WHAT WAS WEGWHIST? The project called Wegwhist – West Gwillimbury History – was started in October, 2001 when about 40 folks responded to an invitation to meet and discuss the possibility of writing the story. While many neighbouring municipalities have a written history, West Gwillimbury has shied away from recording its past. Our township has seen two waves of pioneers. First came the highland settlers in the 1830s and 1840s, then a century later a new wave of pioneering families who came to the Holland Marsh. The challenges faced by both were similar. The land had to be cleared, a shelter built and sod broken to grow crops to provide a living for their family. Towns, hamlets, schools, churches, meeting places, taverns, baseball, skating rinks, roads, railways, township council, storms, politics and lodges all have a place in the history of West Gwillimbury. The authors, the municipality and the residents of the town are proud of this history. In our ever-changing world of today who knows how long before the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury loses its identity and becomes a part of another larger municipality. When this happens, West Gwillimbury will become a mere footnote. This book was prepared with the assistance of Orland French and the history book publishing program of Friesens Corp.     GOVERNOR SIMCOE SLEPT HERE The story of Bradford West Gwillimbury Publisher: Wegwhist Author: Community writers Price: $75 ISBN: 0-9688164-1-X Year: December, 2005 Cover: Hardcover, two volumes in a slipcase Pages: 826 Photos: 700 black and white Flourishing on the edge of the Holland Marsh The origins of Bradford West Gwillimbury date back more than two centuries, to 1791 when Major S. Holland laid out a settlement of log cabins at the east branch of the Holland River. The modern municipality was created in 1991 in a reorganization of Simcoe County, merging the Town of Bradford with the Township of West Gwillimbury. Bradford was first known as Milloy’s Tavern for William Milloy, who built a log tavern here in 1829 on the fork of the road that branched west. Later, when the streets of Bradford were laid out, the tavern was isolated. He built another tavern in the marsh near the bridge, nicknamed "The Bullfrog " by soldiers quartered there during the 1837 rebellion. In 1831 John Edmanson built a tavern in the centre of the new settlement. For a while the village was known as Edmanson’s Corners. Later the village was named after Bradford, England, as many of the pioneers came from the vicinity of that Yorkshire town. West Gwillimbury was named in 1798, possibly after Lt.-Col. Thomas Gwillim, father of Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim who married John Graves Simcoe, later governor of Upper Canada. During his term in Upper Canada, (1791-1796) Graves travelled through the Bradford area on an arduous expedition to Lake Simcoe and lower Georgian Bay. Bradford is located on Toronto’s Yonge Street which, in the early days of Upper Canada, was the military road to Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay. The first railway built in Upper Canada reached Bradford on June 15, 1853. By 1866, 7000 passengers used the train. The railway brought to Bradford an era of booming prosperity and the town became the focal point for South Simcoe trade. The modern history and economy of Bradford West Gwillimbury is firmly linked to the development of the Holland Marsh. Professor William Day started the drainage system in 1923 to prepare the Holland Marsh for cultivation. He buried old cars to form dikes and planted willows on top to anchor them. This kept the drainage canals from overflowing into the fields. Now thousands of hectares are under cultivation, yielding crops of vegetables selling for millions of dollars. The marsh was inundated in 1954 when Hurricane Hazel struck the area. The pumps on the marsh were unable to control the water and the entire marsh was flooded. About three thousand persons were made homeless. Further information: Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury   HOME | SITE MAP | ORDERING INFO | AUTHOR SIGNUP | ADVERTISE | CONTACT US