Newmarket Perspectives*

Founded in 1801 when the first group of settlers from Britain's former American colonies arrived to clear their Yonge Street farms and build a mill and trading post on the Holland River, Newmarket can lay claim to being one of the oldest towns in Ontario. In fact, the first settler, a Quaker named Timothy Rogers, arrived in mid-June, 1800 at this forest crossroads where ancient trails met. He liked what he saw, hurried to York (now Toronto) to lay claim to as many free farms as he could, then went home to Vermont to tell friends and neighbours about the wonderful new frontier. Early next spring he was back with enough settlers to take up 40 farms and the mill site (Fairly Lake at the bottom of Main St. was the mill pond).

Fur traders soon arrived at the 'new  market', building posts to intercept native trappers heading south with their catches to York and Oswego, New York Mills.  The ‘son of’ the original meeting tree stands in the middle of Timothy St. just west of the old Town Hall which is just steps west of Main St.  Stores were built to serve a growing farm area, and the little community grew and prospered. Today, this community is still coping with floods of settlers from the south (pop 65,000 and growing), has a strong retail economy serving a wide surrounding area, and has a flourishing crossroads economy which produces and trades goods for global markets. Located on Yonge Street and on highways 9 and 404, half an hour from Pearson International Airport and hour Toronto's busy rail, port facilities and bustling commercial district, today's 'new market' is within a good day's drive of North America's biggest, richest market - of more than 150 million people.

Main Street has been the heart and centre of shopping of the community for most of our nearly 200 years. It has undergone a rebirth in recent years. Many structures themselves have changed little over the past century. A major mall, strip plazas and ‘big box’ stores line the sides of Yonge Street and Davis Drive through town to provide the ‘modern shopping experience’.

Founded by Quakers on an ancient Indian trail, brought to prosperity by fur traders and wealthy Family Compact families, it was by 1837, at the very heart of William Lyon Mackenzie's rebellion.  It is also said that when the Americans landed and burned York (Toronto) during the war of 1812, an American flag was hoisted in Newmarket. It held the biggest farmer's market north of Toronto (Market Square in front of the Old Town Hall), witnessed wars and victory parades, an oil boom, and block destroying fires.  The first railroad in Upper Canada reached Newmarket in 1852 on its way to linking Toronto's port with Collingwood on Lake Huron. The old railway station (circa 1899) has been restored by the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce for  their head office and a tourist information centre. Although the functional rail station has moved just north across Davis Drive to the Tannery Mall, the historic railroad line itself has taken on a new life as a commuter link to Toronto.

Newmarket today remains a leader in the Greater Toronto Area, hosting the York Region Administrative Head Offices, York Region Police Head Quarters, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Regional Office, Regional Court House and Land Registry, Southlake Regional Health Centre (York County Hospital), Upper Canada Mall and many world class business organizations.

 *information previously published by Robert Terrance Carter, a leading historical authority about Newmarket, in ‘Newmarket Perspectives’ Premier issue  July 1998