Dally Journal - Record Centennial Edition, Friday, Sept. 1, 1967 A Shady W atering Spot Town Was Budding Tourist Mecca Attracted Summer Homes, Estates About the year 1870, when Oakrille's shipping business was on the decline due to the building of the railway, the town was becom ing widely known as a summer resort. Its pleasant natural sur roundings, at the junction of the river and the lake, and its prox im ity to Toronto and Hamilton fitted it ideally for this purpose. Soon it was attracting large num bers of sum m er visitors. " On approaching the harbor, the stranger is im pressed with the beauty of the bright shingle beach backed up by sloping green terraces, and above all can be seen what appears to be a forest of maples which line the broad and well-kept streets." BEAUTIFUL OAKVILLE This is a description from a brochure entitled " Beautiful Oak ville," published in the year 1897. Twenty years earlier, according to an Atlas of Halton county, som e fam ilies from as far away as Texas were drawn to the town to spend the sum mer months, and it was predicted that Oak ville would becom e Canada's leading summer resort. In addition to the summer res idents, the town attracted large numbers of excursionists, who cam e here by steamer. Back in the eighteen-eighties as many as three or four excursions would com e here in one day, with people totalling from one to three In 1907 a well-known Toronto thousand. jew eller, Jam es R yrie, bought a The chief centre of attraction piece o f farm property on Lake was a lakeside park known as shore Road East and built a Chisholm's Grove, on the west large house there. side of the creek. This was closed Shortly afterwards another pro to the public a few years after the turn of the century. minent Toronto citizen and insur BUILD ESTATES With the growth o f Toronto in the early years o f the century, it was inevitable that a place with Oakville's residential ad vantages so close to the city should attract numbers of wellto-do city dwellers in search of greater living space. ance executive, Herbert C. Cox also acruired a large property in the sam e neighborhood. This becam e the estate known as Ennisclare, for many years one of the show-places of this area, now a high - class residential subdivision. Within the next 20 years o r so nearly all the Lake shore Road east o f Oakville was residents, m any o f whom com lined with estates. muted to Toronto daily. In the years following the NEW SURVEY end of the Second World War The town itself was also a t Oakville, and m ore especially tracting people from the city. those sections o f Trafalgar town Between 1907 and 1910 the north ship on its borders, w ere swamp eastern section o f Oakville was ed with a flood o f residential laid out in building lots, roads building that destroyed the rural character of the surroundings an were run through Brantwood introduced a new urban atm os survey, at one time known as phere. Anderson's bush, and a number of houses were built. OLD TAVERN It was m any years, however, When he opened a rustic tav before this district becam e fully ern on the spot along about 1812, built up. The older parts o f town Daniel Munn gave his name to also attracted a number of new Munn's Corners. T I M O T H Y E A T O N 'S R A Y M A R ESTAT* Town was famoug as sum mer paradise The Biggest Contribution To Canada's Birthday is . . "The Centennial Babies" Sidewalks Laid With Donations Oakville' s first sidewalk was nailed down 18 years before Con federation, and public subscrip tion swung the hammers. Besieged by irate spattered citizens who had long since wear ied of plodding through Colbom e St. mud, council avoided any " book" increase in the tax structure by making an appeal for donations. An indignant cit izenry quickly dug down for funds needed to purchase stout oak plants for a strip of Colborne St. The following year, another sidewalk was spiked in to place on Navy St. to link Col bom e to the pier, and the Town ship of Trafalgar helped out with an extra assessment that contributed about $250 to the project. The undertaking gained m o mentum in 1855, when walks were laid to Tem perance Hall, the Rom an Catholic and Pres byterian Churches, the old schoolhouse, and across the bridge to the west side of town. But the outstanding accom plishment tn all the program was the construction, in 1866, of a plank walk up Dundas St., to the railway station, built at the considerable cost of $^3.80. Tie main street mud prob lems were partially alleviated in ?J61, when a gravel surface was provided. But windy days still sifted clouds of dust into down town stores, and merchants took turns in early morning sprink ling the street from a huge wood en tank wagon. HALF Y E A R S T A T E M E N T Victorians Get Credit For Trees Oakville' s 1868 council really put the town in the shade! When the townsite was first laid out, clearing land for homes becam e a very thorough under taking. So during its first 40 years, Oakville lacked th e tree-lined streets that have been one o f the town's distinctive charms. But in 1868, urged by W. F. Romain, council undertook a planting program which put maples and oaks along all principal thoroughfares -- then passed a bylaw protecting the trees. Individual citizens gave support to the plan with their own plantings, and the project was so enthusiastically carried out that, two decades later, Tor onto residents were referring to Oakville as " that shady water ing spot." secure growth of Halton & Peel Trust SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR HALF-YEAR STATEMENT June 30,1967 June 30, K66 *55,699,161 Savings & Term Deposits........................ $65,747,308 First Mortgages.......................................... 56,297,143 46,646,933 Total Assets Under Administration.. . . 76,302,314 4,252,454 Net Profit after all Charges.............................148,831 Report will be sent on request 129,65* BOARD OF DIRECTORS O. E. Manning, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. C. A . Martin, W . J. Beatty, Vice-Presidents, D. S. McLauchlin, Secretary, J. R. Barber, E. Barringham, J. A . Carroll, A . G. Clarkson, p .e n o , P. A. Fisher, G . H. Fort, q.c., J. M. Fraser, E. D. Goulding, Angus McMillan, Q.c., E. M . Milne, J. Pengilley, E. Slacer John S. Beatty, C A ., General Manager HALTON & PEELTRUST & SAVINGS COMPANY HEAD OFFICE: OAKVILLE, ONTARIO BRAMPTON BURLINGTON MILTON GEORGETOWN COOKSVILLE 8IMCOE DELHI We are p r o u d to be able to dress the Centennial B a b i e s with our large selection of c l o t h e s from infants to size 14. TOWN DANDIES Tunics, trousers and shakos of brilliant green m ade up the uniform of the Oakville Volun teer R ifle Co. in 1862, when 74 of these pioneer Beau Brummels drilled three evenings each week with Enfield long rifles. Young House Of Fashions 251 L a k e s h o re R oad 8 4 5 -7 3 5 2 EARLY WORSHIP The C a n a d a Presbyterian Church, also known as the Scot tish Kirk, opened in Oakville in 1850 in a building on the north side o f William St. between R ey nolds and Trafalgar Rd. Cost of the white fram e structure was 430 English pounds. 100 YEARS! A Great Nation The Guest House located at 312 King St. is a home for older residents of Oakville under the new management of Mrs. B. Admiraal. Mrs. Admiraal is a registered nurse with 30 years experience in Holland and three years at the Toronto Providence Hospital. The older residents enjoy the freedom of the home and its grounds and the best personalized care possible. Steps into the Second Century with Pride of Achievement Secure in its Beliefs and Proud of its Heritage THE GUEST HOUSE SHERIDAN CONTROLS « 845-382 1