Fire profoundly shaped the development of Newmarket. In this first of two parts, we shall look at the period from the mid-1800s to 1900. You may wish to read my previous articles on the fire department, the Stickwood Brick Factory, my history of Main Street and the waterworks for additional information. Fire has proven to be a major hazard for…
Tag: Interview
Battle Long Fought For Burgeoning Newmarket To Adapt Ward System
Let’s examine an example of that old adage that old ideas never really die but are merely re-introduced over the years. Ideas tend to find their legs as the years pass, particularly if those ideas have been put forward by governments. When we take the time to examine our history, we quite often find the…
Butchers, Bakers, Barbers All Thrived On Newmarket’s Late 1800s Main Street
This is the second of a two-part series weekend on Newmarket in the late 1800s from an economic or commercial point of view. About 1903 or 1904, Samuel Bondi (Rusto) arrived from Italy and opened a fruit store on the Main Street hill, near the present-day Roadhouse & Rose funeral parlour, eventually moving to the…
Fashion Models Once Strolled Main Street With Hats Of Velvet, Flowers, Feathers
In this first of a two-part series, we’ll look at the period from just after Confederation to the early 1900s from the perspective of local commerce, industry, and the economy. During the last decades of the 19th century, there was a steady growth in the prosperity of our area. The farmer was finally receiving a…
Lessons From Hurricane Hazel Will Never Be Forgotten
Perhaps one of the defining historical moments of my generation was the arrival of Hurricane Hazel in Newmarket and the subsequent effects of this event on our town and region. I will confine myself to York Region and the resulting devastation, what happened, how it happened and what changes resulted. Floods were a regular occurrence…
Newmarket Men Stepped Up To Bravely Fight In War Of 1812
We step back in time to the period around the War of 1812 in this first of a two-part series. I hope to convey a sense of local life, observe how the war affected the fledgling hamlet of Newmarket and examine its lasting impact here. Along the way, we will meet a few individuals who became…
Newmarket Citizens Once Paid For Their Own Coveted Streetlamps
In today’s world, we tend to forget that life was very different if not downright harsh for our ancestors and the absence of electrical power and public lighting services was one of the realities that our ancestors had to endure. When the first buildings began to appear in Newmarket, only the sun, moon and stars…
Tales of Newmarket’s Taverns, Hotels Include Murder, Circuses, Morse’s Telegraph
At one time, Newmarket had more taverns and hotels per capita than any other place in Canada of its size! One need only to read my article on Prohibition locally to appreciate fully how much we loved our drink locally. The first tavern in the area appeared in Armitage, a small hamlet at the corner…
Tales Of Newmarket’s Taverns, Hotels Include Murder, Circuses, Morse’s Telegraph
At one time, Newmarket had more taverns and hotels per capita than any other place in Canada of its size! One need only to read my article on Prohibition locally to appreciate fully how much we loved our drink locally. The first tavern in the area appeared in Armitage, a small hamlet at the corner…
Interviewing Family, Friends Helps Capture Local History Before It’s Lost
Capturing our local history to ensure that it is never lost, and readily available to generations to come, is a topic close to my heart. I have been interviewing people and conducting oral history interviews for years, back to my university days. Now that I am getting a little older, it is my passion to…
