After the Toronto Grey and Bruce narrow gauge railroad was built
through the village in 1871, there were years when 2 special
excursion trains ran in the morning and in the evening for 25
cents each way connecting Union Station to the village during
Woodbridge Fair time.
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All the Elite of Toronto Society including the Mayor, Members of
Council as well as Provincial and Dominion Parliaments accompanied
with their wives attended the fair in their best regalia. In the
early years they would travel by impressive teams of horse drawn
carriages. Some notable person always opened the fair.
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In October, 1924,
members of the Woodbridge Agricultural Society decided to prepare
a “Time Capsule” to commemorate the completion of a new Grandstand
and to leave bits of historical memorabilia for future members to
enjoy. The whereabouts was kept very secret until September 27th,
1997, when a group of Society members, headed by President Jack
Cooper, decided to open the capsule. Inside the 8 x 12 x 5 home
made tin box, were ledger pages, hand written by Daniel C.
Longhouse, a Director of the Society for 44 years. The first
begins by “ Greetings 1924” followed by pages with lists of
members from the 1860’s to 1895, names of men who helped in the
building of the grandstand and those who where actually present
when the box was cemented into the cornerstone. There were (9)
folded 1924 newspapers, a map of the village in 1924, (4)
Woodbridge Fair Prize Lists, a 1920 American penny, 1915 Canadian
penny and a 1914 Canadian nickel.
All contents of this 1924 Time Capsule are held by the
City of Vaughan Archives if any readers wish to view them. |
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CLICK HERE TO VIEW CONTENTS OF THE 1924 TIME CAPSULE
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In the 1920’s and 1930’s it was advertised in the prize book as
“the biggest country fair in the Dominion of Canada”. In the years
1914 to 1924 the Toronto Electric Railway Company operated a
service that was convenient for visitors to our fair to travel on.
The Woodbridge Station was situated at what is known as 97
Woodbridge Avenue today and the Electric Streetcar would travel to
Keele and Dundas Streets in Toronto and turn around and come back
to Woodbridge. |
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CLICK HERE TO SEE A PICTURE OF A 1920 FAMILY
TRAVELING TO THE FAIR
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The local livery stables were busy during fair time and Blacksmith
Levi Elliott’s business on Wallace Street must have been in great
demand. |
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CLICK HERE TO SEE
A PICTURE OF LEVI ELLIOTT'S BLACKSMITH SHOP
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From the beginning the fair became the first Chamber of Commerce
in Vaughan connecting the farmers in the district to local
merchants, businesses of Vaughan Township, Toronto and
internationally.
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John Abell became a very successful industrialist, with his
agricultural implement factory known as the Woodbridge
Agricultural Works. Inside his plant the men built the first steam
engine ever to be used in Vaughan Township as well as many other
farm implements to help ease the farmers toil. His steam engines
were so popular they were shipped all over Canada and the USA. He
also designed and had built the first stagecoach that operated
between Pine Grove and Toronto. John Abell did a fine job in
planning the Woodbridge Fair from 1860 to 1886 when he was
President.
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In 1885 the Abell plant was moved to Toronto because the Toronto,
Grey and Bruce Railway refused to build a connecting rail line to
the factory. John Abell was probably still very supportive of the
Woodbridge Agricultural Society for the farms were plentiful up
here in Vaughan and many must have trusted his company’s farm
machinery. The severity of this loss was felt all over
Vaughan especially Woodbridge businesses and the area residents
who lost their jobs.
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During the first few years at the fair’s new property, it took
four trips around the horse race track to make one mile. Later the
track was enlarged so that only three trips were required. Today
there is a half-mile track completely surfaced with limestone dust
allowing use year round.
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The Woodbridge Fairgrounds has been and still is an asset to the
village and the City of Vaughan. From fairs held there
since 1886 the fairgrounds has also been the place of many
community events and even as an emergency relief station area due
to the aftermath of destruction from Hurricane Hazel on October
15th, 1954. There have been elegant garden parties, auction sales,
movie productions, art and craft shows, a rodeo show, antique and
garden markets and numerous cultural festivals including the
Woodbridge Italian Festival and the Hot Like Pepper Indian Radio
AM 530 Family Picnic all held successfully on the fairgrounds.
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We continue the custom of producing an Annual Prize Book thanks to
the generosity of the businesses in our community.
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Our long time tradition of supporting conservation groups and
local service and sports clubs by offering them free booth areas
inside the Community Building continues to this day. The
Woodbridge Garden and Horticultural Society has set up their own
special corner for many years and like all the other community
groups they know they are welcome year after year.
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Thanks to a generous grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation
the Woodbridge Agricultural Society was able to have the hydro and
water systems upgraded in 2002.
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With continual support from our City of Vaughan Council and Staff,
the York Regional Police, the Woodbridge Volunteer Firefighters
and the Vaughan Fire and Rescue Services the fairgrounds can
continue to be a vital part of community life in the Historic
Village of Woodbridge for generations into the future. |
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CLICK
HERE TO SEE PAST DIGNITARIES WHO HAVE SUPPORTED
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For many decades now, Thanksgiving Weekend is the chosen time for
the Woodbridge Fall Fair.
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The City of Vaughan Archives have generously accepted the files of
the Woodbridge Agricultural Society for safe keeping and anyone
interested in further information on the history need only to
contact them. |
Thanks for walking down memory lane with us.
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Researched & Written by
Linda Mae Maxey
2001/02 President |
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