A little-known secret about a small patch of downtown land gifted to the Town of Newmarket almost 90 years ago is out of the bag.
And, thanks to plenty of digging in historical archives by a member of the original landowner clan, that piece of property originally known as Widdifield Park may finally be recognized for its significance in Newmarket’s rich history.
When resident Mike Widdifield set out to learn more about the turn-of-the-century settlers of the same name, he discovered that prominent lawyer William Clark (W. C.) Widdifield willed the land to the Town upon his death in 1930. At the time, it was valued at about $600.
Located behind Main Street, between Water and Timothy streets, the land abuts the East Holland River, the Buckley Insurance Brokers building and Snackmrkt, where a parkette and the new large-scale mural, A New Market on the Holland River, is now located as part of Riverwalk Commons.
“First of all, I didn’t know the location of the land and I was stunned when I found out where it was,” Widdifield said. “I walked through that park while it was under construction and I like the area. I go through there often and I like to read about the history.”
Where the long-lost story of the gifted land gets interesting, Widdifield said, is that W.C. Widdifield envisioned that area as the ideal location for a children’s park nearly 100 years ago.
In fact, the town council of the day in 1918 used his land to host cultural and entertainment community events such as the week-long Chautauqua celebration. An advertisement in a local newspaper welcomed residents to join in the festivities at “Widdifield Park”.
But W. C. Widdifield was so passionate about the land’s use for that purpose that he stipulated it could be used for no other reason, an ardent wish his estate faithfully tried to advance with successive town councils for about 60 years with little success.
“That’s the amazing part, how long it took to actually make that land into a park,” Widdifield said.
It may come as no surprise that a debate about whether or not to turn a piece of prime land into a park could run hot. An Oct. 24, 1940 Express-Herald article commented that the Widdifield Park saga has “given the weekly press columns of hot material for the past few years.”
One particular exchange among the council in 1935 is reported by the Express-Herald as follows: Ald. Joe Spillette started the ball rolling at a lively pace when he opened a discussion about Widdifield Park.
“The piece of land donated to the town by the late W.C. Widdifield was to be used for a children’s playground or else there would be serious complications. The Estate opposed it being turned into a parking lot. It would seem we haven’t lived up to the agreement. With very little expense we could do it.
To which, Mayor Boyd shot back, “They can have it back."
Spillette continued, “It would be a shame to turn it back. There is an opportunity to make a nice park."
Mayor Boyd replied, “Don’t get (worked) up about it."
The Town’s own recent controversial $24-million purchase of the Mulock Farm property at Mulock Drive and Yonge Street to create a year-round Central Park-type of recreational attraction found some critics calling for a mix of affordable housing options be built there instead, or just about anything other than a park.
Similar debates about what to do with Widdifield Park ensued in council chambers between the 1930s and 1970s, with some local politicians suggesting the land be given back to the Widdifield Estate since it wouldn’t agree to having it paved and turned into a parking lot.
Other options offered up over the decades included building a swimming pool at the site and pumping in water from nearby Fairy Lake, using it as a dump site, and turning it over to the horticultural society to see what it could make of it.
“I found the stories very interesting of what people thought they could use it for, what that area should be,” Widdifield said. “I guess it was a hot summer in 1935 and someone thought about constructing swimming tanks for the children on the land. And now, not too far away, we have the splash pad (Tim Hortons Water Feature), so that’s kind of keeping within the original vision.”
Meanwhile, the political football known as Widdifield Park sat neglected and undeveloped until it was paved over in about 1960.
Local historian Richard MacLeod said it appears from newspaper clippings that the issue of what to do with Widdifield Park kept popping up over the six decades.
“The town was always putting it off, to get the next council to deal with it,” he said. ”And nobody ever would deal with it. The Widdifield Estate objected to any ideas put forward other than to create a children’s playground and park.”
Now, it appears that after a century, the long-unresolved issue may be resolved.
Councillor Jane Twinney, in whose ward Widdifield resides, will introduce a motion at the Feb. 25 committee of the whole meeting asking staff to delve into the issue and report back on the possibility of renaming the area Widdifield Park.
“It is a fascinating story,” Twinney said. “I would like to see some recognition that that area be named Widdifield Park, with perhaps a bit of background information on its historical significance so it’s not lost. It would have been lost if Mike Widdifield hadn’t contacted me.”
In recent years, the Town revitalized the area as Riverwalk Commons and remade the unnamed Widdifield Park as a parkette with benches, where visitors can sit and watch the East Holland River ripple through the canal.
“Through all the years, the battles of past councils and heated arguments about its use, it was never recognized that this gentleman (W. C. Widdifield) donated the land to the Town,” Twinney said. “It was supposed to be a park to start with, and it was actually named Widdifield Park.”
Of Twinney’s motion, Widdifield said he is happy that it’s being done.
“I’ve been doing lot of research on the family and this was one of the areas I picked up on and I thought it needed some recognition,” he said.
