The home at 630 Bell Street is located on the west side of Bell Street, north of Jane Street and south of Bourke Street. The neighbourhood surrounding Bell Street has been continuously known as a residential area. Many of the homes within the historic west end of North Bay that have been evaluated by the committee were built within the first decade or two of the twentieth century. There are no known blueprints documenting the original architects or builders of this home.

The origins of Bell Street name remain unclear, although it may be noted that Dr. W. J. Bell was the area’s Medical Health Officer in 1909, further, William Bell surveyed the Ferguson lots. Some notable neighbours along Jane Street include the Bull family home. The Bull family home was located one half block east of residence featured within this report. George Bull was a lawyer living in North Bay in the early 1900’s. He was called to the King’s Council in 1928. The family was large, with ten children in total. Also of interest, the nearest elementary school, built two blocks east of the Bell Residence.

It has been difficult for the committee to locate reliable information regarding the original date of construction of the Bell Street home. Informal conversations with neighbourhood residents, both past and present, have yielded some information. Of particular interest to the committee was information shared by an architect with ties to a neighbouring home. This individual felt the home was most likely built around the same time as his family home, circa 1914. Yet another long-time resident relayed information about significant renovations that had altered the exterior and interior of the home. This resident indicated that “the entry into the home had originally been accessed via Bell Street, and a porch wrapped around to the door on the Jane Street side. This was all removed to add the sunroom where the entry steps were” (McNutt, 2017)