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Greater Oshawa Founded THE OSHAWA DAILY TIMES -- Greater Oshawa Edition -- SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 1928 PRINCIPAL PHASES OF THE CITY'S GROWTH From the Trading Post of the Eighteenth Century to the . Hustling Industrial City of the Twentieth-~Later i Constructional Undertakings: Buildings, Water- works, Sewerage, TR Pavements, Si "By W. CHESTER SMITH, B.A.Se., C.E.. ate, City Engineer pies as proud and stra. tegic a position today as e has ever done throughett er remarkable history, i pnrivalled rail and highway pommunications, and ted bn the shore of Lake Ontario-- with the great harbor possibili- ties incidental to this location, the city cannot but continue to pdvance as a great industrial pentre, serving the whole of Canada and the world with her products. Oshawa now has a popula- tion of 26,000 people and com- unicates directly with a Sop ation of a million people within p distance of forty miles, As an industrial centre the pro: gress of the city, for a great many years, has been contin. uous, and remarkable even when compared with our larg- est centres, The present city is indeed a tribute to the hardy pioneers TH City of Oshawa occu British Empire, grew out 'of an' iné dustry (the McLaughlin Carri orks) started yr awa in: 1 by the late Robert McLaughlin, The Joseph Hall Engine Works was a large plant in those early days and supplied great quantities of highs grade machinety to all parts of Can- ada and the United States. It may be of interest to mention the fact that this Company built the engines for the Ottawa City Water-Works and many other cities in those early times. The Oshawa Creek was a great factor then, as. it supplied the power for several important factories. The year 1881 saw the beginning of a wonderful movement for good in the little town when the Provincial Government appointed Dr. Francis Rae to the position of Medical Of- ficer of Health for Oshawa. The doctor was also a member of the first Provincial Board of Health instituted that same year and for several years he was Chairman of the Provincial oard. He continued as the M.O.H. until his death in 1896. For six years the post was vacant, but in 1902 Dr, T, W, G. McKay accepted the ap- pointment, For twenty-six years now Dr. McKay has held the office and his record of achievement is a proud one, It is to his tireless efforts and the co-operation of the town council Ir SIMCOE STREET IN 1877, LOOKING BOUTH FROM KING STREET end men of vision and business @bility who built the founda- tions for the success and pros- perity of the community, The {following brief chronological pketch may he of interest as 8 réview of past attainment and an indication of future development, Oshawa's Early History About the year 1750 the French #stablished a trading post in the vi- inity of the present Oshawa Harbof, fine Peice of Paris signed in Feb- suary, 1703, marked the close of the ie Years' War and the énd of rench rule in Capada, Then came settlemert by the United Empire Loy- alists. The first family to settle here was that of Benjamin Wilson, who made his home near the present har- bor, at the north of the Oshawa Creek known in early times as Anris Creek--in 1794, a year after the Kingston Highway was projected by the Government of Upper Canada, under Governor Simcoe. So'that just one hundred and thirty-four years #go this city was borne into the wild- grness of forest primeval. \ Some forty-three years passed by before any definite or permanent mame was applied to the settlement, or it was about 1837 (the Jeat Queen JA ascended to the throne) that the names of Sydenham Harbor and 'Annis Creek gave place to "Skeas Corner," after the owner of the gen- @ral store at the corner of Simcoe street and the Kingston Road, Shortly afterwards, or in the year £42, a Post Office was established the stage route on the Ki gston Kad and the Jrestnt name "Oshawa' was first applied to the community, 'According to Dr. T. E. Kaiser, au- or of a book on our local history, word Oshawa was suggested by ndians--it being their word hd ssing or ford over a strea so the crossing over the creek st west of Skeas ner. Prior to 1847 there were two small schools in the village, but in that year the settlers determined that a new and more fitti school was neces- gary and the vlinge rchased for seventy-five s the site of the esent Centre street school, erec Be old Centre street school, whic torn down in 1923 to make way the present beautiful school. From is beginning, eighty-one years ago, Our present unsurpassed sys- ily settled in the present Cedar- ard of the city. Contederntion, 1867, : jon of about irty-five hundred. So progressive it that twelve yéars iter it as incorporated as a town. It was sed of several important and iving industries and a ation forty-two hundred. present of the General Motors Corpor- Canada, of now the largest ¢ pp motor cafs if the "and the local Board ot Health that Oshawa is indebted for its present unexcelled health department, The Oshawa Railway was built in 1894 and cver since this railway has meant much in the development of the town, for it has always served all plants with direct rail communi- cation to the main line railroads and the harbor at the lake. The town gradually grew and in 1900 had a population of 4,564, which was increased to 4918 in 1904, at which time th eprogressive spirit of the inhabitants dictated the necessity of a Water-Works System and a Sanitary Sewerage System. On Match 5th, 1904, a by-law was sub- mitted to the people for their ap- proval on an expenditure of $130,000 to inaugurate these important sys- tems, The by-law was endorsed by 444 votes, while only 68 voted against the measure. Thus ended a long and bitter struggle between opposing factions on the question largely cen- tering around the source of the pro- posed water supply, there being no controversy as to the need of the im- provements. * More Recent Progress Before following wp in greater de- CITY ENGINEER SMITH supplies and civic activities gave place to the emergencies of war, The population increaséd from 8812 in 1917 to 12,780 in 1922 and to 16,659 in 1924. On March the eighth of that year the town separ- ated from the County of Ontario and was incorporated as the twenty-sixth city in Ontario. Oshawa commenced her cityhood with the status of one of the most important industrial cities not only in the Province, but in the whole Dominion. From 1924 to date the city has set a rapid pace of solid development, having in- creased in four brief years to an ur- ban population of 25000, with a suburban population immediately sur- rounding the city of nearly five thousanld people. Chronological Review The fbllowing chronological sketch will indicate in convenient form a re- view of the development of Oshawa: Year Population 1750 French Trading Post, 1793 Kingston Oshawa, 1794 Arrival settler. 1825 Erection of old mill on King street. 1837 Road projected through of Benjamin Wilson, first 1842 Oshawa Post-Office first, established. 1854 About 3,000 Village of Oshawa incorporated. B56 4 J, Grand Trunk Railway (now Canadian National Railway) constructed through Oshawa, 1867 3,500 Confederation of Canada formed. 1874 402 1877 4,186 McLaughlin Carriage Works removed to Oshawa, 1879 Town of Oshawa incorporated 1887 1894 Oshawa Railway constructed. 1897 1900 ,. " Water-Works and Sewerage System started, McLaughlin Motor Company organ- ized 1908 1909 Canadian Northern Railway entered Oshawa, 1910 General Hospital established, SIMCOE STREET NORTH, TWENTY YEARS AGO, tail this interesting phase of the town's initial development of the water by sewer systems, which was probably the most important event (from the standpoint of civic admins istration) up to that time, we may proceed to continue a brief review 1904 to date. The McLaughlin Motor Company was oragnized out of the McLaugh- lin Carnage Company in 1907. This finally grew into the General Motors of Canada we have today. In 1907 the population of the town was 4013, but in 1909 (the year the Canadian Northern Railway entered and it increased to 6.218 the following year, which saw the birth of our General Hospital. Developments now became more rapid. The Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed through Oshawa in 1912 at which time the ulation was 7417. From the year 1914 to 1918 the Great War oc- cupied the attentions of old and young in Oshawa. as it did through- out and the Empire. Fac- tories were busy largely on military the town) the population was 5647, 1 pavements centre of town--first pavements to be laid. 12 ...........s.0 505 PIT 8.009 Canadian Pacific Railway entered Oshawa. of the city's history from the year}1913 Year 1 1 1} 1925 | 1 1 REEL ERE EERE Haste ine, 8 PEELE LEER Areca ananae as we now know it, was commenc in 1904, the citizens used well and 8 water for domestic use, and for fire protection depended on water pumped from large underground cis- Rin supplied with water from the illiams Piano Company's springs west of Golf Street. The water was Rived to the factory and the over- ow piped on to the first cistern at the corner of Simcoe Street and Richmond Street in front of the present fire-hall which then housed all the town departments. "A second well was built at the "Four Corners" and a third on King Street east, near Albert Street. = Water was first pumped from thése wells by hand 1907. re pumper and later by the steam pumper which was sold and disman- tled in 1926. All old residents of the town will remember many thrilling sights at fires when these cisterns were used. Passing mention might be made of the fact that sometimes the springs did not keep thé cistern filled and water had to be haule from the creek to fill them up. It has been mentioned that the Oshawa Water-Works Systém was commenced in 1904 after many storms and bitter arguments. Previous to that year four years of cohcéntrated effort had been put into the securing of the most vital of all civic needs-- water supply, The first Watér Com- mission, elected on March 26th, 1904, consisted of W, F, Cowan, chairman, and Commissioners Robert MeLaugh- lin, Robert McCaw and Dr. T. E. Kaiser, with Mayor F, L. Fowke re- presenting the city council, Prior to Water Works dsm Before the Water<Works System} e "on Record M 0. of Bui riits Issue 39 E Value of Buildings as recorded in Permits. *333 11000 '756.985.00 fad nning and has been consistently maintained, with a resultant saving to the system. The present auxiliary Fire Under. writers" "Snow" pump was installe in 1907 at a cost of $3,317. : Steam was used eqtirely for pump. ing until 1915, when an electric cen- trifugal pump was installed. Since then steam has been used only as a standby and as an auxiliary for emergent use. The electric pumps have been replaced from time to time with larger units as required. The resent service pumps consist of one hp and one 150 h.p. electric units. The auxiliary steam plant re- mains as it was installed in 1905 and LEED EE EEE EEE EN) EEE EE ERE) CE EEE EY) At the present moment serious con- sideration is being given to the need for new and larger auxiliary equip- ment and larger service pumps, as the demands of the city are increas- ing rapidly. : n March, 1916, a temporary chlor- inating device was installed. This was replaced in April of the follow- ing year by a Wallace and Tiernan chlorinating machine. These ma- chines became absolete and a Wal- lacé and Tiernan pedestal type ma- chine was installed in 1926. It is worthy of note that not since 1914 has any case of water-borne disease been traced to the water supply. Notable Extensions Since the inception of the water- works system, aside from the con- struction of mains, only three great or important changes of magnitude have been made, The first was in KING STREET LOOKING WEST FROM CELINA STREET, IN 1908, this date the water problems of the town were handled by the Fire and Water Committee of the Council. This committee and the whole council were tireless in their cffort to secure a solution of the many difficult prob- lems involved, Apparently the need of a water system was not debated at all, but endless debate centred around the source of supply. These sources were the Williams Piano Company's springs, north-west of the corner of Louisa Street and Golf Street, the Raglan springs, and Lake Ontario, Finally, with the assistance of the consulting engineer, Willis Chipman, who designed the original plant, Lake Ontario was chosen and construction was commenced. It might be of interest and recall some memories if mentioh weré made of the fact that a Mr. John Frazer was engaged hy the town council on March 27th, 1902, to drill test wells for water in the town. A few days later, on April lst, .a special com- mittee was appointed consisting of Mayor F. L. Fowke and Messrs. Hezzlewood, Tamblyn and Grierson. Meeting followed meeting until a plebescite was submitted to the people on June 5th, 1903, when one hundred-and-five voters favored Lake Ontario and two hundred and thirty- three favored Raglan Springs as a source of water supply. On December 14th, 1903, a public meeting of all citizens was called, with Mayor Fowke in the chair. Mr. J. F. Grierson moved and Mr. Bors- berry seconded a resolution which was adopted calling upon the town council to present another bylaw to the people on the water and drain- age question. The next night the council decided to do so and met again on December 17th to read the pro- posed bylaw, which was endorsed by the people on January 4th, 1902, three hundred and forty voters favoring Lake Ontario and sixty-seven favor- ing the springs as a source of water supply. Then followed a vote on Bylaw No. 564 authorizing an expen- diture of the sum of $130,000 for water and drainage purposes for a community numbering only 4918 people, with a total of considerably less than one thousand homes. Ten- ders were called on May 3lst, 1904, contracts were let on June 7th, and the present pumping station and a twelve-inch intake and twelve-inch force main to the town were com- nienced in August. Work was continued on the initial installation for over year, and it was not until October, 1908, that water was actually delivered to the town. W. F. Bowden was then Town En- gineer and Willis Chipman, consult- ing engineer. The plant eonsited of the twelve-inch intaké (since aban- doned), the still existing duty duplex pump eight 051 hundred gallons per minute capacity, 0.609 (estd.) 25,000 Building Returns As an indication of building activi- ties during recent years, the follow- ing record of building statistics will be of interest; two boilers, a water tower which was removed in 1925 from the south-west corner of Simcoe Street north and Alexander street, the Englustr's fesi- dence at the lake, and 43487 feet of water mains, to which were connected seventy-oné fire hydrants, three sprinkler cranes and y house ser- 591 vice connections, of which the recorded was under am ion from Dr. T. W. G. McKay for his home on King street éast. The first billing for water was made in Jaou- ary of 1906. The total receipts up to the end of 1906 amounted to $3,615. 35, while the operating costs amounted to 3610.15. During 1906 thrée fire hydrants were added and 305 new confiéctions were i The metering system was adopted at the 1917, when the present filter plant was commenced. Then in 1919 By- law No. 1481 authorized cxtensive and costly improvements involving an expenditure of $279,000. These works were commenced on September 30th, (Continued on page 12) HE Town Planning move. ment is well nigh ugh the struggle to justify it- self as a practical means for bringing better order into so- cial and industrial life, For some years its main attraction was to those observers who were honestly distressed by the ugliness of community devel- opment, and a good deal of sentiment was expended on the concept of the City Beautiful, The result was a certain cold- ness on the part of industrial ists, who declared that you can- not feed people on beauty, and that smoke stacks are vastly more beneficial to humanity than parks and gardens. It was said that Town Planning was idealistic, utopian, visionary, impractical, The leaders of the movement, who had been quite clear from its incep- tion in their insistence that syn- thesis was needed and not antithesis --that is to say, consideration both for the needs of industry and the need for more beauty and order in the living conditions of the people--ex- pended great energy in proving that town planning was good for industry and commerce and a vast economy in public expenditure; that it was even good for those concerned chief- ly in the sale of land, because the better land was planned for human uses the more saleable it became. This was insisted upon se strongly that the first sympathizers began to say, "Don't you care for beauty at all?" Such is the irony of mob thinking! The City Practical But the bhusmess sense of the world responded to the argument, when once the argument could get a real hearing and the prejudice against anything new in the philos- ophy and economy of social life had been softened. Influential bodies of "practical men," such as the real es- tate brotherhood of America, began to assemble behind the town plan- ners and even to take important places in leadership. Now there are six hundred cities, towns and vil- lages of the United States busy with unicipal Progress ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF TOWN PLANNING "The Principles Commenly Applied to Orderly Development in a Good Home or a Good Factory are At Last Being Adopted in the Building of Towns and Cities", ALFRED BUCKLEY, MA, Editor of "Town Planning', the Journal of the Town Planning Institute of Canada, planning programs; there are the same number in. Great Britain, and the story of planning is much the same in practically every European country. Au International Confer- ence is being held in Paris, where representatives of about forty na- tions will tell their various stories of town planning activity in various parts of the world, Such a wide diffusion of interest must surely indicate the practical im- portance of the town planning gon- cept and the breadth of the basis that is being laid for this new phil- osophy of the building of towns and cities. But though the argument may be legitimately used that town planning will promote the business interest of land dealers, in that it will instruct them in such new ideas of land values as will add to thé attrac- tiveness of their goods, it is not at all likely that a movement which was founded to give better living condi- tions and working conditions to the masses of men and women whe are | PPP VIVIIYTY By ALFRED BUCKLEY, MA. Editor of "Town Planning's doing the hard work of the wern can be diverted merely to serve the business interests of land dealers who, after all, are never more than one per cent of the community, It is enough to say that so long as land is bought and sold as & mere com- modity it will sell better in conse- quence of scientific and artistic plan- ning. But this is not t6 say that the aim of town planning is to increase land values. Its aim is to increase the values of life for the whole com- munity, and especially for that nine- ty per cent of the community whose living conditions have been so gross. ly neglected in the past, The essential aspects of town lanning may be briefly stated as fol- OWS © What Town Planning Is Town planning aims at preventing ugliness and preserving beauty: a '| preventing the growth of bad indus- trial conditions and therefore safe- guarding industrial efficiency; at preventing disease and therefore pro- moting health. It is the application to social conditions of the principles of preventive medicine. Why Town Planning is Necessary The concentration of our popula- tion in towns has produced gigantic evils. Lack of foresight has result- ed in many beautiful country dis- tricts being spoilt by the uncon- trolled spreading of factories and houses. Houses have been built in Places where factories should be actories have been placed in resi- dential areas, which have been ruin- ed by noise, smoke and fumes. Slums have grown up, which are costly to remove, Streets and roads . have been made so narrow that they have to be widened repeatedly at great expense. Insufficient open spaces have been left, so that great masses of people have to live far from con- tact with nature or opportunities for wholesome recreation, How Town Planning Works Town' planning is the art and sci- ence of arranging beforehand for the extension of towns and the protec- tion of the country. It does not nec- essitaté buying a single yard of land, but it decides on the broad lines of future development, It surveys the district and decides where house: should be built, where factories ghould be placed, what roads will be wanted, (Continued on page 11) "= Jig; Ww (PROPOIED AGE {110 P11 AEE 6 PLR § peggy hs dh PRA | . " hy Try hii | os ; | 13 poctlling... 7 v. Rp : WPLCHVE « SKETCH Ne i i 5 Beautiful New Collegiate and Vo cational School, Belleville, Ont. Over thirty years' buildings, including dences and of school Vocational Thompson & Johnson ARCHITECTS 124 SIMCOE STREET SOUTH OSHAWA Commercial Work. gga gr in the design and superintendence of public pion Government Work, Churches, Schools, Resis Special attention has been given to the study Collegiate ,~the above being a sketch of the Belleville . one of the finest of its kind, which, at a total cost of $500, 000 has been erected within the amount of contracts. With Thomson & Johnzon is associated Heating Engineer, Mt. E. Elliott of Peterborough as and