March, 2020:

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Book 2

The Exchange District is in downtown Winnipeg just north of Portage and Main. It derives its name from the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, the center of the grain exchange in Canada. The Exchange District is the historic center of commerce in Western Canada. The District developed from the banks of the Red River at the foot of Bannatyne and Dermot Avenues. Most commercial traffic came along the Red River from St. Paul, Minnesota where the nearest rail line passed. Goods were shipped to Winnipeg by steamer during high water in spring.

The Canadian Pacific Railway built its transcontinental line through Winnipeg which arrived in 1881. Thousands of settlers came west from Europe and Eastern Canada to farm the land. Winnipeg business developed quickly to meet the needs of the growing western population. The Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange was founded in 1887 and within a few years Winnipeg was one of the world’s fastest-growing grain centers. Winnipeg was also one of the largest rail centers in North America with twelve lines passing through the city by 1890 and there were over eighty wholesale businesses located in the District. Wholesale goods were shipped in from Lake Superior ports in the spring and grain was shipped out from Winnipeg to the Lakehead in the fall. The Exchange represented Canada throughout the world and it largely financed Winnipeg’s growth. Together with a strong world economy supported by an increase in gold reserves, the Exchange attracted many British and Eastern Canadian banks, trust, insurance and mortgage companies to the District to do business.

Through the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, the city was linked to other major financial centers of London, Liverpool, New York and Chicago. Most Canadian financial institutions established their Western Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg and by 1910 there were almost twenty banking halls and offices on Main Street between City Hall and Portage Avenue. Many Winnipeg-based financial companies were also established.

Some of the finest warehouses in North America based on an American Romanesque style can be found in Winnipeg. The Romanesque warehouses are typically of heavy wood post and beam construction with foundations of large rough-faced stone blocks set with deep, recessed joints (called rustication) and brick walls with piers and stone spandrels to support heavy loads. The Romanesque or round-head arch is used in the tunnels through the buildings which provided for protected loading and unloading of goods within, and in the large windows which provided natural light to the interior before electric light was affordable. At the turn of the century, Chicago was the center of North American architecture. Louis Sullivan developed the first steel frame and reinforced concrete buildings. Sullivan used stone and terracotta on the exterior, suspended by metal shelves bolted to the frame. He favored terracotta with simple details which complimented rather than completely covered the surface as in earlier heavily-detailed styles. John D. Atchison was the foremost Chicago School architect in the city.

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in Colour Photos Book 1

‘The Gateway to the West’ and ‘The Chicago of the North’ were two of the phrases used to describe Winnipeg’s future in the heady days of the late nineteenth century. Especially important in Winnipeg’s phenomenal growth was its role as middleman between eastern Canadian manufacturers and their new markets in what would become Alberta and Saskatchewan. As waves of homesteaders from central Canada and many European countries poured into Canada’s prairies, dry goods, hardware and groceries all became increasingly important for the consumers, the manufacturers and Winnipeg’s warehouse men and wholesalers, and it became increasingly important for Winnipeg’s wholesalers to have railway connections both to receive raw materials and stock and to ship goods to western markets.

Branch railway lines or spur lines, built to service the wholesalers were first constructed on the west side of Main Street near City Hall in the 1870s and 1880s. The warehouse district area grew rapidly, and Winnipeg hardware merchant J.H. Ashdown negotiated a spur line of the Winnipeg Transfer Railway in 1895 through the area immediately east of City Hall and Main Street. This line ran up the middle of the land between Bannatyne and Market Avenues and it was here that Ashdown built his large warehouse (157-179 Bannatyne Avenue) in 1896.

The Exchange District is a well-established and vibrant neighborhood in Winnipeg. It features a large and well-preserved collection of heritage buildings which include huge stone and brick warehouses, elegant terracotta-clad buildings, narrow angled streets and cobblestone paths. The Exchange District is an arts and cultural hub which features a thriving film, arts and music scene with many studios, art spaces, festivals and events.

The Exchange District is in downtown Winnipeg just north of Portage and Main. It derives its name from the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, the center of the grain exchange in Canada. The Exchange District is the historic center of commerce in Western Canada. The District developed from the banks of the Red River at the foot of Bannatyne and Dermot Avenues. Most commercial traffic came along the Red River from St. Paul, Minnesota where the nearest rail line passed. Goods were shipped to Winnipeg by steamer during high water in spring.

The Canadian Pacific Railway built its transcontinental line through Winnipeg which arrived in 1881. Thousands of settlers came west from Europe and Eastern Canada to farm the land. Winnipeg business developed quickly to meet the needs of the growing western population. The Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange was founded in 1887 and within a few years Winnipeg was one of the world’s fastest-growing grain centers. Winnipeg was also one of the largest rail centers in North America with twelve lines passing through the city by 1890 and there were over eighty wholesale businesses located in the District. Wholesale goods were shipped in from Lake Superior ports in the spring and grain was shipped out from Winnipeg to the Lakehead in the fall. The Exchange represented Canada throughout the world and it largely financed Winnipeg’s growth. Together with a strong world economy supported by an increase in gold reserves, the Exchange attracted many British and Eastern Canadian banks, trust, insurance and mortgage companies to the District to do business.

Through the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, the city was linked to other major financial centers of London, Liverpool, New York and Chicago. Most Canadian financial institutions established their Western Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg and by 1910 there were almost twenty banking halls and offices on Main Street between City Hall and Portage Avenue. Many Winnipeg-based financial companies were also established.

Most Victorian buildings in Winnipeg were later replaced by larger structures that would serve its expanding businesses. The Victorian grouping on Princess Street is one of the best examples of such buildings in Winnipeg while others can be found on Main Street north of the District. Many Victorian buildings are Italianate in style and are constructed of heavy wood post and beam (some including fireproof iron columns) with heavily detailed masonry load-bearing walls, variously arched windows and metal or corbelled brick cornices.

Some of the finest warehouses in North America based on an American Romanesque style can be found in Winnipeg. The Romanesque warehouses are typically of heavy wood post and beam construction with foundations of large rough-faced stone blocks set with deep, recessed joints (called rustication) and brick walls with piers and stone spandrels to support heavy loads. The Romanesque or round-head arch is used in the tunnels through the buildings which provided for protected loading and unloading of goods within, and in the large windows which provided natural light to the interior before electric light was affordable.

Norwich, Ontario in Colour Photos

In 1799, the Township of Norwich was laid out by surveyor William Hambly into lines and concessions and 200-acre lots.

In 1809, Peter Lossing, a member of the Society of Friends from Dutchess County New York, visited Norwich Township. In June 1910, with his brother-in-law Peter de Long, purchased 15,000 acres of land in this area. That fall Lossing brought his family to Upper Canada. The de Long family and nine others soon joined them. By 1820 an additional group of about fifty had settled here. These resourceful pioneers founded one of the most successful Quaker communities in Upper Canada.

The township was divided into North and South Norwich Townships in 1855.

In 1975, Oxford County underwent countywide municipal restructuring. The Village of Norwich and the Townships of East Oxford, North Norwich and South Norwich were amalgamated to create the Township of Norwich.

Otterville and Burgessville

The Township of Norwich is located in Oxford County in southwestern Ontario. Pioneering families emigrated from Norwich in upper New York State in the early 19th century. Oxford County Road 59 is the major north–south highway through much of the township, including the community of Norwich proper. The local economy is largely agricultural, based on corn, soybean, and wheat production with dairy farming in the north part of the township and tobacco, vegetable, and ginseng farming to the south. Slowly, ginseng and traditional cash crops are replacing the former cash crop – tobacco, as demand shrinks.

In 1799, the Township of Norwich was laid out by surveyor William Hambly into lines and concessions and 200-acre lots. The township was divided into North and South Norwich Townships in 1855.

In 1975, Oxford County underwent countywide municipal restructuring. The Village of Norwich and the Townships of East Oxford, North Norwich and South Norwich were amalgamated to create the Township of Norwich.

Norwich includes the communities of Beaconsfield, Bond’s Corners, Brown’s Corners, Burgessville, Cornell, Creditville, Curries, Eastwood, Hawtrey, Hink’s Corners, Holbrook, Milldale, Muir, Newark, New Durham, Norwich, Oriel, Otterville, Oxford Centre, Rock’s Mills, Rosanna, Springford, Summerville, Blows, and Vandecar.

Otterville is a village in Norwich Township in Oxford County. It is located on the Otter Creek. Otterville was settled in 1807. Encouraged by local Quakers, free blacks and escaped slaves fled persecution in the United States and found homes in the Otterville area beginning in 1829. Otterville African Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery served the local black community until the late 1880s.

Southwest Oxford and Norwich Townships, Ontario

South-West Oxford is a township in Ontario in Oxford County. A predominantly rural municipality, South-West Oxford was formed in 1975 through the amalgamation of Dereham and West Oxford townships and the village of Beachville.

South-West Oxford extends north to south from the middle of Oxford County along the Thames River/Highway 401/Woodstock-Ingersoll east-west corridor to the southern boundary of the county along the Delhi-Tillsonburg-Aylmer/Ontario Highway 3 east-west corridor. The northern boundary follows the course of the Thames River except where carveouts have extended the boundaries of Ingersoll and Woodstock into former township lands.

In its wilderness state, the former Dereham township had thousands of acres of swamp and marsh land which limited its use for agriculture. Several large drainage projects brought great improvement and remain as essential parts of the township’s farmland infrastructure. The township topography still has several large forested areas which are remnants of the original swamps on which drainage system runoff is concentrated.

At its north end, the township is underlain with an unusually pure limestone deposit centered between Ingersoll and Beachville that extends north-west through most of Zorra and south-east into Norwich. Open-pit mining of the limestone and kiln-firing to produce lime has been underway along the Thames River since pioneer days, and since the 1950s heavy industrial operations have led to nearly three thousand acres being licensed for extraction from pits more than 100 feet deep. The size of the limestone deposits is sufficient to support these operations for another century or more.

South-West Oxford includes lands in the former West Oxford township which were the earliest to be settled in Oxford County and also lands in the former Dereham township which were the last in the county to be settled. The greatest cause for slow growth in Dereham was the provincial government’s decision in 1799 to auction off all the wilderness land in the township in large blocks, which thereby fell into the hands of speculators who held the land dormant for decades.

The township of South-West Oxford comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities such as *Beachville, Brownsville, Brownsville Station, Centreville, Culloden, Delmer, Dereham Centre, Foldens, Hagles Corners, Mount Elgin, Ostrander, Salford, Sweaburg, Verschoyle and Zenda.

Salford is a small village along Highway 19; it is surrounded by agricultural land and the Oxford landfill to the east. There are two churches, and the Salford Community Centre with a ball diamond.

Sweaburg is located five kilometers southwest of Woodstock. Its main intersection is Sweaburg Road and Dodge Line (County Roads 12 and 41). It had a public school for students up to grade three until 2009, and currently has Sweaburg United Church and cemetery, a ball diamond, and a convenience store.

The Township of Norwich is a located in Oxford County in southwestern Ontario. Oxford County Road 59 is the major north–south highway through much of the township. The local economy is largely agricultural, based on corn, soybean, and wheat production with dairy farming in the north part of the township and tobacco, vegetable, and ginseng farming to the south. Slowly, ginseng and traditional cash crops are replacing the former cash crop – tobacco, as demand shrinks.

Upon his arrival in the province in 1792, the first proclamation issued by John Graves Simcoe, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada while still at Kingston, announced the names and boundaries he had decided upon as political boundaries for Upper Canada. For areas lying to the west of Kingston, he decided that county names would be a “mirror of Britain”. To accomplish this, the sequence of names for counties along Lake Ontario became Northumberland, Durham, York and Lincoln, and for counties along Lake Erie, the names became Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent. (This was the same sequence of county names in place along the eastern seacoast of England, running from the Scottish boundary down to the English Channel.) The proclamation defined the northern boundary of Norfolk County as being the Thames River. Norwich and Dereham townships were originally within the land area designated as belonging to Norfolk County in Upper Canada, and were named after the towns of Norwich and Dereham in Norfolk County in England.

Governor Simcoe with several other government officers, guided by a party of Six Nations warriors, conducted a wilderness tour on foot up the length of the Thames River in 1793 and decided to assign additional place names to mirror those they knew along the Thames River in England. Middlesex County was the name assigned to the area around a town site reserved at the “lower forks” in the river, to be called London; Dorchester was the name for a town site at the “middle forks”, and the area around the “upper forks” was to be Oxford – the same sequence of names as found along the Thames in England. When legislation was passed in Upper Canada in 1798 to implement these new divisions, Norwich and Dereham were separated from Norfolk County and added to the new Oxford County, which included also Burford, Blenheim, Blandford and Oxford townships – names drawn from Oxfordshire in England.

Shortly after returning from this tour, in March 1793, Simcoe received a petition from Thomas Ingersoll and associates asking for grant of a township to which they promised to bring settlers from New England. The group was granted the township of Oxford-on-the-Thames. In order to bring settlers into the wilderness area township, a road had to be built from Brantford up to the Thames River, a distance of thirty miles (forty-eight kilometers), and Thomas Ingersoll arranged that work over the course of the next two years. The first ones to become permanently settled in the township were likely Samuel Canfield Sr. and his wife and sons, who agreed to make their new home into a half-way stopping point for travelers along the road, at what became known as Oxford Centre.

Beachville was the heart of Oxford County with settlement beginning in 1791.

The Bostwicks, Ingersolls and Canfields were New England families who had made their start in the New World in the 1600s, and frontier living had been second nature to them for generations.

Settlement in the former Norwich Township came more than fifteen years after Oxford Township. The Norwich settlement was founded by two men: Peter Lossing and Peter De Long. Both men were from New York. Peter Lossing’s house was the first one in Norwich. It now stands by the old Quaker Meeting House. Both men where Quakers. The town of Norwich began as a completely Quaker settlement.

In 1799, the Township of Norwich was laid out by surveyor William Hambly into lines and concessions and 200-acre lots. The township was divided into North and South Norwich Townships in 1855.

In 1975, Oxford County underwent countywide municipal restructuring. The Village of Norwich and the Townships of East Oxford, North Norwich and South Norwich were amalgamated to create the Township of Norwich.

Norwich includes the communities of Beaconsfield, Bond’s Corners, Brown’s Corners, Burgessville, Cornell, Creditville, Curries, Eastwood, Hawtrey, Hink’s Corners, Holbrook, Milldale, Muir, Newark, New Durham, Norwich, Oriel, Otterville, Oxford Centre, Rock’s Mills, Rosanna, Springford, Summerville, Blows, and Vandecar.