Snowy Eaton Hall

Photos by Barry Wallace

It's almost impossible to take a bad picture of Eaton Hall ~ whatever the season.

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Barry Wallace

Ansnorveldt

THEN.....

NOW.....

Photo by Barry Wallace

The photo at top is from Elizabeth Gillham's Album of Oldies.   It shows the Holland Marsh hamlet of Ansnorveldt as it appeared in 1934.   I'm not sure that much has changed over the past 80 years in overall appearance and layout of the community along Dufferin Street.   Most of the original homes retain their shapes, with some embellishments added over the decades.   While the streetscape may not mimic the historical legacy of the rest of King Township, it certainly preserves the original design features of its 20th-century Dutch pioneers.

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Barry Wallace  

Marylake Barn

Photo by Barry Wallace

Haunted by Sir Henry?

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Barry Wallace

Kingcross Drive ~ King City

Photo by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Glenville ~ the village in the glen

Photos by Barry Wallace

Pictured above is the northern outflow of Glenville Pond, beneath Hwy. 9, at Dufferin Street.

Elizabeth McClure Gillham, in her book Early Settlements of King Township describes the naming as Glenville as follows: "No doubt Glenville was so named on account of its location, for the hamlet was folded in by hills".   While the earthly, physical surroundings of Glenville look much the same today as they did 200 years ago, the remains of a once bustling, little village seem to have disappeared.   Other villages and hamlets in King have a number of old buildings that bespeak of yesteryear.   Other than the ancient Glenville Methodist Church (pictured immediately below), which is now a private building, there is little else that readily speaks of the past.   Glenville is one of those tiny places that has a 'Brigadoon' feel to it, as though one might be mystically transported back a hundred years to a bustling, special place, for a short time.   

Glenville once was home to two sawmills, two grist/flour mills,a whiskey distillery, three blacksmiths, a blanket and carpet-making business, a hat store, two hotels, a general store, two hotels, a school, a church and a Temperance Society, among other enterprises.   No evidence of these structures is apparent today to passers-by. The homes of modern-day Glenville are mostly large, attractive and complementary to the surrounding woodlands.

Above, a southerly view across a pond, a valley and surrounding hills is bisected by Highway 9, just west of Dufferin Street.

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Barry Wallace

McBride's Esso Service ~ Dufferin and King Rd.

Late 1950s...

Photo courtesy of Dave Hunter

February 2013...

Photo by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Clearview Motors ~ 1959 ~ Jaguars

The photo above shows King City's Clearview Motors in December of 1959.   The occasion was the Ontario Jaguar Owners Association's Julius Caesar Night Navex overnight car rally.   Clearview was the staring point for the rally and the event was organized by local businessman and King City resident, Gerald Gamble.   Clearview Motors was started by Ken McQuarrie 59 years ago, in 1954.   I was 18 years old and Gerald Gamble was my next-door neighbour.   He invited me to be the navigator of his Jaguar in this rally.   I had no idea what I was doing, but learned quickly,   It was a long, cold, and hazardous event.   Despite the uncomfortable introduction to rallying, I was hooked.   Over the next couple of years, I was a rally navigator for King City resident John Dew Jr. in his Austin-Healey Sprite.   I soon-after owned an Austin-Healey Sprite myself, but never drove it in a rally.   At the top of the photo, on the right is the Isaac McBride house which dates back to at least 1860, and stands to this day. Meanwhile, Clearview will soon celebrate its 60th anniversary.   Three generations of Macquarries, Ken, his son Wayne, and Wayne's sons have all pumped gas into my numerous cars over the years, none of which was a Jaguar.   But you never know.   maybe that's why I keep buying lottery tickets.
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Barry Wallace