PROUDFOOT, William (1851-1925) was active as a builder and an architect, and one of the first in the Muskoka region of central Ontario to design and construct buildings to his own plans. Born in London Township, near London, Ont. In 1851, he moved to Huntsville after 1870, then relocated to Rochester, N.Y. where he learned the building trade by working for his uncle John Hunt. He then returned to Huntsville after 1882 and began work as a builder, contractor and lumber dealer. By 1890 he had begun to style himself as a master builder and architect, offering to prepare plans and to construct a variety of buildings including residences, schools, churches, hotels and commercial buildings. The latter were often executed in plain Romanesque Revival style, but his elaborate plans for residences were prepared in the fashionable Queen Anne or Eastlake style, and his skill as a carpenter and builder was carried through to the interiors where his curved wooden staircases are a recognizable and significant element. Proudfoot also served local government as a councillor for the Village of Huntsville, and later as a school board trustee. Proudfoot died at Huntsville on 19 September 1925 (obit. Huntsville Forester, 24 Sept. 1925; inf. Mrs. Maureen Hunt, Huntsville, Ont.).
The Muskoka Heritage Place Museum in Huntsville, Ont. holds a collection of nearly 250 architectural drawings prepared by Proudfoot during the period from 1883 to 1922. This collection includes two important Ledger Books kept by the architect in which he carefully documented his commissions from 1892 until 1923. Many of citations noted below have been extracted from this source. The Muskoka Pioneer Museum in Huntsville staged an exhibit of these drawings in 1984, for which a typescript catalogue, prepared by Maureen Hunt, was published.
(works in Huntsville unless noted)
WEST ROAD, residence for T. Goldie, 1880
CHURCH STREET, manse for the Presbyterian church, 1885
CHAFFEY STREET, hospital for Dr. Hart, 1886
CHAFFEY STREET, a residence for William Proudfoot, architect, c. 1890
KING STREET, 'Hart House', a residence for Dr. Jacob W. Hart, 1894; rear addition for a private hospital, 1902; but rear addition demol. 1961 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 33; 168; Canadian Collector [Toronto], xviii, Jan. 1983, 27-31, illus. & descrip.)
GENERAL HOSPITAL, Main Street West, for Dr. F.L. Howland, 1895 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 73)
CAROLINE STREET PUBLIC SCHOOL, addition, 1895 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 68)
MORLEY COLLEGE, Hanes Street, an Academy for Young Ladies, 1896; burned 1898 (C.R., vii, 16 July 1896, 1; Ledger Book 1892-1908, 79)
LORNE STREET NORTH, residence for William Wright, 1897 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 85)
MAIN STREET EAST, commercial block for George S. Wilgress, 1897 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 87)
HUNTSVILLE FORESTER OFFICE, Main Street East, newspaper office for F.W. Clearwater, 1898 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 12)
VERNON HOUSE HOTEL, Main Street West, addition for John Cook, 1898 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 105)
PUBLIC SCHOOL, 1899 (C.R., x, 10 Sept. 1899, 2)
CHURCH STREET, a residence for W.J. Matthew, 1900; burned 1984 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 1)
ELM STREET, residence for T. Llwyd, 1900 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 94)
MAIN STREET, pair of stores for J.W. Bettes, 1900 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 152)
CHURCH STREET, residence for J. Matthew, 1900 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 1)
MAIN STREET, at Centre Street, blacksmith's shop for James Wright, 1901 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 199)
ELECTRIC POWER HOUSE, for the Town of Huntsville, near the railway station and facing Hunter's Bay, 1901 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 163)
LANSDOWNE STREET WEST, residence for Mary I. Proudfoot, 1902 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 186)
MAIN STREET WEST, residence for George Paget, 1903 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 227)
MAIN STREET, commercial block for L.H. Ware, 1903 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 201)
MAIN STREET, store for J.E. Fisher, 1903 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 116)
MAIN STREET WEST, residence for Dr. C.C. Casselman, 1903 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 149)
ALL SAINTS ANGLICAN CHURCH, Parish Hall, 1905 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 230)
LANSDOWNE STREET WEST, residence for J.E. Mosely, 1919 (Ledger Book 1909-23, 45)
HIGH SCHOOL, addition to existing school, for the Huntsville School Board, 1923 (Ledger Book 1909-23, 154)
(works outside Huntsville)
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Lot 15, Concession 3, residence for Lewis Keown, 1900 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 149)
PORT SYDNEY, ONT., residence for Hugh Brown, 1903 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 216)
TORONTO, ONT., residence for Frank Kent, Madison Avenue, 1906 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 122)
DWIGHT, ONT., Boothby's Hotel, Port Cunnington Road, 1907 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 106)
BALA, ONT., Gibson Reserve Methodist Church, for Rev. C.W. Watch, 1907 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 106)
LAKE OF BAYS, ONT., annex for the Wawa Hotel, 1908 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 51, 119)
BURK'S FALLS, ONT., hotel for Fred Brasher, Ontario Street, 1908 (Ledger Book 1892-1908, 224)
HILLSIDE, ONT., Concession 12, Lots 17-18, stone farmhouse for Robert Meredith, 1912 (Ledger Book 1909-23, 70; Globe & Mail [Toronto], 8 Nov. 1984, L 10, illus. & descrip.)
CHAFFEY TOWNSHIP, School for S.S. No. 5, on Highway 60, near Canal Road, 1922 (Ledger Book 1909-23, 143)