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Oakville Historical Society

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Oakville Historical Society

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Discovering, preserving, promoting and sharing Oakville Ontario's historical heritage since 1953

In 1827 William Chisholm, a prosperous merchant and entrepreneur, purchased 960 acres of land around the mouth of the Sixteen Mile creek and Hazel Chisholm Mathews in 1930, age 32 established a new community which became the Town of Oakville. In 1953, Hazel Chisholm Mathews, great-granddaughter of William Chisholm, founded the Oakville Historical Society to discover, preserve and disseminate knowledge of the town's history. The Society's archival collection had its beginnings when Hazel Mathews discovered historical papers and documents in the Custom House in the 1930's and additional documents and artifacts under boards in Erchless and in other locations. Additional donations have resulted in today's wide-ranging archival and photographic collection. The scope of the Society's activities has continued to expand since the founding to include historical talks at public meetings, historical walking tours and talks and presentations to community groups. The Society initiated the Historical Plaque program in 1957 for houses one hundred years old or more and the program has continued since that time. With its mandate to preserve heritage, the Society encouraged Town Council to pass a by-law prohibiting high-rise development on the south side of Robinson Street thereby saving a historical area from commercial development and preserving its original use and charm. In 1976, developers were planning to erect a high-rise apartment building and sub-division on the Erchless estate. As a result of representations to Council by the Society and some local residents, the Town purchased the land and buildings in 1977 for the pleasure of residents and visitors. In 1991, the extensive collection of artifacts, including items relating to the Chisholm family, was transferred to the Town. As the official custodian of the archival collection, the Oakville Historical Society continues to preserve and promote the historical heritage of Oakville from its Archives and Office in the "cottages" in the north-west corner of the Erchless Estate. For their support of these efforts, we wish to thank, in particular, the Town of Oakville, the Province of Ontario, and the Friends of the Oakville Historical Society.

10/29/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1M5aLLrfmr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

10/24/2026

We have had an unplanned "Wandering Ghost" on a few of our walks this year ....

10/20/2026

The Oakville Historical Society Ghost Walks are well underway and are virtually sold out for this year with only a few spots remaining.

Do you know any local (old or modern) ghost stories, or have had any personal spiritual experiences?

We would love to hear them, if you would be willing to share them with us in the comment section below.

10/15/2026

Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh, 1911 at her "Coming-Out" party.
Ruth Hindmarsh (nee Atkinson) (1893-1994) was the daughter of Elmina Elliott and Joseph E. Atkinson. She was the sister of Arthur Joseph Storey Atkinson.

She was the wife of Harry C. Hindmarsh (1887-1956), and the mother of John C. Hindmarsh, Ruth Hindmarsh Folland, Harry Atkinson Hindmarsh, and Joyce Armstrong.

10/07/2026

A new plaque was installed today.

376 Chartwell Rd.

“Hillside”

Most of the information below is taken from the Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report prepared by the Town of Oakville in July 2025.

This property is located on the northwest corner of Macdonald Road and Chartwell Road, historically part of the Third Concession South of Dundas, Lot 11. In 1828 the Crown granted it to King’s College (now University of Toronto) and in 1838 the north half of the Lot 11 was sold to George Foreman. In 1875 Cornelius Slattery and Andrew Reynolds acquired the north half which they farmed for several decades. The property was split and the Slattery family farmed the west half while the Reynolds family farmed the east half, except parcels granted to the railway and a parcel used as a cemetery which was in the same vicinity as the house today, however nothing further is known of it.

In 1883 Reynolds sold the northeast half of the northern half of lot 11 to Alexander Morrison and John Macdonald who was married to Janet Morrison. According to the 1891 census, the Macdonalds were in the process of building a brick structure on the property which was two storeys and had 9 rooms. Once built, it became known as “Hillside”.

John Macdonald was born in Aberchirder, Scotland in 1850 and came to Canada in 1870. He was involved in the cattle and butcher business. He married Janet Morrison in 1876. She was the daughter of Peter Morrison, one of three Morrison brothers who were involved in the cattle business in Oakville.

Macdonald was very active in the community for over 40 years. He was a magistrate, butcher, cattle rancher, deputy reeve and town councillor. He died in 1914 and his wife Janet died in 1923. The estate stayed under the ownership of the children who sold small pieces off, until 1944 when it was sold to Richard Merry who subdivided it. The house and 5.65 acres in the southeast corner of the lot were sold to Mabel Hawthorne Giles the same year.

According to an Oakville Beaver article dated 23 Sept. 2001, the house had been utilized as the “Taylor Nursing Home”, operated by Jane Taylor and her husband Frank. It had six beds and was primarily used for maternity cases and sometimes for convalescents. This would have been while the property was still under the ownership of the Macdonald family.

Mabel Hawthorne Giles, nee MacKay, was born in Toronto. She married Thomas Giles in 1921. He was an accountant and she was a stenographer. By 1921 they were living in Oakville and purchased the house on Chartwell in 1944. They remained in the house for over 30 years. In her later years, Mabel lived in a nursing home and her son Donald and his family lived in the house. She died in 1977 and the property was sold to Oakhall Developments which further subdivided the 5-acre parcel. The house remained and was owned by various individuals until the current owners in 1991.

Macdonald Road (note the small “d”) is named after John.

10/05/2026

The Oakville Historical Society Ghost Walks are back.
Twice daily from October 13th to October 30th (excluding Sundays)

These very popular walks are sold out every year, so please don't be disappointed and book early.

Click on the link below for all the details and the ability to book.

https://www.oakvillehistory.org/activities/ghost-walks

10/04/2026

Home Economics Class, Oakville High School 1950’s

None of the people in this photo have been identified

09/30/2026

Address

110 King Street
Oakville, ON
L6J1B1

Opening Hours

Tuesday	1pm - 4pm
Thursday	1pm - 4pm
Sunday	1pm - 4pm

Telephone

+19058442695

Website

http://www.oakvillehistory.org/

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