Newcastle, Ontario

Last updated
Newcastle
Unincorporated community
Downtown Newcastle, ON, Oct 2024 (IMG 02) (cropped).jpg
King Avenue, Downtown Newcastle
Canada Southern Ontario location map 2.png
Red pog.svg
Newcastle
Coordinates: 43°55′2″N78°35′23″W / 43.91722°N 78.58972°W / 43.91722; -78.58972
Country Canada
Province Ontario
Regional Municipality Durham
Municipality Clarington
Incorporated (town)1856
Government
  TypeMunicipality
  Mayor Adrian Foster
Elevation
150 m (490 ft)
Population
 (2016)
  Total
9,167
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
Forward sortation area
Area codes 289, 905
NTS Map030M15
GNBC CodeFERHE

Newcastle is a community in the municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The community inherits the former name of the present-day municipality which it belongs to.

Contents

Newcastle is located about 80 km east of Toronto, and about 18 km east of Oshawa and Bowmanville on Highway 401. It is also the southern terminus of Highway 35 and Highway 115. It has been named one of the best small towns in Ontario, by Comfort Life, a website for retirement living in Canada. [1]

History

Downtown Newcastle, c. 1910 Downtown Newcastle, Ont Postcard c1900-1912 (cropped).jpg
Downtown Newcastle, c.1910

Newcastle was incorporated as a town in 1856. It remained a small community until the 1990s, when new residential development began and the population quickly swelled. Newcastle had a jail in the late 1800s. Maps of Newcastle from those years have not been discovered. Many have tried to find the location of this jail, but it is believed that it was either demolished or destroyed by the elements. There are jail cells in the Newcastle Community Hall.

The Newcastle Community Hall was built in 1923, originally serving as a Post office, library, theatre and council chamber. Newcastle Community Hall (08-14-23) IMG-008.jpg
The Newcastle Community Hall was built in 1923, originally serving as a Post office, library, theatre and council chamber.

Newcastle is surrounded by farms raising cattle, pigs, apples, grain, and corn. The town has a community hall, donated by the Massey family, one public high school (Clarke), two public elementary schools (Newcastle Public School and The Pines Senior Public School), one Catholic elementary school (St. Francis of Assisi), a post office, churches, a few plazas, several small parks, six restaurants, a recreation complex, an ice arena, a new fire hall, two grocery stores, professional offices, hardware stores, a marina on Lake Ontario, and a golf course (Newcastle Golf Course).

Post office

The first Post office was opened in Newcastle in 1845 with John Short serving as Postmaster. Since that time, Newcastle has had ten postmasters with Charles Gray being the last (in 1991). Following Gray's retirement, Canada Post closed the Post Office since it was deemed too small. Most rural route and suburban mail is now handled by the Bowmanville Canada Post.

Notable residents

Town of Newcastle (1973–94)

The name "Town of Newcastle" was used from 1973–94 for the municipality now called the Municipality of Clarington. The name was changed in 1994 to alleviate longstanding confusion between the municipality as a whole and the community of the same name. The community was commonly known as "Newcastle Village" to distinguish the two. It was also a confusing fact that Bowmanville had a larger population than "Newcastle Village", and it also housed the former Town of Newcastle's municipal offices, causing some to believe the town should have been called "Bowmanville" instead of "Newcastle" during that period.

Nearest places

References

  1. "Best Small Towns, Ontario".
  2. "Then and Now at Newcastle Community Hall". DurhamRegion.com. www.durhamregion.com/. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  3. Obituary for Louis George Lalande - Newcastle Funeral Home
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20120321013121/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/archives/p1/2001/2001-03-03/html/gh-rg-eng.html , Canada Gazette Vol. 135, No. 9 — March 3, 2001 Government House Canadian Bravery Decorations
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20130303221531/http://carnegiehero.org/awardees/awardee-press-releases-1998-present/december-20-2000/ , Carnegie Hero Fund Commission News Release - December 20, 2000