Happy 150th Canada!
Together with countless Canadians across the country, many of you celebrated Canada 150 and perhaps even played a game of road hockey and indulged in maple syrup and poutine on Canada Day. But have you ever imagined what life was like in our community at the time of Confederation?
Bowmanville Boasts Proud History
Bowmanville’s history dates back to the arrival in 1794 of three United Empire Loyalist families from the United States: the Burks, Conants and Trulls. Early settlers were drawn here by farmland and creeks where water mills could be constructed. One located on Soper Creek now serves as the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington (www.vac.ca).
Bowmanville was incorporated as a village in 1852 and as a town in 1858. By 1866 – just one year before Confederation – it was a prosperous town with a population of about 3,500 and home to a Grand Trunk Railway station and good harbour. Tanneries and stables were common businesses. The ornate Trinity United Church was among numerous churches built in those early years and continues to serve our community.
Some other interesting facts:
• In 1884, Scottish immigrant John McKay opened the Cream of Barley Mill to manufacture a cereal of his own creation. ‘Cream of Barley’ was shipped throughout the British Empire.
• Central Public School was constructed in 1889 and Bowmanville High School was built the following year.
• In the early 1900s, the Dominion Organ and Piano factory, Specialty Paper Company, the Bowmanville Foundry and the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company all provided steady work for residents.
• Goodyear provided affordable housing for its employees. Present-day Carlisle Avenue, built by Goodyear President W.C. Carlisle in the 1910s, remains one of Ontario’s best preserved examples of industrial housing.
• As the town prospered, its grand era of architectural building and refinement arrived. Many excellently-maintained examples of Italianate, Gothic Revival, Colonial Brick and Queen Anne architecture remain in Bowmanville’s older central neighbourhoods.
• Subdivisions arrived in the 1950s.
• In the 1960s, the Oshawa Generals and Bobby Orr played hockey in the old Bowmanville Arena on Queen Street while awaiting the Oshawa Civic Auditorium’s completion.
• Transportation improvements in the 1980s included the widening of Hwy. 401 – first built through Bowmanville in 1952 – to six lanes.
• Darlington Nuclear Generating Station was constructed in stages from 1981 to 1993.
In 1974, Bowmanville amalgamated with Clarke Township and Darlington Township to form the Town of Newcastle as part of the municipal restructuring that created the Regional Municipality of Durham. The Town of Newcastle was renamed the Municipality of Clarington in 1994 and continues to offer a unique combination of urban life and rural charm.
As you continue to enjoy Canada 150 celebrations this year, it gives me great pride to remind you that Royal Service Real Estate is a Canadian company honoured to specialize in our unique community
