Taking the Road Less Travelled


I like taking the scenic route. A few weeks ago I was up Algonquin Park way with friends for a long weekend of photography from the Friday to Sunday, honestly it wasn't long enough.  While the others took Highway 400 through Barrie, I took the 404, cut through Uxbridge and then hopped on the Trans Canada Highway North (#12) passing through Brock Township in the northern part of Durham Region.

The Smith family emigrated from Forres Scotland arriving  in what is now Durham Region the early 1830s.  My branch of the clan settled in Cannington Ontario becoming merchants owning the town's feed store. My great granddad William George Smith and family left for Toronto in the early 1900s due to changing economic realities and agricultural practices. They are buried in a family plot in the Presbyterian cemetery Concession Road 11.

A great uncle of mine Dr. Masson Smith (granddad's brother) was the town physician in Beaverton roughly 20 minutes drive further north along the Trans Canada. Unfortunately I don't know that much about that part of the Smith clan other than Great Uncle Masson was one the revered community leaders in Beaverton.

Cannington and Beaverton are real small town Ontario, they are not distant suburbs of Toronto or a tourist destination like Elora or St. Jacobs. Both are pretty towns but are what they are, small regional centres for surrounding farms and there is not a lot going on. I understand why Great Granddad W.G. Smith sold the feed store and moved the family to Toronto just over a 100 years ago.

As far as I know, I'm the first family member from my branch to visit since the 1940s and I go up once a year to have a look around. Still don't know exactly where the old feed store is located, I have it narrowed down to one intersection.

The black and white photos were shot in Cannington and the colour shots were taken in Beaverton.


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Beaverton On a Friday

Wooden Nickel

Beaverton Main Drag

Cameras Used:

Nikon FM2 with Ilford HP5 400 black and white film
and a
Nikon F3HP with Fuji Pro 400H colour film.


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