In this week’s article, I will give you an overview of how the school system in Newmarket got started and grew, and a little background on each of the major phases of this development from the early 1800s to 2000. Formal education in most of Ontario in the early part of the 18th century usually…
Tag: Oral History
The Best Entertainment Was When The Circus Came To Town
I am often asked about the entertainment our ancestors enjoyed when they were children, so I thought this week I would highlight the travelling circuses and the magic they brought to town, and next week, I will discuss fairs and the chautauqua. The travelling circus became a major attraction in the surrounding area about the…
Prohibition Comes To Newmarket
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…
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…
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…
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…
Cane Family One Of Newmarket’s First Dynasties
Newmarket has had its share of family dynasties over the years, the Cane, Davis, Widdifield, Playter and Denne families being but a few. Over the next few months, I shall examine many of these historic families with an eye to their civic and political contributions to Newmarket. The first family I shall attempt to do…
Take A Historic Tour Of The Town Offices
With a municipal election pending Oct. 22, let’s take a trip back in time to look at the various locations that served as our Town Offices. As the town grew, so did the need for bigger and better facilities to house our council and various town departments. This is part one of a two-part series…
