This weekend we examine the hamlet of Sharon and its transition into a vibrant village.
The people of Sharon were known for throughout the county and that certainly extended to their musical prowess. In this article I shall draw on that fact to expand on what made Sharon special.
The master architect of many of the area’s great buildings was a Sharon man, J. T. Stokes. Several churches, schools, and public buildings were the work of Stokes. His home is located on the east side of Leslie Street just as one enters Sharon. Stokes was awarded several prominent commissions throughout the county and was the recipient of the President’s prize for his unique architectural prowess.
Many area families were looking to the Canadian west, specifically Saskatchewan and Manitoba as ‘greener fields’ by the 1880s, prompting both individuals and groups to leave the area seeking their future. The farmland around Sharon was in short supply and perhaps not of prime fertility. One particularly large group who decided to seek their fortunes out west was nicknamed the ‘Sharon Colony’. They departed with great ceremony from the Newmarket Train station in May of 1883. Newspaper descriptions speak of their send-off with a nine-piece brass band and a crowd of approx. 200 well wishers. They had reserved a special Grand Trunk railway car and carried everything they would need with them including wagons, ploughs, and their livestock. Some would return, but many remained out west (primarily in the Regina area). Their intention was to establish themselves and then send for their wives and children once they were established.
This group was headed by Jesse Doan. Here is a listing of some of the prominent families that undertook this trek:
- William Mackie, Thomas Blizzard, Charles Traviss, George M. Doan, John Doan, G. R. Doan, Marshall Kitely, Henry Kitely, Robert Briggs, G. P. Smith, and A. P. Smith all of Sharon.
There were just as many from the Queensville and Newmarket area that headed west, including some of my ancestors. Regina, Brandon, and Winnipeg seemed the most popular destinations.
In my article on our local Black history from January 2021, I mentioned just how many of our early Black ancestors were successful entrepreneurs and I spoke of Henry Hisson who established a business and a community of escaped slaves on the eastern border of Sharon. One of the essential skills in the early 1800s was the production of charcoal and the only source in this area was Henry Hisson and his wife Sara Jane. They lived near Sharon, on Concession 5 in East Gwillimbury.
He had initially found employment with the William Cane woodworking factory in Queensville where Cane Woodworking had gotten its start. Eventually he was able to purchase 60 acres of land from William Cane where he established a charcoal making enterprise, hauling the finished product into Toronto and all the surrounding communities.
Charcoal had many uses at the time, from brushing one’s teeth to medicinal purposes. It was a major component in making iron, manufacturing black ink, storing ice, and making gunpowder.
It is said that in 1979, a huge storage mound of Hisson’s charcoal was found in East Gwillimbury. The charcoal business was extremely profitable to the Hissons, making good use of his horse and wagon to become one of the most affluent men in the small black community that had grown up around the original Cane factory in East Gwillimbury.
Accounts recall a well-mannered gentleman travelling the streets of Newmarket and area calling out:
Charcoal by the bushel.
Charcoal by the peck.
Charcoal by the frying pan
Or anyway you lek!
One of our early legends of early York County, Eli Corbiere and his family rest in the pioneer Methodist burying ground on the hill just north of the village of Sharon. Eli Corbiere was the first to carry his Majesty’s mail over a stretch of more than 30 miles of undeveloped trail through woods and over bogs and streams serving Barrie, Orillia, and Penetang from our area. He became known as ‘Fleet foot Corbiere’, and it is said that on one occasion he made the run between Holland Landing and Penetang, a distance of some 60 miles, between sun-up and sunset.
As we have seen, the hamlet of Newmarket quite often prospered at the expense of the surrounding communities. The Division Court was removed from Sharon to Newmarket in 1852. In 1864, the 4th Division Court Clerk’s office was removed from Sharon to Newmarket and was re-located to premises on Water Street next to McMaster’s store. William Reid and John Maguire were joint bailiffs of the Division Court and J. C. Hogaboom of Sharon was the clerk. This trend has continued up to today.
This year the Newmarket Citizen’s Band is celebrating its 150th anniversary. However, before the establishment of the Newmarket Band the Sharon Brass Band had been formed in 1820 under the direction of Patrick Hughes and a little later under Richard Coates and Jesse Doan. They would often do the honours for the village of Newmarket and area at their local ceremonies according to several accounts in the local press. They would also serve as the house band for the ‘Children of Peace’. The band, when it was established in Newmarket would acquire their instruments, many of their members, and much needed direction from the long-established Sharon Brass Band.
One of the things that has long interested me about the populations of Sharon and Newmarket was the dichotomy between their Quaker background (staunch pacifist) and their involvement in both the War of 1812 and the 1837 rebellion. In a letter from the time of the rebellion, which aimed at seizing the parliament buildings in Toronto and setting up a provisional government until such time as responsible government could be established, we learn that on the evening of Dec. 6, 1837, a wagon packed with old guns and pikes secretly forged at Holland Landing, shillelaghs, and provisions was sent down Yonge Street to Montgomery’s Tavern in the charge of John D. Willson of Sharon. Most historians acknowledge that Sharon, Holland Landing and Newmarket were the heart of the uprising. Interesting given the fact that their populations were heavily flavoured with Quaker stock.
I thought that I might conclude this second article on the village of Sharon with a short discussion of the various village tradesmen who flourished within the community in mid-1800.
An ad from 1856 features the services of Peter Rowan who apparently specialized in painting of all kinds and ran a transportation service center where he repaired all matter of wagon, carriage, and sleigh. The Rowan family had been prominent in the community since the very beginning and Peter was listed as a wheelwright, a blacksmith, and a painter. He is also credited with building the brick cottage known locally as Oxtoby House. Of interest to me was the fact that he, along with Samuel Lount, were responsible for manufacturing the pikes for the 1837 rebellion. His son William became a renowned manufacturer of agricultural implements, eventually selling his business to the Aurora-based Fleury company.
Another local early entrepreneur was Orkin Williams who had a thriving potash operation in Sharon which shipped throughout Ontario and Quebec. I have listed some other local early business owners from ads below that appeared at the time. You may recognize some of these names.
- 1857 – John Bentz – furniture and coffin maker and Charles Doan and Company a local Grocer.
- 1858 – Charles McCarty, who sold shoes.
- 1859 – J. W. Edmund, who ran a local store, and J. W. Keetch, who made and sold watches and clocks.
- 1861 – Charles Haines, who was a cobbler.
- 1862 – Mr. Reid, who owned a marble factory (he was to move to Newmarket and establish a couple of shops on Main Street), Adam Borngasser, who produced hides, and Kester McCarthy, who was also a cobbler.
- 1869 – Edward Tattersal, who was a weaver, and, Robert Brammer, who operated a chopping mill locally.
- 1870 – David Hughes, who was a storekeeper, and John G. Graham, who was a piano tuner.
All these businesses were renowned throughout the area for their expertise. There were several professional inhabitants of Sharon worth mentioning as well.
- 1852 – Dr. D. Moore, who was a physician
- 1857 – Dr. E. C. Edmunds, who was a dental surgeon, along with Dr. M. Ranney, Doctor H. Noble, and Dr. Morton who all practiced in Sharon.
- 1864 – Dr. Peck who was a dental surgeon, one of three working in Sharon at the time.
I will discuss more of the prominent families in Sharon in my last article. I end this article with the knowledge that I have still more information to relate and thus I will have to do a third article in this series. In that article, I intend to talk about the architectural heritage of Sharon. I anticipate that article will appear early in the new year so stay tuned.
See you all back here next weekend when I hope to take a step back in time and talk about Newmarket’s Teen Town.
Sources:
- East Gwillimbury in the Nineteenth Century by Gladys M. Rolling
- The Township of East Gwillimbury Website
- The Story of Sharon by Ethel Trewhella (published in the Newmarket Era)
- The History of Newmarket by Ethel Trewhella
- Stories of Newmarket – An Old Ontario Town by Robert Terence Carter
- History of Toronto and County of York in Ontario - Part III: Township of East Gwillimbury
- The Newmarket Era – Articles and Ads
Newmarket resident Richard MacLeod — the History Hound — has been a local historian for more than 40 years. He writes a weekly feature about our town's history in partnership with Newmarket Today, conducts heritage lectures and walking tours of local interest, and leads local oral history interviews.
