Dave Watson is best known for his involvement in transforming the Holland Marsh from unruly swamp and wet forest to rich agricultural land, but his life and career encompassed far more than that.
William David Watson was born in 1867 and raised on the Bond Head farm of his parents, Moses and Elizabeth. He was thus exposed to agriculture early and often, and he remained interested in it for most of his life.
Upon reaching adulthood, he purchased his own West Gwillimbury farm. He was hard-working and interested in new innovations in the science of agriculture. Success followed and, in 1893, he married Bessie Gray, the daughter of respected West Gwillimbury farmer Joseph Gray.
It wasn’t long, however, before Watson felt a different calling. With the growing village of Bradford representing a tempting market, he took a leap of faith by selling his farm and opening a grocery store in the community. He did well for himself.
The evidence of Watson’s interest in farming innovation forward is best seen in the Holland Marsh, as it was his vision that spurred the transformation from wetland to farmland. He founded the Holland Marsh Syndicate and invited Professor W.H. Day to study the feasibility of draining the marsh.
When both King and West Gwillimbury townships raised obstacles to the reclamation project, Watson grew disenchanted and left it in the hands of Day and others. Nevertheless, some of the credit for the project’s ultimate success in the 1920s must fairly go to Watson.
Watson also turned his back on the grocery business. Instead, he took up selling real estate and insurance with notable success, first in Barrie and later in Aurora, where he was an active member of the board of trade.
His lifelong interest in agriculture began to reassert itself at this time as he began raising Karakul sheep, a breed native to Central Asia and noted for their black wool. It was a gamble to raise such an exotic breed, but Watson saw potential for their wool, particularly in Asian markets.
Unfortunately, we’ll never know if the gamble would have paid off. Watson died suddenly in 1924 at 57.
