CAMERON, John (1846-1933) of Acton, Ont. worked there as both an architect and builder (Union Pub. Co., Directory of Brant, Halton, Waterloo & Wentworth Co., 1884-85, 306). Cameron was born in Blackford, Co. Perthshire, Scotland in 1846 and was brought to Canada in 1856 by his parents who settled in Keene, Ont., near Cobourg, Ont. At the age of 17 years, he went to Acton and likely was trained there in the building trades. His name begins to appear in local newspapers in Acton in 1884 as "builder & architect", and he remained active for the next forty years, acting as both designer and contractor of dozens of buildings in the Halton County area. In 1884 he purchased the Temperance Hall in Acton and converted it into private dwellings. In 1886 he undertook to build additions to the large tannery complex for Beardmore & Co. in that town. He also served as town councillor and was admired for possessing '...a full stock of Scotch stick-to-itiveness' (Acton Free Press, 19 Aug.1886, 2). Cameron died in Acton on 6 March 1933 (obituary Acton Free Press, 9 March 1933, 1).
An extensive list of over 100 buildings designed and/or built by Cameron in the town of Acton and surrounding county was published in two sequential articles in the Acton Free Press, 2 Aug. 1928, 3 and 9 August 1928, 3. This list includes residences, stores, commercial offices, factories and schools which were built on Main Street, Willow Street, Mill Street, Church Street, Bower Avenue, Frederick Street, Young Street, and other streets in Acton, Ont.
ACTON, ONT., Temperance Hall, Church Street, conversion of the Hall into dwellings, 1884-85 (Acton Free Press, 27 Nov. 1884, 3; 3 Dec. 1885, 3, descrip.)
ACTON, ONT., a new four storey drying kiln for Beardmore & Co., 1886 (Acton Free Press, 15 April 1886, 3; 15 July 1886, 3, descrip.)
ERIN, ONT., public school for School Section No. 10, 1888 (Acton Free Press, 29 March 1888, 3)
ACTON, ONT., Central Public School, 1891-92 (Acton Free Press, 3 Dec. 1891, 2, descrip.; 22 Dec. 1892, 2, descrip.)
ACTON, ONT., residence for Peter Sayers, Church Street at Frederick Street, 1908 (Acton Free Press, 12 April 1928, 5, historical article)
ACTON, ONT., large private residence for James Hymon, Willow Street at Bower Avenue, 1914 (Acton Free Press, 2 April 1914, 3)
NASSAGAWEYA TOWNSHIP, public school for School Section No. 8, 1923 (Acton Free Press, 1 Nov. 1923, 1, descrip.)
OAKVILLE, ONT., The Gregory Movie Theatre, for R.L. Gregory, Colborne Street East at Dundas Street South, 1923; demol. 1964 (Georgetown Herald, 21 Feb. 1923, 1, descrip.; Acton Free Press, 6 Sept. 1923, 6, descrip.)