By generous permission of George Chisholm and The Oakville Historical Society, following are the notes for their Historical Walking Tour of Trafalgar Road (and Reynolds Street).

While the material is thorough, nothing can match actually taking the tour to gain additional insights - and being able to ask questions! A number of historical Oakville walking tours are offered by the Society from June to October each year. Please click here (or on the above logo) for further details.

Any suggestions for improvement or additions to the Walk would be sincerely welcomed. Please click here to send an e-mail to George, the Society, and TCRA.

Clicking on most photographs will produce a larger or different view. All references in the text to the present time refer to c2007.

In this "Historical Walk" section, all black & white images are courtesy of the Oakville Historical Society, and all colour photographs © n. w. sadler, unless otherwise indicated. Please also see the site's Legal and Copyright notice.


The walk starts at St John’s United Church and proceeds east on Randall Street to Trafalgar Road.   

Carson and Son Planing Mill - 1860 (#50) (northeast corner of Trafalgar Road and Randall Street, currently the site of Trafalgar Lodge)   

Although we think of it as the Carson and Son Planing mill, this building had several occupants over the years.

The south section of the building was put up in 1860 by Jacob Barnes, maker of well pumps and stumping machines. He also owned the Halton County Hotel across the street.

In 1869 the property was purchased by Harper and Helson who operated the Excelsior Carriage Works – makers of buggies, wagons, express wagons, democrats (large, light, uncovered wagons with two or more seats), sleighs, cutters etc.

In 1870 Robert Tait operated the first cabinet shop in the village to use steam power here. His Oakville Steam Cabinet Factory made overmantels and barroom furniture.

In 1879 William H. Carson converted the factory into a planing mill which he operated for 30 years. Following that an aluminum pots and pans factory operated on the site. It closed in the late 1950s and the property was vacant for some time.

Temperance hall - 1843 (#51) (southeast corner of Trafalgar Road and Randall Street, currently the site of Tim Horton's).

The Oakville Temperance Reform Society was formed in 1834 and held its first meetings at the home of Justus Williams, who was a prominent member of the community. The emphasis was on temperance rather than abstinence. Originally whiskey, brandy and rum were attacked but later cider and beer were added to the list and the “damned cold water society” preached total abstinence.

The hall was built in 1843 at the instigation of Justus Williams and Thomas Leach and was the first such hall in Ontario. John Potter, whose house we will see later, did the framing. The workers ate at Forman’s Inn, a temperance house, across the road.   

The Wesleyan Methodists, the Presbyterians and the Township Council all met in the hall in the early 1850s and the Presbyterians used it again in the 1860s.   

With the decline of the Temperance Union the building was rented to the Salvation Army. When it was eventually sold only 1 member remained – Mr Sid Evans. Another member had to be recruited to sign the transfer papers. A condition of sale was that alcohol could not be served on the property. The Temperance Hall was demolished in 1970 and the land is currently occupied by a Tim Horton's Donut shop.

Blakelock Brothers Lumber and Planing Mill (#52) (300 Randall Street, approximately. Behind Tim Horton's)
 
The business which stood here provided materials and services to the building trades in Town. The Blakelock brothers purchased the property from N.J. Wilson in the early 1900s and also built many houses in town.

Thomas Blakelock became an MPP for Oakville and has a high school named after him. The business closed in the early 1970s.

PLEASE let us know if you can provide a photo of this busines.

The Forman Inn - 1834 (#53) (140 Trafalgar Road)

John Forman was a farmer on Lakeshore Road East and bought this corner lot in 1833. He built an inn which he operated without licence. It was the only temperance inn in town.

The following year part of the building was leased to Joseph Mackinder who started the first bakery in town.

About 1850 it was taken over by Charles Davis, a shoemaker, who operated it as the Oakville Temperance House. He ran into trouble for serving “spiritous liquors”.

In 1859 Jacob Barnes, a blacksmith took it over and ran it under licence as the Halton County Hotel. The building is built in the Gothic Revival Style.

William Whitaker’s Wagon Works (#54) (west side of Trafalgar Road between Lakeshore and Church)

William Whitaker was a carriage painter who arrived from England in the 1850s. He worked for Jeremiah Hagaman on Navy Street and later the Halton Carriage Works where he became a partner of James Fairfield. Together they traded wagons to farmers for wool, quarters of beef, sides of bacon and other produce.

The business continued into the late 1950s under the name William Whitaker and Sons. By then they sold automobiles in a building put up in the 1930s. The building also housed a blacksmith shop.

Proceed north on Trafalgar Road to the corner of Sumner (and cross to northeast corner where there is more room). At this stop describe the buildings in this area, including:

Henry Gulledge House - 1876 (#55) (167 Trafalgar Road)

This property, known as Lot 1, Block 90 in the original Plan of Oakville drawn by Edward Palmer, was sold by William Chisholm to James Williamson in 1835 for ₤50, the lawful currency of Upper Canada at the time. It's possible that the east wing of the house was built a few years later with the main house being built in the 1870s.

Following Williamson’s death in 1875, the house was bought from his executors by Henry Gulledge for $200 (in 1876). Gulledge was the second saddler in town, arriving from Somersetshire in 1835. A set of his harness could be purchased for £3/5s on 6 months credit. He lived in the house at the corner of Rebecca and Forsythe Streets until moving here on his retirement.

The house was bought by William Matthews in 1886 for $263 and sold again in 1904 for $1000. Julia Isobel Eaton bought the house in 1938 for $3700. Lady Eaton visited her often and took tea on the verandah while her chauffeur waited in the car.

Note the round-headed double windows on the second storey, the buff quoins, multiple gables and decorative woodwork. For many years the house was painted white.