Last week I shared mostly houses that we’re built around the same time as mine (1907), but also a few that were built in the late 1800s.
The town itself was founded around about 1835, and there are quite a few examples of fine Victoria architecture throughout the town.
Naturally, there are churches. Both of these I’ve shown before. The one on the left has a date of 1873, and is now a house. The one on the right has a date of 1880, and is still a working church. It has a “modern” addition making it much larger (the date of which is 1929). I think it’s interesting to see that while the have a similar style, the newer one is more ornate, despite being only seven years younger.
Like my house, you can see examples of the same styles, even in much older houses. These two are actually side by side. The one on the left appears to be left fairly original, while the one on the right has definitely had a face lift, along with an addition or two.
This one is just down the street from me. The Old Girl has definitely had work done to keep her looking so good. Also… in that “turret” window, if the curtains are open I can see and old treadle sewing machine.
And there are several styles of what I call the very “blocky” style Victorian. All with varying levels of wonderful Victorian detail.
This beauty is hard to see because of the trees.
But someone has paid a lot of love and attention to that gingerbread. The second picture is the view from the alley that runs behind it.
And on this recent walk, I found two more houses “related” to mine.
The one on the left has very old faux brick siding, which I believe was made from asphalt (almost like shingles). I saw it more often when I was a kid, and usually in more economically depressed areas. It’s pretty rare to see it now, and if you do, it’s usually on old cottages/cabins.
The one on the right is true brick, and wonder if it was built with wood like our, and then encased in brick after, or if it was perhaps the predecessor to ours. Built in brick here, and then copied in wood which would have been quicker and more affordable. The brick instantly gives it a more upscale look.
Wandering Cat Studio 
Love your walk-about Wednesdays. Your town is about the same time-frame as Chalfont Borough. I live in New Britain Twp. (Chalfont mailing address) and you see some houses from the mid-1700s to mid-1800s (like mine), but most are tract houses from the 50s and up when there was a mass migration out of Philadelphia.
Chalfont Borough has one block of beautiful old “Victorian Ladies”. Sadly most of them really need some work to bring them back to their former glory and some have had additions that can only be described as carbuncles.
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That sounds a lot like here (though not quite as old)… you look at some of them (ours included) and think… WTF were they thinking??? And it’s sad to see so many run down… and I don’t think it’s mostly that people don’t want to take care of them…. as we both know… Old houses come with a lot of upkeep!
Speaking of old Victoria Ladies… you’d like the Painted Ladies of Grimsby… a row of “cottages” in one of the towns I used to work in. This article takes a bit to really get into the good pictures, but it’s worth it https://justinpluslauren.com/grimsby-beach-cottages/ [https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Grimsby-Painted-Ladies-Title.jpg]https://justinpluslauren.com/grimsby-beach-cottages/ Grimsby Beach Cottages: All About the Painted Ladies of Ontario – Justin Plus Laurenhttps://justinpluslauren.com/grimsby-beach-cottages/ The history of the Grimsby Beach cottages dates back to the 1800s, and some of the homes here are over 150 years old. From 1859 to 1875, Grimsby Beach was a Methodist meeting ground and campsite for prayer and worship. justinpluslauren.com
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Don’t you wish you could ‘talk’ to each house, to have it give up it’s secrets about who were the people who built it, then redecorated, then added on?
Our old house has NO records at the city, so we can only guess at when the original part was built, and when the additions were put on, as well as when the basement was dug out (after it was originally built!) And who chose the ugly siding???
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Fascinating post. I love seeing the comparison photos with the subtle differences.
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I’m really enjoying these posts Val. I love the churches and, like Nancy, I like seeing pictures side-by-side for comparison. You live in a very pretty and interesting area.
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My great grandparents had a blocky Victorian. It looked very similar to the ones in your town. The rest of the houses on the block were full of gingerbread and very fancy but theirs was very plain. I always wondered why when I was a kid as I wanted to live in one of the fancy ones. Not one of them remain as it’s an industrial area now.
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I love your Walkabout Wednesdays! It is so interesting to see the various homes. Everything is so green and pretty.
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I agree with everyone else. I really enjoy these posts and seeing all of the homes. Our first house after we married was over 100 years old and haunted. Really it was. I still miss that house and the wonderful character that came along with it.
I’ve sure missed commenting on your posts.
Blessings,
Betsy
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