Brief History of Whitby, Ontario

The town of Whitby has an extensive history. In this article, I will be discussing Downtown Whitby, also known as the Heart of Whitby. Whitby got its name after a seaport in Whitby, Yorkshire, England. Whitby is a Danish term dating back around 867 AD when Denmark invaded parts of England. It is a construction of “Whitteby” which means “White Village”. 

Jabez John Lynde

Early settler Jabez Lynde bought his land in 1804. His second house that he made still stands today as the Whitby Museum at Cullen Gardens since its establishment in 1812.

The development of downtown happened in 1836 with the help of Peter Perry from Lennox and Addington Countries. With his help, the infamous Brock and Dundas streets aka. “The Four Corners” was made!

In March 14^th, 1852, Whitby was selected as a “Country Town” for Country of Ontario. Whitby held a government seat which included: Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and everywhere else north past Lake Simcoe.

Peter Perry

Homes from the WW1 era where being converted into newer apartments in the 1950’s. Through the 50’s and 60’s, there were newer buildings that were being made such as post offices, the town hall and the Masonic hall. In 1968, Amalgamated occurred which is when they combined the old buildings with the new buildings.

Camp X - Whitby, Ontario

During World War II, Whitby was home to “Camp X”, which was a secret spy training facility founded by Sir William Stephenson.