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Tim Horton
Tim Horton (1930–1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and businessman who co-founded the famous Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut chain. He became a hockey legend with the Toronto Maple Leafs before his life ended in a car accident…
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Thomas House
The Merrick Thomas House, built in 1829, is one of Oakville’s oldest surviving pioneer homes. Merrick Thomas played an important role in the early community. He worked with William Chisholm, Oakville’s founder, and was involved in managing the developing townsite…
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Sprus Lane Farm, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
The historic farmhouse was built in 1899 and preserves the atmosphere of a traditional Ontario farm. The farm once produced apples and cider. The restored Victorian farmhouse and original agricultural buildings offer a glimpse into rural life more than a…
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Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Bronte Creek Provincial Park preserves both the natural beauty and agricultural heritage of the Oakville area. The creek valley was shaped by glaciers, and the surrounding land was later cleared for farming. In 1899, the Breckon family established Spruce Lane…
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Toronto North Railway Station
The North Toronto Station opened in 1884 to serve the Canadian Pacific Railway. Passenger services ended in 1930, as Union Station became Toronto’s principal railway terminal.
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Capitol Theatre
Built in 1930, the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope is a remarkable example of atmospheric theatre architecture. Designed by architect Murray Brown for Famous Players, its interior recreates a medieval castle courtyard beneath a starry night sky. One of Canada’s…
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Port Hope Public Library
Built in 1912 with funding from the Carnegie Foundation.
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Orangeville Town Hall
Built in 1875–1876, Orangeville Town Hall originally served as both the municipal headquarters and public market. Today, it remains the town’s municipal headquarters and houses Theatre Orangeville’s historic Opera House.
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Orangeville Public Library
Orangeville Public Library opened in 1908 with a $12,500 grant from the Carnegie Foundation. Today, it combines the original Carnegie Library with a former Bank of Commerce building, creating a unique blend of two historic structures.
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Clock Tower
Orangeville’s historic clock tower features a marble clock originally installed on the town’s Post Office in 1936. After the Post Office was demolished in 1962, the clock was moved to Town Hall and later relocated to the Broadway median, where…
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Maple Leaf Hall
Maple Leaf Hall was historically an important community gathering place in Collingwood. It hosted concerts, dances, and banquets, and was used by both the Loyal Orange Lodge and the shipworkers’ union, reflecting Collingwood’s strong maritime and industrial history.
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Collingwood Terminals
Collingwood Terminals stored grain arriving by rail from Western Canada before loading it onto Great Lakes freighters. It operated for 65 years, from 1929 until 1993.
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Historic Thornbury Wooden Trestle Bridge
The Historic Thornbury Wooden Trestle Bridge is a surviving piece of Thornbury’s railway heritage. Built in the late 19th century, it once carried trains across the Beaver River. After the last train crossed in 1984, the old railway corridor became…
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Craigleith Provincial Park
Craigleith Provincial Park has a rugged limestone shoreline rather than a sandy beach. What makes the park particularly interesting is its fractured shale, which contains fossils about 450 million years old from the Ordovician Period. Among the fossils I found…
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Flame House Grill & Bar
On the way to Craigleith Provincial Park, we stopped in Elmira for dinner. The momos—dumplings served with a traditional Nepalese sauce—were impressive.
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Settler’s Fork
This spot, at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers, was significant to the first European settlers in the area. Around 1800, Mennonite families from Pennsylvania began arriving here by horse-drawn Conestoga wagons to settle in the area that…
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Phở Vietnam Soup & Sub
After dinner, with pho and a vermicelli bowl, I decided to try a Vietnamese iced cap for the first time. Strong and rich! It was much better than I expected.
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Journey of Hope
Journey of Hope is a PWS&D(Presbyterian World Service & Development) fundraising and awareness initiative that supports people and communities affected by hunger, poverty, disasters, and lack of access to food and resources. This year, the Waterloo-Wellington Presbytery formed one group…
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Holly’s Neighbourhood Cafe & Bar
Holly’s Neighbourhood Cafe & Bar occupies a 1895 heritage home that was thoughtfully renovated in 2024.
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Waterloo County Gaol and Governor’s House
Built in 1852, the Waterloo County Gaol is Kitchener’s oldest surviving government building and operated as a prison until 1978. The adjoining Governor’s House, added in 1878 as the gaoler’s residence, features a distinctive Victorian Italian Villa design with a…
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Grace Schmidt Room of Local History, Kitchener Public Library
The Grace Schmidt Room opened on October 14, 1984. It is named in honour of Grace Schmidt, who was a librarian at Kitchener Public Library for 35 years and a long-time member of the Waterloo Historical Society. Ms. Schmidt was…
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Schneider Haus National Historic Site
Built around 1816 by Pennsylvania German Mennonite settler Joseph Schneider, Schneider Haus is the oldest surviving dwelling in Kitchener and a National Historic Site that offers a glimpse into the region’s early Mennonite settlement.
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Bonnie Lou’s Cafe
The building was originally constructed in the late 1800s as a general store and post office in the small village of Floradale. In 2009, Bonnie Lou Martin renovated the old store and reopened it as Bonnie Lou’s Café, preserving many…
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