Mason Cogswell's Wagon Yard

Mason Cogswell's Wagon Yard. Weigh Scales . Old Victoria Hall . Mineral Water Bottling Plant. , Mason Cogswell's Wagonyard , Mason Cogswell (1818-1893) operated a wagonyard at this corner c. 1850. Wagon and barrel making were two main industries associated with a milling-agricultural village. It was not uncommon to see wagons lined up past this point until after dark, waiting their turn at Thorne's Mill in the valley to the north. , Mason Cogswell is buried in the Thornhill Cemetery with his wife and six children, two of whom died before their second birthday and four who died between the ages of twenty and twenty-four, likely victims of the epidemics of cholera and small pox that swept through the village, the worst being in the winter of 1874. , Weigh Scales , Weigh scales near this location, in the early part of this century, were usually operated by the nearby postmaster or storekeeper. Farmers on their way to Toronto could weigh their produce or hay prior to sale in the city markets. Toronto's considerable horse population required a large supply of hay and grain. The short weighing stop afforded rest for the driver as well as an opportunity for small children to snatch a fistful of hay or grain for their rabbits or other pets., Old Victoria Hall , Just north of this location Victoria Hall was officially opened on Dominion Day, 1871. The Hall was reputed to have excellent acoustics, hence musical concerts as well as political meetings and social events were held there. At least two Prime Ministers, Sir John A. Macdonald and Mackenzie King spoke there. , It was subsequently used as a Masonic Temple and torn down in 1961. A skating rink built nearby in 1894 was taken down in 1905 and another built a year later at 67/77 Centre St. It came down in 1936. , Mineral Water Bottling Plant , In the late 1880's Thornhill gained publicity as a health spa because of the mineral waters that flowed from the various springs, especially on the south side of the Don River valley, west of Yonge. The Hawthorne Mineral Springs House was established by Dr. John Langstaff just north of the valley. The surrounding grounds provided a pleasant setting for Sunday walks. , This mineral water was bottled and shipped from a shed near the bottom of the southern slope. For a period after 1916 part of this shed, no longer a bottling plant, was used by famed local Group of Seven Artist J.E.H. MacDonald as a studio for some of his students.