Anyone who has engaged in the pursuit of history, particularly our local history, will have quickly learned change, sometimes rapid, sometimes occurring over time, is inevitable.
This column will look at some of the changes that took place in our business scene and the consequences they had on local employment.
Change intially took place slowly in Newmarket, and then rapid growth in business and infrastructure, which in turn brought about a growth in our population.
In the mid-1900s, a wide spectrum of changes took place that accelerated in the following decades. In previous columns, I wrote about the disappearing agricultural community that had existed prior to post-war reconstruction along with the rehabilitation of our servicemen and a new wave of immigration. In this column, I intend to follow up on that theme.
We would see the surge of developers, speculators and predators that swooped in on our farmlands. By the early 1950s, all the farms on the town’s boundaries on all four sides were sold or were on option to purchase and plans were being tabled for new subdivisions.
We saw new families attempting to establish themselves in our quiet, peaceful country-style environment, one located within easy access to Toronto. Highrise buildings changed the horizon, rural roads were being paved and superhighways began to lace the countryside, which accelerated the speed and density of local traffic.
Many of you may recall that in April 1950, Toronto mayor Hiram McCallum tabled a proposal to annex the northern part of York County along with Scarborough and Etobicoke into a unified metropolitan area. This was strongly opposed by our town council headed by Reeve Joel Spillette, and it was ultimately defeated. The same effort would recur in 1995 for the expansion of the Greater Toronto Area, bringing rising apprehension.
These new subdivisions imposed a surge of challenges on our council to provide roads and utilities, schools and teachers. As a result, our tax burden would become critical given the lack of new industries to balance the budget and meet residential demands. A comprehensive official plan, zoning bylaws, building codes all had to be formulated to cope with increasing financial demands.
In May 1955, Newmarket mayor Alex Belugin resigned, vehemently opposed to further subdivisions given the lack of sewage provisions and the tax burden to provide roads and utilities that they would certainly prompt. Along with this new style of living came a new type of merchandising, one with remote shopping centres springing up, casting a dark shadow on the traditional Main Street commerce.
The local chamber of commerce in May 1957 appealed to council to stop any further shopping plazas, but the planning committees found themselves unable to do anything to prevent it. Change is inevitable and we are often powerless to stop it even if we want to do so.
Prior to 1950, Davis Drive was sparsely settled out to Yonge Street. The north side was open farmland from Yonge to the town limit, and on the south side a parcel of land consisting of about 10 acres belonged to Amelia Rogers with a lovely, red-brick 19th-century dwelling and a lane on the east side, which entered the farm of Robert Millard.
Ernest Crossland bought the estate in 1947 but lived there only a short time before he sold it to developers. The Millard farm became a huge subdivision and that lane turned into a street named Parkside Drive.
The acreage became the first ‘shopping plaza’ and, in 1953, construction was completed for eight stores including an IGA, hardware, restaurant, and other convenience outlets.
On the east side of the lane (Parkside Drive), the five-acre property of Stanley Janes was sold to Charles Boyd, a local real-estate agent. The roughcast house, nearby barn and stable were demolished and replaced by a Shell service station and a garage showroom facing Davis Drive while Deerfield Plastics on Deerfield Road occupied the remainder of the lot.
Boyd fulfilled his commitment to the town, quid pro quo, by providing property for commercial use as part of an agreement for approval of other residential projects.
Newmarket Plaza was enlarged in 1957 to contain 47 stores, and a permit was issued to Dominion Stores for a new supermarket, which was completed in 1959 and further extended in 1961.
Major developments happened along Davis with the Upper Canada Mall being built in 1973 with a Simpsons-Sears, Zellers, etc., and Yorktown Plaza in 1980 with a Loblaws, Kmart, etc.
Our business base began to change at about this time. For many years, the principal industries and mainstays of the local economy were Cane’s Woodenware Co. (1874 to 1927), Davis Leather Co. (1904 to 1962), Office Specialty Mfg. Co. (1898 to 1971) and Dixon Pencil Company (1931 to 1991). These enterprises all disappeared with our industrial structure changing after the 1950s to smaller and more diverse forms of manufacturing and production.
In January 1945, the Davis brothers sold the Davis Leather Co. to James A. Gairdner, a stock broker from Toronto, signalling the beginning of the end for this long-established and successful firm (1904). The new owners did not know the finer points of the industry and, finally, in 1962, it was sold to a Boston company and closed.
Office Specialty had been established in 1898 and had become the largest maker of office furniture in Canada. At its peak, it employed about 400 people and occupied two large, multi-storey factory units between Water and Timothy streets, stretching north of Timothy Street. The beginning of the end came in 1949, when they built a new administration office on Prospect Street and a subsidiary plant of 30,000 square feet in Holland Landing.
From that point, the company went into a decline due to increased competition and an aging management who had difficulty adapting to the social and environmental changes taking place. In 1961, the shareholders sold their interests, and the huge factory unit between Water and Timothy streets was demolished in 1971.
The pursuit of new industry has been a focus since our beginning with every inducement being made to encourage the location of enterprises that would offer local employment. Land was made available west of Charles Street, including from Queen Street to Huron Street (Davis).
In March 1944, Concession Street was closed and the north part, consisting of 85 by 300 feet facing Huron, was sold to George Bender to build a casket factory. The property was redesigned for the Taylor Funeral Home.
The property to the west was sold to Ross Howlett and Aubrey Scythes and they built a factory 80 by 100 feet named Industrial Wood Products to manufacture doors, sashes, and kitchen cupboards. This was later purchased by the Cash & Carry Lumber Company, and then by the Beaver Lumber Company, opening beside the railway in 1957. In 1994, it was taken over for the Newmarket Seniors’ Meeting Place.
The west side of Charles, including part of Concession, was sold by the town to the Canadian Hoffman Co. for $200 to construct a factory to employ at least 50 people. The firm was a subsidiary of Hoffman Machinery Co. of New York and manufactured laundry machinery and institutional equipment. By the end of May 1945, a new factory had been built, starting manufacturing in February 1947. It employed an average of 55 workers until May 1955, when it ceased operations.
In 1957, the premises were occupied by APV Canada, focusing on a dairy, brewery, and chemical equipment production, and then later by Lacal (hydro line and cable supplies). It ceased operations and, by 1980, the building no longer served as a factory.
The Newmarket Era publishing office moved to a new building next to the factory on Charles in 1956 after its Main Street office was destroyed by fire. The building had just been built as an industrial unit for the town, part of a swap with the Shady Acres developers for water and sewer provisions for 42 houses in their subdivision north of Davis between Bayview Avenue and Lundy Lane.
A plebiscite for the sale of liquor and beer was held on May 2, 1957, and the site on Charles next to the new Era building was chosen for the Brewers Retail Store, which opened Jan.16, 1958. A new liquor store opened on Eagle Street on April 10, 1958.
In 1950, Thomas Birrell purchased 25 acres from Mabel Davis between Bayview and Lundy Lane. The frontage of 230 feet on Davis was a swamp and, after its having been reclaimed, it became a Ford showroom and service garage, opening in November 1952. The remainder of the property was then sold to Shady Acres developers. In 1955, Brad Walker purchased the dealership. He retired in November 1980, having sold it to Paddy Shanahan of Toronto.
Tenatronics Ltd. established a factory at Davis and Alexander Road in 1958. Originally, it had intended to locate in Aurora, but developer H.R. Lenhardt persuaded the company to come to Newmarket to fulfil an obligation he had with council to provide an industry in return for permits for his subdivisions on the west side of town. He supplied the land, and Newmarket provided the water and sewer facilities — a three-way deal involving Tenatronics, Lenhardt and the town.
Finally, Dixon Pencil Co., which had been established for more than 60 years, closed on Sept.30, 1990. It had occupied William Cane’s factory, built in 1874, for the manufacture of a variety of wood products. The Dixon Company arrived in 1930 and carried on the manufacturing of pencils, which Canes had started in 1920. In 1990, the company transferred its operations to Florida, releasing 60 employees and leaving only a sale and distributing office on Pony Drive. The Dixon Ticonderoga factory was demolished and replaced by a new medical building in 1991.
In this column, I have offered a brief example of how that dreaded historic reality change encroached on our once sleepy town. For more information on the various businesses mentioned, you can read the past columns that focus on them individually.
Sources: The Newmarket Era; oral history interviews conducted by Richard MacLeod; previous articles published on NewmarketToday; History of the Town of Newmarket by Ethel Willson Trewhella; Stories of Newmarket — An Old Ontario Town by Robert Terence Carter; Business and Industry — Mid-Century Transition by George Luesby
Newmarket resident Richard MacLeod, the History Hound, has been a local historian for more than 40 years. He writes a weekly feature about our town’s history in partnership with NewmarketToday, conducts heritage lectures and walking tours of local interest, and leads local oral history interviews. You can reach him at thehistoryhound@rogers.com
