We return to our series on Newmarket’s history timeline, beginning with the status of the town as the year 1930 opens. The total population sits at approximately 3,700. The town register lists 186 persons as being owners of their own businesses, with 98 business and trades located on the east side of town and 88 businesses…
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Political Cartoons Are Signposts In History
I have always been a keen observer of the various political cartoons that have graced our local newspapers and magazines. I have often wondered how it all began and just how they evolved into the fine art of depicting the odd points of political or public policy through the various character that become the butt of…
1920’s Brought Newmarket A Hospital, Saw Trading Tree Saved
Welcome back to our timeline of Newmarket’s history, where we pick up the story in 1921, following the roller coaster war years. The year 1921 finds the local butchers presenting a petition to amend a bylaw that prohibited them from selling smaller cuts of meat as this was reserved for the farmers market. They were limited to the…
Newmarket Through The 1910s
This weekend on Newmarket Today I continue my timeline series, starting with the year 1910. The second decade of the twentieth century found Newmarket in the midst of rapid industrialization and a period of steady growth. We were blessed with an abundance of natural resources including a clean and safe water supply on both the…
New Century Brought Cars, Davis Tannery, Great Canal Project To Newmarket
We continue our journey through highlights of Newmarket’s history from 1800 up to the dawning of a new century, 1900. During this time, our Main Street has evolved from an Indigenous trail to a thriving business throughfare. Our town administrators and politicians were drawn from the principal businesses and entrepreneurs that blessed this verging community….
1880s Mark Arrival Of Telephone, Water Works, Poor House, Temperance Movement
In this third instalment of my series on our local historical timeline, we pick up the narrative in the year 1881 and we will proceed up to 1900 and the turn of the century. The year 1881 opens with a huge celebration of our Newmarket’s incorporation. William Cane is our newly minted mayor, a position…
Fur Trade, Quaker Settlers, Rebellion Part Of Newmarket’s Early History
I am often asked for the date that a certain event took place or building was built. It had long been my intention to produce a brief timeline for people to use as a reference point, so I’m beginning what I anticipate will be a series of articles listing important dates in Newmarket history. Let’s start with the years…
Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe Behind Familiar Place Names Of Today
While he is well-known in history for his role in Upper Canada history, not as much is known about John Graves Simcoe’s life before he came to Canada and after he moved on after four years of service here. I discovered an individual who enjoyed an incredible life before and after he strolled through our local…
Cawthra Family Has Equal Historical Impact In Newmarket, Toronto
The Cawthra family was equally famous in both Newmarket and Toronto history. I am often drawn to the commonality of prominent names in the histories of Newmarket and Toronto. The Toronto Cawthras and Newmarket Cawthras share a common lineage through Joseph Cawthra, their patriarch. Many of his descendants played significant roles in the establishment of Newmarket and Toronto. The Cawthra family of Toronto was famous for its business, social and cultural contributions to the city. This was also true…
King George School Opened In 1913 In Booming Newmarket!
In our continuing series on the history of Newmarket schools, I’m featuring another of the schools that I attended, King George School on Park Avenue at Church Street. As rapid growth continued to occur in Newmarket, King George was built to alleviate a severe shortage of educational resources on the west side of town. The Newmarket newspaper of the time…
