BradfordToday received the following letter from June Chambers regarding the Bond Head heritage buildings:
You may not know that Bond Head was a thriving community in the mid 1800s. Canadian wheat was in demand. The Plank Rd. from Bond Head to Holland Landing was busy with farmers lining up to take their produce to markets in York. They lived well and built fine homes.
Travellers needed to rest on their long journeys by horse and wagon. There were three hotels in the hamlet to serve them. The Simcoe House, the Manning Hotel and the Brazill Hotel.
The Manning Hotel was destroyed in the first Big Fire in the 1880s along with other buildings. The Simcoe House on the south side of Hwy. 88 remained, still retaining its original appearance except for the aluminum siding. Mary Brazill's Hotel commands your attention for its central location at the cross roads of County Rd. 27 and Hwy. 88.
There are very few old Inns/Hotels in existence today in Ontario. In 1863 the widow of Patrick Brazill rented out their farm on the 7th line to establish her own business. Her card advertised…“Brazill House, Mrs. M. Brazill…proprietress, Bond Head, Ont. first class accommodation for guests, sample rooms for Commercial Travellers, Best Liquors and Cigars. Excellent Stabling and Attentive Hostlers.. Frank B. and Joseph B. Brazill Managers.” (See Gazetteer and Directory for the County of Simcoe for 1872-3.)
Over the years this building was repurposed many times…a barber shop, hardware store, apartments and a coffee house. Each new owner altered the exterior removing the original distinctive windows with their small glass panes.
When the interior was gutted to make way for a real estate office I took a tour of the building noticing large empty rooms painted white with grey carpeting. There were no six inch high baseboards or six panelled doors.
Even the stair case with its lathe turned newel post was gone. Our guide didn’t say much except when he invited us to see the basement. He was so excited about the sturdy log joists that supported the floors, some even had bark on them, commenting “They really made buildings to last then.”
It is sad that little remains of the Hotel except its foot print: the box shape, roof line and the cellar. If the building’s exterior had been maintained all of the above could still have taken place and we would have something really special in our community. Fortunately there still remains a fair number of well cared for heritage homes along 88, on the main street and across Hwy. 27 on the 7th line.
I was pleased with the new sidewalks in Bond Head, banked by fresh green sod and how well they were built, visually connecting the houses and the people who are more apt to enjoy walking with their mates or bicycling with their families. When our heritage district is finally given the green light we will have protection for Bond Head’s historic village, separate in its unique character and better prepared to receive the influx of new neighbours on the four quadrants.
- June Chambers
