Reynolds Block once dominated village’s downtown
Almost everything the town’s earliest residents needed could be found under one roof
The success and growth of any village can be directly linked to how well the requirements of its residents are met.
The needs of a growing village are much the same as they are today: Schools, housing and recreational facilities all the way down to the basics such as food, hardware, clothing, doctors, dentists and so on.
Stepping back a century or more, individual transportation by car was still very much in its infancy, and many of the roads were also much more suited to horse and cart rather than car or truck, making it quite impractical for people to shop out of town. This is one reason why small villages needed to be self-sufficient.
While many entrepreneurs from Norwood’s early days owned major businesses and factories, many others took on the role of landlord, building and renting out large blocks of commercial space. These buildings formed Norwood’s central hub, attracting and providing the space for essential services and small businesses to grow and prosper, but they also provided a downtown core where the village would come together and grow into a community.
The Reynolds block was one of these early spaces. Peter Weese Reynolds was one of Norwood’s early entrepreneurs, a merchant of a wide variety of “goods and wares” operating out of a store on Peterborough Street.
Around 1885, he completed the construction of what was at the time probably the largest block of commercial buildings ever built in Norwood. The Reynolds block occupied the southwest corner of Peterborough Street (Highway 7) and Colborne Street (Highway 45). This three-storey construction stretched a full 140 feet along Colborne Street and another 100 feet along Peterborough Street.
The structure boasted at least 10 storefronts and numerous offices, workrooms and even living quarters on the second and third floors.
An 1895 list of tenants shows nearly everything that village residents could need or want all located under one roof. These included Richardson’s General Merchants and Millinery; J.L. Squire, Flour and Feeds; Fraser Hardware; J. Hendren, Music Store; A. Freeman, Barber; M.E. Knox, Watchmaker and Jeweler; Wm. Ebbs, Boots and Shoes; D. Foster, Baker and Grocer; Thos. Waller, Harness maker; Jas. Raddon, Butcher; W.A. Carnahan, Tailor; the office of H.G. Buck Lumber and shingles; Dr. W.S. Hall, Dentist; W.A.F. Campbell, Barrister; Misses Farrel, Dressmaker and the office of Dr. S.P. Ford, M.D.
Two organizations, the Canadian Order of Foresters and The Ancient Order of United Workmen, also had their lodge rooms in the building.
Unfortunately, the future for this thriving hub was cut short in the early hours of May 6, 1910. A fire of “unimaginable proportion and of unknown origin” broke out in the Reynolds block.
Within a few hours all that was left was left of this large commercial section of the village was a huge pile of smouldering ruins.
True to the pioneering spirit that helped to create the village in the first place, it was not long before new buildings started to rise from the ruins.
However, the style and size of the Reynolds block would not be rebuilt; instead the large parcel of property was split up into smaller lots and sold off.
A former tenant, J.L. Squire, constructed a new building on the Peterborough Street side and expanded the farm produce business to include a grocery. (This building is still in use today as Ralph’s Butcher Shop).
The corner lot soon had the new twostorey Whyte Building, a much smaller structure with a few storefronts on the ground floor and living quarters on the upper level.
This building has seen many occupants over the years. A barber shop occupied a storefront on the Peterborough Street side, a drugstore run by K.G. Thomson occupied the corner store and beside this was a small grocery store operated by N.C. Porter. This would later become the site of Rod Webb’s electrical store. The offices of the Norwood Register, a law office and a chiropractor also at one time occupied this storefront.
It would all eventually be converted into a grocery store and run by John Weir and his son Armar. Later it was changed to a Beckers convenience store.
The storefronts were joined together in more recent years and are still in use today as a convenience store under the name of Norwood Convenience. Behind the corner store, J.J. Duffus would build a garage and car dealership. This building also served as a hardware store opened by Jas. Rhude. It was later taken over by the Hamblin family and later still by the Hartwick family, and saw use for a short time as a ceramic shop, a yard sale/flea market and a restaurant. It is currently looking for new tenants.
A little further south along Colborne Street is a fairly large three-storey building constructed in 1912 by John Baskin. This was the Royal George Hotel for years, then saw use as a pool hall and then as a Five to $1 store with the upper level turned into living quarters.
The ground floor is the current home of an insurance office and Norwood Holistic Health Care.
Although P.W. Reynolds' original vision was altered greatly, the property has and continues to provide an essential space for business and trade in Norwood.