By Patricia Post

1. 70 Mill Street
The clock on the art deco tower at 70 Mill Street is stopped, but the building that once served as Georgetown’s post office still lives in local time. Built to last in 1935, this cut sandstone and limestone structure was designed by J.E. Walker and J.G. Eliot (Toronto) and built by Mackenzie & Son at a value of $50,000. Today it’s a three-story apartment building.

2. 75 Mill Street
Across the road from the old post office sits a prairie style Craftsman house - an example of the architectural design that grew out of the Arts and Crafts Movement. From 1905 to 1930 designers and artists like John Ruskin and William Morris sought to provide an alternative to the mass production of the industrial age by advocating the use of natural materials to create hand-crafted features in home building. Craftsman homes are unique to the United States and Canada. 75 Mill Street was originally the Mackenzie family residence. Erected in 1915, it was known as The Birches, and is surrounded by a cobblestone fence. Plans are underway to restore this unique house.

3. McGibbon Hotel, 79 Main Street South
The McGibbon Hotel is a local landmark on the corner of Mill and Main Streets. Although it has changed hands a few times since it was built in 1861, Sam and John McGibbon held it the longest (1895-1967) and gave the place its permanent name. Originally named The Jones House, Robert Jones sold it in 1867 to Thomas Clark. As The Clark House, it suffered damage in both the great Georgetown fire of 1871 and in another fire during the early 1880s, after which the hotel was rebuilt with a third floor done in the popular Italian renaissance style. Hy Gladman and Isaac Sitzer bought the McGibbon in 1967, and then sold it in December 1978 to the current owners, George and Nick Markou.

4. 77 Market Street
Rumour has it that there’s a resident ghost at 77 Market Street, but it would be hard to know from which period of the building’s history the phantom hails. The Methodist church’s origin is still evident in the structure (built by William Watson in 1877), but the building has hosted several establishments since then, including a silent movie theater. In more recent history several restaurants have come and gone from the building. It is now home to Inkwell Montessori School.

5. The Royal Canadian Legion, 127 Mill Street
The Royal Canadian Legion was home to John A. Willoughby’s livery business at the turn of the 20th century. It was reputed to be one of the finest stables in Ontario, maintaining thirty horse stalls and a fleet of carriages. Willoughby also provided bus service to the Georgetown train station. In 1907 he established Willoughby Real Estate and became one of the largest realtors in the Toronto area. His success was evident by the nine-hole golf course he built on his own property which later became North Halton Golf Club.

6. 146 and 148 Mill Street
The house on Mill Street that encompasses numbers 146 and 148 was the home of knitting machine manufacturer Richard Creelman. It was likely renovated from a business into a private residence in 1897 for Creelman and his family. The house was originally from an older building that was moved to the current location from Market Square. Creelman and his brother Robertson manufactured knitting machines from 1876 and later expanded to typewriters. Richard married in 1897, and the 1901 census shows Richard and Lydia Creelman living there with their infant son Clifford, and Mary Young, domestic help.

7. 51 Edith Street
Francis Barclay, a dry goods merchant, purchased the lot at 51 Edith Street in November 1857 from William Barber and James Young. Barclay built the house and employed William Watson who was the leading plasterer in town. The intricate brick pattern was skillfully created using the triple Flemish bond technique, which was also used on Francis’s business, Barclay Block, at Mill and Main where the Royal Bank now stands. Adding to this home’s distinctive features is the intricately designed 1859 porch.

8. 36 Edith Street
The house at 36 Edith Street was built in 1904 by Henry Pratt Lawson, a lumberman, who sold it to William and Rebecca Buck. Buck was a stationery store salesman and the Bucks lived there for twenty-seven years.

9. Georgetown Lawn Bowling
The original lawn bowling club was established in 1907 and was located behind the current Shepherd’s Crook on Main Street. In 1918 the club bought the Edith Street property for four-hundred dollars, and moved the log cabin and stable from Fourth Line, Chingacousy Township. It had been built by settlers in 1840. The pioneer buildings had to be taken apart and then rebuilt at the Edith and William Streets location.

10. 150 Main Street South
The large house that towers over Main Street, west of Maple Avenue, stretches between Main and Market Streets. Even though the address is at 150 Main, access is on Market Street. It was built by Ebenezer White in 1875 for $1700. According to the Toronto Daily Mail (June 1893) Sarah McLeod (Barber) bought it in 1884 and after extensive remodeling she named the home, Idylwylde. William McLeod, Sarah’s husband, was the proprietor of the Mammoth Store where the Bank of Commerce now stands. The store was fifty feet wide and 116 feet deep, and boasted a $40,000 inventory; a considerable amount in the late 1800s. William served as reeve from 1879 to 1881 and again from 1883 to 1888. The McLeods owned the Main Street house until 1941 when it was sold to Sam Mackenzie, who then converted the home into an apartment building.

11. Pictures and Presents, 134 Main Street South
Built in 1898 this house was owned by Mary Ann Brooks and was one of the early houses in Georgetown to have central coal heating. The house was sold in 1919 to Mr Adams who owned it until 1943. Today, Pictures and Presents framing and paintings owns and operates from this charming location.

12. 10, 12, 14, 16 Church Street
The row houses situated across from the Georgetown Library, were built in 1876 as one long rectangular structure that included four separate units. The building was probably constructed by Mr Freeman for rental housing. Two additional units, numbers 8 and 8a were added in 1976. tea soup.

13. Heather’s Bakery & Café, 103 Main Street South
Heather’s Bakery, was originally The Main Street Bakery, operated by Mr J.J. Gibbens, who was known for operating the best ovens, having the most most modern machinery, and making the finest bread. He baked ten-thousand loaves a week and delivered up to seventy miles outside of town. He used the equivalent of more than a carload of flour a month. Gibbens won first prize at the National Association of Master Bakers in 1913. Today, Heather Brownridge operates her bakery in the same building.

Click here for a map of the Green Walking Tour

Walking Tour Acknowledgment: We would like to acknowledge that this article was inspired by the book Walking Backwards published in 2001 by the students in Melissa Boudreau and Marg Davies grade five classes at Park Public School in Georgetown.