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BD THE OSHAWA TIMES, Seturdey, June 24, 1967 Residents of East Whitby Township have every reason for pride in their centennial project -- the restoration of the old township hall. This HALL RESTORED FOR CENTENNIAL seen at right, was added during the restoration pro- gram to provide accommo- dation for the township office. The council chamber picture shows the restored and_ renovated building which will be dedicated June 30. The wing on the south side of the building, & at the rear of the building has been restored and a kitchen and washrooms ad- led. (Oshawa Times Photo) 'English Corners At First Columbus Dates To 1850 By MRS. L. DALBY COLUMBUS --The village, which is the seat of municipal government for East Whitby Township, has a history dating back about 135 years. The vil- lage was originally called Eng- lish. Corners, due to the large number of pioneer residents who came from England. The surnames of some fami- lies of these early settlers in 1830 were Adams, Ashton, Roberts, Clark, Power, Pere- man and Wilcoxson, About the year 1850 the name of the village was chang- ed to Columbus and a post office was established with Robert Skirving as the first postmaster. He was succeeded by Robert Ashton, C. S. Stab- back, William Armour, Mrs. T. Cook and Mrs: G. Brent, who now holds the position. Between 1850 and 1870 Col- umbus grew to a population of between 400 and 500 people. There were four churches, namely Presbyterian, Bible Christian, Methodist and Angli- can. The latter church was a mile west of the village. Each of the churches was filled as a rule on Sundays. CHURCH BURNED | The Anglican Church was de- stroyed by fire in 1922. The old Presbyterian Church stood next to L. Ellins home. Hon. Wil- liam Smith was the first to be baptized in it, Later the Pres- byterians purchased the prop- erty where the present United Church stands, This church was opened in 1873. Directly across the street from the old' Presbyterian Church stood the old Methodist Church which was replaced by a new building after the union of the Bible Christian and Methodist Churches in 1884. Hon. William Smith, J. Howden and R. D. Power. This}was Hon. William. Smith who school was torn down in 1930|had served -as trustee for 51 and rebuilt into the presentjyears. The first teacher was a school. The principal speaker|Miss Smith. Old Township Hall Rebuilt Enlarged In East Whitb COLUMBUS -- A dedication ceremony, June 30, will mark the culmination of an all-out effort by the East Whitby Town- ship and its centennial commit- tee to renovate and enlarge the old township hall on the Osh- awa-Port Perry County Road. This was the township's cen- | tennial project, Members of the council are: John Howden, reeve; Ross E. Lee, deputy reeve and Allan §. © Evans, Douglas Marlow ont 9 Allan S. Henry, councillors. 2 Among the members of the i} Di See meen Centennial committee were: Allan S. Evans, chairman; Ross E. Lee, Walter Beath and John Howden. FIRST SCHOOL A school was built in 1878 The trustees at that time were: Marlow. High School Area Board: | Township representatives to|Wilfred Pascoe, Mrs. Harold the Central Ontario Planning| Werry, Roy Brawn, Walter Board: John Howden and Wal-|Beath, county representative) jter Beath. jand Mrs, M. Glover, public) Cemetery Board: Walter/school board representative. Other township officials and E board members are: M. William Goldie, clerk, tax collector, welfare administrator, and bylaw enforcement. officer; Mrs. Margaret E. Houlding, treasurer; Gordon Hepditch, as- sessor; Alfred Harrell, building inspector, Roy Pereman, road superintendent. Beath, Irwin Ormiston, A. §. Committee of Adjustment:|Evans and Ross Lee. Wilfred W. Pascoe, Vernon) Public'School Area Board: W. Powell and Stanley Taylor. |Toaze, chairman; L. Slute, W. Planning Board: Walter Beath,)H. Hancock, Norman Cook, B. JOHN HOWDEN East Whitby Reeve D. C. Roberts, Neil C. Smith,|R. Clark and Harvey Pascoe,'§ W. R. Hancock and Douglas|secretary-treasurer. SINGER SEWING CENTRE It's Our Centennial Too! D.,at the opening of the new gore | At one time the village had four stores all of which were doing a good business. There were also three blacksmith shops, each employing two to three men; two carpenter shops, four shore shops also employing two to three men and each kept busy making boots and shoes for the people of the community; two tailor shops, two dressmaking shops, a harnes shop and two cooper- ages. Among the matin Industries were a tannery located a quar- ter of a mile north of the vil- lage, a flour mill, a woollen The town of Ajax probably has the distinction of being the only town in Canada where at one time most of the buildings were joined together by under- ground wooden tunnels. It's not the only distinction this growing municipality of 9,000 can afford itself. During the Second World War Ajax was the largest shell filling wealth. Nine miles of fencing and 240 works and at peak periods 9,000) people were employed in the manufacture of 40,000,000 shells. The site of Ajax, 3,600 acres comprising some 17 farms, was purchased by the British War Cabinet in 1940 and work com- menced immediately. No sooner was the wheat har- vested when construction began on railway spurs, assembly plants and frame houses in the north end of the town. By the end of 1941 the first plant was in production and ammunition trains. began shutt- tected sidings. More buildings were con- structed in 1942 and steam, sewers and water became available overnight in the boom town. During the Second World War some 30,000 different peo- ple were security checked for employment at the plant. After the war the site of Ajax was turned over to the Depart- ment of Veterans' Affairs who in 1946 managed to link Ajax to the overflowing University of Toronto Engineering Divi- sion. Some $1,400,000 was spent by the department to convert the buildings to classroom use and a number of buildings, their wooden pores saturated with the torch. - During the years from 1946 to 1949 some 5,000 engineering stu- dents' attended classes and 70 per cent of them were housed in the wartime buildings. The town included 33 residences and 37 lecture rooms. Every effort was made to pro- mill employing 45 people, two asheries and four well-patron- | ized' inns. | vide all the campus amenities plant in the British Common-# guards protected the munition# ling the cargoes from the pro-| explosive powder, were put to} GEORGE FINLEY .+.In Ajax At Start concerts at "Hart House" on Kings Crescent across from the old municipal building were weekly events. | At the campus the first two years of engineering were taught to the influx of students jthe management of Ajax as a Thriving Town Of Ajax Started As War Effort ALEX RUSSELL ee-In University Days man and W. W. Rideout a mem- ber of the trustee board. George Finlay, who took over development project for Central Mortgage and Housing also de- serves due credit for his part that enrolled after army serv- ice, the peak year was 1946-47 when 3,300 students attended| classes. The idea of evolving a town from the War Assets Corpora- tion of Ajax began in 1949 when Central Mortgage took over the buildings. They realized the in- dustrial possibility of the va- cant industrial section of the town. During all this time Ajax was a federal island in Pickering Township and its largest tax- payer. The residents paid taxes to the township and paid their share of schools and services. In 1951 the Ajax Improvement District was set up and until 1955 concerned itself with the planning of a town. Controlling schools and services and acting as a council, the improvement committee worked with the De- partment of Municipal Affairs and the Department of Plan- ning and Development. to the students and recreational facilities and Sunday evening in bringing forth the idea of a planned community on the war plant site. In 1954 the Provincial govern-| ment was petitioned and the} town of Ajax became a reality in 1955, Since that time able and dedicated councils have made this municipality the third larg- est in Ontario County with its most favorable residential in- dustrial tax ratio. A history of the town would not be complete without men- tioning its first clerk, Bolton Falby. Mr. Falby, it is felt by many, made the single largest contribution to the growth of the municipality. LEGAL TALENT There appears to have been no lack of legal talent in Whitby when Canada entered confedera- tion. Listed among the lawyers were: W. H. Tremayne, N. G. Ham, W. H. Billings, Cameron and MacDonell, Mr. Dartnell The committee was headed vg chairman B. Deforest Bayly with John Mills as vice-chair- and Andrew Fraser McPher- son. Yes! 1967 Marks the 100th Year 1867 Today - Over q Singer Sewing 1967 Women in Canada Save by making their Own wardrobes with . SINGER SEW CENTRE 16 SIMCOE ST. We've Been in Canada 160,000 Machines .N, OSHAWA A CENTURY | OF PROGRESS * We are proud to have had a part inthe growth of Canada during the past ( ALL-WEATHER NYLON TIRES 49 TUBELESS BLACKWALL puus Your OLD TIRES, nalt COntury ... * ~ COAST TO COAST | Ine Alger Press Ltd PRINTERS AND LITHOGRAPHERS 61 CHARLES STREET SERVING CANADIAN INDUSTRY . . . 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