Just a few days removed from our celebration of All Hallows’ Eve, I am sharing with you some of the ghost stories from my annual heritage walk for charity in downtown Newmarket. To my way of thinking, most ghost stories have a firm footing in history, whether it be an event, a historic structure or…
Tag: Main Street
Who’s Who Of Newmarket Attended Trinity United Church
One of the big white churches on Main Street is the Methodist Church, which became Trinity United Church in 1925. While the United Church was the result of a merger of three churches in 1925, the Methodist Church was founded in 1824. The roots of the Methodist Church in Newmarket date back to 1824, when…
Three Early Newmarket Business ‘Survivors’ Thrive Today
Over the last year, I have written about the effects of fire and flood and other misadventures that have altered the landscape of Newmarket, as well as highlighted businesses and merchants of old and their contributions to the growth of our community. This week I want to take a brief look at three survivors, companies…
Three Early Newmarket Business ‘Survivors’ Thrive Today
Over the last year, I have written about the effects of fire and flood and other misadventures that have altered the landscape of Newmarket, as well as highlighted businesses and merchants of old and their contributions to the growth of our community. This week I want to take a brief look at three survivors, companies…
Roots Of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church More Than 185 Years Deep
When the Presbyterian Church arrived in Newmarket is uncertain. Records indicate that Presbyterianism dates to at least 1813, when a Col. Graham of the Aurora area donated 40 acres, known as Lot 25 on the 2nd Concession of King Township, for a ‘glebe’, land meant for the building of a manse. While it was later…
Canada’s Unofficial Anthem First Sung At Main Street Church
On July 25, 1874, the cornerstone was laid for the Christian Church (now the Christian Baptist Church) at the top of Main Street. This event was surrounded by much pomp and ceremony. Six triumphal evergreen arches were erected over Main Street as the town welcomed the Earl of Dufferin, governor general, who arrived to lay the…
Newmarket’s First ‘Moving Pictures’ Theatre Opened In 1909
The Roxy? The Strand? The Film Factory? Tweak any memories? In this week’s Remember This, History Hound Richard MacLeod recalls Newmarket’s movie theatres. The cinema — known as moving pictures in my Grandma’s era — has long been a major source of entertainment around the world. This weekend, we will explore the history of the…
One Of Newmarket’s Oldest Shops Built Before Confederation
One of the oldest stores on Newmarket’s Main Street is the William N. Starr Building, located just south of the old Central Hotel, and later, the McCauley Block, which was destroyed by fire in 1968. It is a pre-Confederation building, constructed in about 1863, replacing a frame structure on the site. You will remember in…
One Of Newmarket’s Oldest Shops Built Before Confederation
One of the oldest stores on Newmarket’s Main Street is the William N. Starr Building, located just south of the old Central Hotel, and later, the McCauley Block, which was destroyed by fire in 1968. It is a pre-Confederation building, constructed in about 1863, replacing a frame structure on the site. You will remember in…
Ontario’s First Female Apothecary Had Main Street Store
One of the casualties in the debate over the future of the Clock Tower building in downtown Newmarket on Main Street was the historic building to the south, known as the Charles Hargrave Simpson building. Boarded up and neglected, and with a demolition company’s sign now posted on it, this building was once home…
