Postcard Memories is a bi-weekly series of historic views and photos of Bradford West Gwillimbury, a trip down memory lane every other Saturday morning.
In October of 1917, an estimated 5,000 troops made the long march from Base Borden to Toronto, to their winter billets at Fort York. One of the resting spots along the way was the Queen’s Hotel, at 22 Holland St. West.
The Hotel had already gone through a number of changes by that date. The original building, built circa 1850, was destroyed in the great fire of 1871, and rebuilt as The Western Hotel.
That hotel was destroyed in another fire, in 1890 – and from its ashes rose a “new” Queens Hotel, with three storeys, approximately 30 metres of frontage on Holland St., and 25 bedrooms. In 1907, there was stabling for 75 horses at the rear of the building.
The Queen’s Hotel continued to change hands over the years, and names. Although Bradford was “wet,” the hotel itself was dry through World War I, and in the 1920s was turned into a Temperance House by new owner Harry Lang, offering board and dining.
In 1934, a number of businessmen pooled their resources to purchase a liquor licence for the Queen’s – and it was wet once more.
Details from the Archives at the BWG Public Library, and Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The legacy of West Gwillimbury.
