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Mississauga Ontario Page 02 ~ Clarkson Bicentennial
Village of Clarkson Celebrates 200 Years
Mississauga Ontario Page 02: The Village of Clarkson celebrated 200 years June 15, 2008, with a parade and tours, with Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) Mayor Hazel McCallion joining hundreds of visitors and residents to mark the bicentennial of Mississauga's oldest village. Between downpours and side tours to Benares and Spring Creek Cemetery, I managed a few pictures of this birthday party. Congratulations to the Clarkson BIA and volunteers who made it possible!
Mississauga Heritage Clarkson Ontario 200th Birthday 2008 
Heritage Mississauga often sets up a picture display at community events such as Clarkson's birthday party, and should you come across such a display, do take a minute to stop, read and chat with the staff.
Lakeshore Road West that runs east / west through the heart of Clarkson Village was closed to vehicle traffic for much of the day, and volunteers led walking tours of nearby historic points of interest.
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Lakeshore Road West near Clarkson Road, Mississauga 
About 150 merchants in the Village of Clarkson make up the Clarskon BIA (Business Improvement Association) that promotes business in the Clarkson area.
Restaurants, spas, shops and more got into the spirit of the 200th party with special sales, featured foods and banners, all greatly adding to the celebratory mood of the day.
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Clarkson Village site of Museums of Mississauga
Reflecting its seniority among historic Mississauga villages, Clarkson is the site of both Museums of Mississauga:
Benares (see picture below) and Bradley Museum (see my blog post for pictures of fall colors at Bradley).
The horse drawn wagons were a big hit with one and all!
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Village of Clarkson Greets Madame Mayor McCallion at Bicentennial 
Mayor McCallion studies the program outline for Clarkson's 200 celebrations (and yes, there was cake!).
In the afternoon, performers sang and danced for a seated audience and gathered dignitaries. Dozens more visitors watched from the sidelines.
Around 3:30, bi-planes arrived from a Hamilton airfield (about 30 km west of Clarkson) and performed rolls and dives high over the Lakeshore.
The rainy weather that threatened to force cancelling the airshow, so we were all glad to see the biplanes!
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Warren Clarkson United Empire Loyalist : from NB to ON 
The man who gave his name and much of his life to Clarkson Ontario now rests at Spring Creek Cemetery, located a few blocks north of the railway tracks on Clarkson Road North.
Warren Clarkson came here from New Brunswick about 1808, to what was then the 'Old Survey' lands, later named Clarkson, and now part of the City of Mississauga.
Other Loyalist settlers about this time included Thomas Merigold (Merigold's Point) and Lewis Bradley (Bradley Museum).
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No Bicentennial Visitors to Clarkson's Site
Half-expecting some nod to Warren Clarkson on this bicentennial, I walked north on Clarkson Road to Spring Creek.
On the way, I stopped to listen in on a tour guide relating information about the c1819 buiilding (west side, north of railway tracks) where the Clarkson family operated the general store and post office for many years.
But reaching the cemetery, my companion and I were the only visitors paying our respects.
See City of Mississauga page for info and old photos
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Benares Historic House - Clarkson North Mississauga
Continuing north a few blocks on Clarkson Road, we reached Benares: In 1836, Benares was the home of Captain James Harris and family.
Benares Historic House (1507 Clarkson Road North of Lakeshore Road) is one of the Museums of Mississauga.
Clarkson Road shows its rural routes in the way it dog legs at Lakeshore Road, before continuing south towards Lake Ontario ( google map).
Benares is the reputed setting for the White Oaks of Jalna series by Mazo de la Roche, a one-time resident (see Jalna series books at Amazon ).
Jalna and Benares are cities in India; a nod to Capt. Harris's military service.
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Orange Marries Lemon - Historic Marker with Citrus Slant
The passing of many long time Clarkson residents is marked at Spring Creek.
One interesting marker is shown in the photo here:
Edwin Orange and wife, Alice Lemon.
Erindale pioneers are similarly remembered at St Peter's Anglican Church and Port Credit pioneers at St Mary's Star of the Sea (googlemap)
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Village of Clarkson 200th Birthday one of many Clarkson Events 
In this picture of the parade through Clarkson, the wet road surface shows evidence of the showery day, but . . .
Cliche Alert:
. . . the rain did not dampen the crowd's enthusiasm :-)
More information about Clarkson BIA events is listed here .
In Summer and Fall, 2009, Clarkson Village saw extensive road work and landscaping along Lakeshore Road to make this historic Mississauga area more accessible and pedestrian friendly.
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