NewmarketToday.ca brings you this weekly feature about our town’s history in partnership with Richard MacLeod, the History Hound, a local historian for more than 40 years. He conducts heritage lectures and walking tours of local interest, as well as leads local oral history interviews. You can contact the History Hound at thehistoryhound@rogers.com. With the debate over whether Newmarket should or…
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Newmarket Today Remember -This weekly local heritage articles
Famed Forestry Magnate, And Author Had Roots In Newmarket
This week we return to our look at some of the “historic characters” from our community who you may never have known were from Newmarket. I am profiling two people who, while they made their contributions elsewhere, got their start here. I would like to think their time spent in Newmarket contributed to their successes…
Main Street Became Early Hub Of Growing Village
It seems a coincidence that the birth of the tiny settlement that we would later call Newmarket would coincide with the beginning of the 19th century, when Timothy Rogers brought 40 families from the northern American states to the Yonge Street area in 1801. Rogers, who himself came from Vermont, led his relatives and friends…
Christmas Was More Of A Community Celebration
As many of you know, I have been conducting oral history interviews, first audio only and later audio-visual, for many years. Eventually, Christmas memories come up in most of the interviews and this article centres around some of those discussions with our older interviewees. Many of these memories may strike a chord with you or…
Carter, Luesby Pillars Of Historical Community
I pay tribute to my mentors, Terry Carter and George Luesby, who can take credit for not only ensuring Newmarket’s heritage has been preserved but for igniting a respect and passion for history in our community The pursuit of local history is an endeavour requiring a passion that is quite often lit by a personal…
Constant Threat Of Fire Prompted Town’s First Fire Brigade In 1858
Fire and the threat of fire was the scourge of life in our town since its beginnings in 1801. One of the first things we did as an incorporated village was to form our own bucket brigade. Consisting of a small hand pump with which we could draw water from the various wells or from…
Radial Railway From Toronto To Jackson’s Point Flourished Until The 1930s
Reminders of the once flourishing all-electric Toronto and York Radial Railway Co. Metropolitan Division that connected Newmarket with Toronto and Georgina are scattered about town The old adage “location, location, location” is most certainly true when we consider the growth and prosperity of any urban centre in history. This is most certainly true of the…
Legacy Of Stickwood Brickyard Visible In Town’s Yellow Brick Buildings
During the early days of Newmarket, fire was a constant threat as nearly every structure was made of wood. There were at least four major fires on Main Street alone before the 1890s and businesses were repeatedly forced to rebuild. This was the case with many a home in the village, as well. The answer…
Radial Railway From Toronto To Jackson’s Point Flourished Until 1930s
The old adage “location, location, location” is most certainly true when we consider the growth and prosperity of any urban centre in history. This is most certainly true of the village, soon to be the Town of Newmarket. Newmarket has been blessed with a perfect location within the developing transportation structure of the province and…
Henry S. Cane One Of Town’s Most Progressive Mayors
Last weekend, we took a look at William Cane, our first mayor and an early community leader. Today, in the second part of our series on our town’s prominent family dynasties and leaders, we will take a look at Henry S. Cane, William’s son and also a mayor and perhaps more of a community leader…