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Cobourg was founded in 1798 by United Empire Loyalists.
Eliud Nickerson was
the first known settler. In 1798 he built a log cabin on Lot 16,
Concession B, about 2 miles east of Factory Creek. By the way, Nickerson
Drive, at the top of D’Arcy Street is named after him.
Cobourg was first called Amherst and then Hard Scrabble. In the 1820's
the name was changed to Cobourg in honour of the marriage of Princess
Charlotte to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, Germany.
Cobourg was incorporated in 1837 and by the 1850's had grown to
about 3,000 citizens. It was during this time that many of
the prominent citizens of the Town had streets named after them. This
tradition lasted well into the 20th Century.
1837 was also the year King William IV died (June 20) and his daughter,
Queen Victoria, began her long reign (June 21). This event
also had a profound impact on street names in Cobourg.
Several streets in Cobourg owe their name to ancestral heritage
- hence we have the name Hibernia Street after the Irish tradition. Calcutt,
who owned a huge tract of property in this area, was of Irish descent. Tay,
Clyde, Tweed and Forth Streets have a Scottish connection.
Names of several streets were named after a business person on that
street while others received their names because of their location.
Commencing in the latter part of the 20th Century, the Town Council
formally declared that new streets should be named after mayors. Other
authorized lists of names came from the Cobourg and District Historical
Society and LACAC.
Of course, many of our most recent streets
derive their name from just being “nice” names - eg.
Birchwood and Lakeview Court.
Let me state early on that I do not have a definitive answer to
all the street names in Cobourg but I can claim to have made a dent. |
Several streets in Cobourg have disappeared from existence. For example:
- Scotland Street between Hibernia and
Durham
- Northumberland Street and Hamilton Street
on Ontario Street North
- Calcutt Street along Lake Ontario (Durham
and Hibernia)
- Wellington Street - which ran north on
the west side of Victoria College up almost to Elgin Street
- Elm, Cedar and William were all streets
off Division north of the station.
Some
streets have changed their names. Example:
- University Avenue was called Seminary
Street in the early 1800's because the Upper Canada Academy,
a Methodist school teaching young men to be ministers, was located
on it. However, when Victoria College opened its doors in 1841
and replaced U.C.A., it was renamed University - after all, Victoria
College gave out DEGREES.
- Fraser Street is now Gravely Street (where
C.R. Gummow School is). I.Vance Gravely was mayor of Cobourg
from 1880 - 1885
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| Let’s look, quickly,
at streets named for locations: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Streets - first
3 streets west of Division Street on the south side of King Street. |
Royalty
Influence:
- Queen Street was named after Queen
Victoria, while Albert Street was named after her husband,
the prince consort. There is a Victoria Street in Cobourg,
leading up to the Arena (Victoria Hall and College). William
Street was named after William IV, Queen Victoria’s
father.
- Alice Street is named after Queen Victoria’s
daughter
Incidentally, Queen and Albert Streets were originally separated
by a large parcel of land between Division and 3rd Streets. This
was purchased in 1837 from F.S. Clench by the newly incorporated
town for a market site and town square. Only later were the streets
joined!
The main street of Cobourg, namely King Street, was commonly
called High Street, re-named King to follow a tradition in Upper
Canada to name the main street either King or Queen. It is named
after George IV who was King in the 1820's.
Cobourg, in the 1800's was the centre of the high Anglican movement
in Upper Canada (Bishop Bethune preached here). The name Church
Street was in recognition of this. Chapel Street, on the other
hand, derived its name from the fact that a Methodist meeting
hall was on that street.
University Avenue and College Street both recognize Victoria
College.
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Division
Street (above in 1919
- courtesy Ontario Archives) - the dividing line between
east and west for house numbering. It was a major street connecting
the pier on Lake Ontario to highway #2 and connecting up with
highway #45.
Water, Lake, Bay, Lakeshore, Bayview and Lakeview all are self-evident
as to the reason for their name. |
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