News

Thank you to NVDHS member Les Harris for videoing the event! A wonderful time was had by all.

The historical society will be at the Orono Fair from Friday, September 8, to Sunday, September 11. Fair grounds are located at 2 Princess St., Orono. Follow signs to gates and parking.

NVDHS hours at Orono Fair:

• Friday: 12 noon – 6 p.m.
• Saturday: 12 noon – 6 p.m.
• Sunday: 12 noon to 4 p.m.

Come see our display of artifacts and photos on the Massey family and the Newcastle Community Hall.

Saturday, August 13
1-4 p.m., in the park behind the Library

Get your tickets today and join us in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Newcastle Village and District Historical Society at an 1890s Garden Party, complete with 1890s prices. Dress up and compete in 1890s attire – or come as you are.

1890s Refreshments
Children’s Games
Costume Contests (men, women, children)
Music by the Orono Town Band
Displays by
the Culinary Historians of Canada, & NVDHS

1890s prices!
Adults: 25¢
Children: 10¢

Beginning on July 1, tickets can be purchased at the Historical Room in the Community Hall on Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. – noon or Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Or you can order them online and pay via e-transfer. Please use the contact form for the event and our Treasurer, Sher Leetooze will send the e-transfer email and total. Ticket pickup will be at the Historical Room or at the event.

Order tickets online

Please fill out all required fields. Child tickets are for those 12 and under. Our treasurer, Sher Leetooze, will respond with the total and the e-transfer instructions. Tickets will be available for pickup at the Historical Room at the Community Hall, 20 King Ave. W. weekdays 10-5 or on Saturdays from 9:30-noon, OR can be picked up the day of the event.

Thank you to our event sponsors and donors:

Municipality of Clarington
A Gift of Art
Clarington Museums and Archives
St. Paul’s United Church
Bowmanville Legion Br. 178
Ontario Power Generation
Robert Malone
Greg St. Amand
Newcastle Griddle
Newcastle Foodland
Buddah Belly Bakery
Culinary Historians of Canada
Newcastle Public Library
St. Francis of Assisi Church
Newcastle Baptist Church
Members of the Board of NVDHS

Looking for the recipes for the event?

(If you’re volunteering, don’t forget to contact Sher to let her know what you’ll be making…)

• Download Recipes (PDF)

Image credit: See page for author, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

100th Anniversary of the Laying of the Newcastle Community Hall Cornerstone Photo Gallery

The July 1 celebrations continued into the afternoon, centred around the Newcastle Community Hall and the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the laying of the Hall’s cornerstone in 1922. Events featured special displays by the NVDHS in the Historical Room and in the Centennial Room of the hall, demonstrations by the Soper Valley Model Railroad Association, a BBQ fundraiser by the Newcastle Lions, period music from the Dave Climenhage Band, cake and refreshments, and speeches from event MC Myno van Dyke and Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster.

Special guests included four descendants of Newcastle residents who were involved in the creation of the Community Hall in 1922; Brian Jose, grandson of Harry Jose (village councillor), Don Colwill, grandson of Albert Amos (A.A.) Colwill, (former Reeve of Newcastle), Lynda MacGregor, great granddaughter of George Eilbeck, (furniture maker, Board of Education member, municipal tax collector), and Jean Rickard, daughter of Harvey Bonathan (Newcastle Village Clerk for several decades) who celebrates her own 100th birthday next month.

Drive-by Parade Photo Gallery

Opening the festivities on July 1, was Newcastle’s drive-by parade of antique vehicles, Jeeps, tractors, trucks – and of course, Thomas the Tank Engine! The parade wound its way through the Port, Bond Head, and the main part of the village. Afterwards, some vehicles were on display on King Ave. between North and Mill Streets, which was closed to traffic for the afternoon.

Photos by Willie Woo

Join us on Friday, July 1 for the start of a year of fun celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Newcastle Community Hall. 

Events on July 1 include a drive-by parade of antique vehicles (throughout Newcastle), a BBQ, music from the Dave Climenhage band, and a re-enactment of the laying of the cornerstone. The Historical Society will be open throughout, with special displays relating to the Community Hall and Massey family. King Ave. between Mill and North Street will be closed for the event.

Schedule of Events

9:30 a.m. – Historical Room open
11:30 a.m. – King closed to traffic between Mill and North Streets.
11:30 – 2 p.m. – Antique vehicle and tractor drive-by parade through Newcastle (see map)
Noon – 3 p.m. – Lions BBQ fundraiser (cash)
1 p.m. – Brass band at gazebo
2 p.m. – Antique vehicles arrive at Hall (on display on King Ave. between Mill & North Streets)
2:30 p.m. –  Replica cornerstone ceremony
4 p.m. – Historical Room closes/event over

Note: there are fireworks at the Diane Hamre Recreation Complex on the evening of July 1.

Newcastle Community Hall turns 100!

In 1919 Chester D. Massey decided to give to the citizens of the Village of Newcastle a secular and non-institutional hall that would contain many of the facilities included in his son Vincent’s recently completed project – U. of T.’s Hart House. The same architects, contractors and skilled tradesmen were employed. From sod-turning on September 24, 1921, to opening day ceremonies on August 2, 1923, the project took 22 months to complete, and the people of the Village of Newcastle had what was, at the time, (and may still be) the grandest CommunityHall between Toronto and Montreal.

January of 1919 is the first public/official mention the NVDHS has been able to track down concerning this proposed gift to Newcastle. 

“Mr. Chester D. Massey, Toronto, has made a very generous offer to his old hometown of Newcastle. He offers to erect a modern town hall and suggests that a Memorial Library be established by the village and be given a room in the new municipal building, as a perpetual memorial to the soldiers of Newcastle and Clarke who died in the war (WWI), a suitable tablet bearing names of the heroes to be placed in the Library. This is a splendid idea, and the offer of Mr. Massey has been accepted and a Memorial Committee appointed – Reeve, Revs. J. W. Rae (Presbyterian) and Rev. J.E. Fenning (Anglican), ex-Warden A. A. Colwill, Dr. Butler, and Thomas Montague.”
~ Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, February 6, 1919

Ghost of the Grand Trunk Railway

The ghost of the Grand Trunk Railway lingers! Its footprint remains on the stretch of its original right-of-way between Newcastle and Port Hope, Ontario. That footprint must be visible in other segments along its route as well.

The Grand Trunk Railway was incorporated in late 1852 with the object of building and operating a line between Montreal and Toronto. A year later, the ambitious company expanded its charter to include a line running from the east coast of the United States in Portland, Maine through Quebec and southern Ontario to Sarnia, Ontario. From there, Chicago-bound traffic was barged across the St. Clair River to Port Huron, Michigan, travelling on to Chicago via an operating subsidiary, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. A tunnel was also built under the St. Clair River in the 1890s.

Read more of the Summer 2022 NVDHS Newsletter…

Come join us on Saturday, June 4, 2022, as we re-open from 9:30 to noon. For the time being, we’ll be open on Saturdays only. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone after two long years!

We are also open by appointment, so please contact us if an appointment is required.

The Legends of Newcastle

As we ramp up for the Newcastle Community Hall’s 100th Celebration, it is important that we reflect on the history ofNewcastle and the residents who have contributed to the success of the historical building – and the village community.

The Newcastle Community Hall, located in the heart of Newcastle, will celebrate its 100th Anniversary in July of 2023. Who better to start gathering history with, than Jean Rickard? She has been a lifetime resident of Newcastle and is now a lifetime member of the Historical Society. She is 99 years of age and has endless memories of the Community Hall that I can’t wait to share with you…

Jack Gordon; Newcastle’s Historian

There is an old African proverb, “when an elderly person dies, a library burns down”. On January 14, 2022, our local historian, Jacob“Jack”Gordon, in his 93rd year, passed away at Lakeridge Health in Bowmanville. During his life he collected, researched, and provided a tremendous amount of local history through artifacts, documents, art, and photographs from the Newcastle area. And most importantly, he was willing to share these items and his knowledge. So, essentially, Jack Gordon left a library.

Jack was born in Cochrane, Ontario in the same hospital and within a year of Tim Horton’s birth. At age 17, he left school and began working in construction. His company crushed rock to build highways in Northern Ontario. Eventually he ended up working in Pickering and later got hired at General Motors in Oshawa on Dec. 26, 1950. He worked in the new Parts & Service Department on Park Rd. South and stayed there until he retired in 1982.

In 1968, he came to Newcastle and looked at an old two storey house at 129 North Street that was owned by BobWalton. Bob lived next door and had the house rented out to several tenants and it was in poor condition. Jack and Gloria bought the home and slowly started fixing it up. Jack was interested in the history of our community and of course his home had plenty of history, being the former Tamblyn Tannery at one time.

Read more of the Spring 2022 newsletter…

Thursday, February 17, at 7 p.m. via Zoom

All members welcome!

Business of the Meeting:

We will address the following items at the Annual Meeting (the Meeting):

1. Receiving Annual Financial Statements for the financial years ended December 31 2020 and December 31, 2021
2. The election of Directors, who will serve until the next Annual Meeting
3. The appointment of the reviewers of the Annual financial statements, who will serve until the next Annual Meeting
4. and the transaction of such further and other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment

Because we are conducting the meeting via Zoom, there will be no “Show & Tell” this year.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know – and we hope we’ll see you on February 17!