Joshua's Creek

By the Lakeshore
Oakville's progress has always been linked to the surrounding Trafalgar Township, including Joshua's Creek to the east. Joshua's Creek began as a farming community. In the mid-1800s, a failing wheat market, coupled with the advent of the railroad, dried up the shipping business in Oakville Harbour. Local farmers turned to fruit-growing. This spawned new businesses in Oakville making baskets, barrels, jam, cider and wine.

In the early 1900s, real estate agents promoted Oakville and the nearby lakeshore in Trafalgar as a playground for rich and poor. Ordinary Torontonians took a boat or train out to the area to visit, while the new rich built summer homes along the lakeshore.  The 1953 opening of the Ford Motor Company plant in Joshua's Creek ushered in a new era of growth. Trafalgar was merged with Oakville in 1962.

The Watershed
Joshua's Creek drains southeasterly from headwaters near Lower Baseline Road between Trafalgar Road and Ninth Line, discharging into Lake Ontario just east of the Oakville-Mississauga boundary. The creek, along with the surrounding countryside, was created by erosion as the glacier that once filled Lake Iroquois - the precursor to Lake Ontario - moved and melted.

In the early 1800s, the creek began to dry up as farmers harvested the area's white pine and oak. Without forest vegetation, runoff was rapid and soil erosion unstoppable. The warm shallow water now supports only cyprinids (carp-like fish), white suckers, sticklebacks and the occasional water snake or snapping turtle.

Modern wetland management has helped regenerate the creek as a corridor for foxes, rabbits and other wildlife. Trees along the creek include sumac at the sunny edges; willow and green ash on the damp valley floor; and dogwood and poplar on the sunnier flood plain.

Early Settlement
Like other parts of Trafalgar Township, Joshua's Creek was settled before Oakville, which had to wait until 1827 for the harbour land to become available.  The first settlers were Barnett Griggs (1783-1864) and his wife Nancy, who emigrated from the U.S. around 1811. Their farmhouse on the Lake Road (now Lakeshore Road) became a stage-coach stop known as Halfway House, because it was half way between Toronto and Hamilton.  Joshua Leach (1776-1862) arrived in York (now Toronto) from the U.S. in 1797 at the age of 21. His talent as a carpenter won him many commissions. By 1822, he had saved enough money to buy 200 acres around Joshua's Creek. He built a saw mill, a thrashing mill and a home for his large family.

Farming
The earliest cash crop in Trafalgar Township was wheat, which was stored in the granary in Oakville Harbour before shipping out to markets. Business was particularly good during the Crimean War (1853-56), when Canada served European markets. But the resumption of normal trade at the end of that war brought a tumble in prices from which many farmers and shippers never recovered. Those farmers who stayed in wheat had to ship the cheapest way possible, and that often was by the new railway. Oakville Harbour declined. But the new rail service brought new opportunities. Local farmers shifted to the production of strawberries and other perishable fruits, which could be shipped quickly to city markets. Orchards of apple, plum, cherry and pear trees flourished. This transition spawned new businesses in nearby Oakville making baskets, barrels, jam, cider and wine.

Eventually, as Toronto and Hamilton grew, local farmland became more important for residential development. It was encouraged with the paving of Lakeshore Road in 1915, the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Way in 1939 and the start of GO train service in 1963.

Recreation & Tourism
Local residents had always enjoyed the full range of sports, but in the early 1900s Oakville became known beyond its borders for its lakeshore pastimes, which soon included equestrian events. Thanks in part to the 1896 victory of the Oakville-built yacht Canada in the first Canada's Cup sailing race, Oakville became a race stop for Toronto's yachtsmen. It also became a tourist destination for ordinary city dwellers, who could enjoy a boat ride out to Oakville, stay at a resort, swim on the Esplanade and canoe along the shores.

Meanwhile, Oakville realtors promoted the nearby lakeshore properties, where the rich could build estates large enough to stable horses. Herbert Cox set up polo grounds on his estate, Ennisclare, and attracted equestrians of international repute. The Oakville stables of Cox, Harry Giddings and Ryland New became famous for breeding and training King's Plate winners. The Oakville Fair added a horse show that also attracted many tourists.

The Lakeshore Estates
Oakville's reputation as a resort town attracted Toronto businessmen looking to build country estates. A tumble in land prices in the early 1900s also helped realtors like W.S. Davis persuade buyers to invest here. In 1907, jeweller James Ryrie became the first of Toronto's elite to buy acreage for an estate, Edgemere, which included elaborate Japanese gardens. Within two years, life insurance executive Herbert Cox bought the land for Ennisclare, which included stables and polo grounds. The locals were soon calling the area "Millionaires' Row."

The Eaton family of retail fame began its association with Oakville in this era when W. F. Eaton began construction of his estate, Ballymena, at 1208 Lakeshore Road East. His mother, Mrs. Timothy Eaton Sr., purchased Raymar (built in 1909 by a local businessman), at 452 Lakeshore Road East, as a country estate sometime after the First World War. She died there in 1933.  Meanwhile, Davis, who began his career as a postal clerk, became one of the richest men in town, owner of several businesses, mayor and a philanthropist.