War II. It was later demolished.
The one-storey, three-bay cottage seen in this photo from 1995 has a rectangular plan with a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. It also has a symmetrical façade and a shallow-pitched, gable roof. There is a simple entrance with a single door set into a rectangular opening. It opens directly into the house from slightly above grade level. No porch or weather protection shelters the entrance. The house has small windows with low floor to ceiling heights. There are double-hung windows on either side of the entrance. The 2/2 windows appear to be original. Windows are set into simple, rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. The building has wood frame construction, vinyl siding, a stone-rubble foundation, and a basement with window openings. Originally, the siding was wood. A one-storey addition at the side of house is not original and it has different foundation material. According to the 2000 inventory, this simple cottage probably had few decorative details originally. It notes that other than the building’s form, few existing building elements appear to be original. (1, 2, 3)

George Jackson

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