During All-American Week 2025, veterans and paratroopers participated in the annual run alongside their families at Stang Field following a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights Parachute Team. This year's theme, "We're All-American and Proud to Be," celebrates the legacy of the 82nd Airborne Division.

This year for Archival Awareness Week, the City of Vaughan Archives is featuring historical businesses from Vaughan to see how they have influenced their communities over time! #AAW2025 

The Carrville Grist Mill was located along Rutherford Road between Bathurst Road and Dufferin Street in Concord and was erected by Michael Fischer around 1820. Mills and the hydro power they generated were essential for immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries as people had to make most of the goods they consumed and used. As a result, mills became centers for development. This property was later purchased by Thomas and William Cook and eventually others. The grist mill remained operational until November 1933 when it was destroyed by a fire.

City of Vaughan Archives: M989.49, M018.13

During All-American Week 2025, veterans and paratroopers participated in the annual run alongside their families at Stang Field following a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights Parachute Team. This year's theme, "We're All-American and Proud to Be," celebrates the legacy of the 82nd Airborne Division.

During All-American Week 2025, veterans and paratroopers participated in the annual run alongside their families at Stang Field following a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights Parachute Team. This year's theme, "We're All-American and Proud to Be," celebrates the legacy of the 82nd Airborne Division.

During All-American Week 2025, veterans and paratroopers participated in the annual run alongside their families at Stang Field following a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights Parachute Team. This year's theme, "We're All-American and Proud to Be," celebrates the legacy of the 82nd Airborne Division.

The second business for #AAW2025 is Shaw’s Hardware Store. In 1891, Charles Shaw and his son Charlie established a tin smithing business and hardware store in Kleinburg, as well as their binder twine delivery night. Rather than driving a wagon to individuals to deliver their binder twine, which prevented rodents from getting into sheaves of grain, farmers came to Shaw’s instead, allowing them to get the product quickly. On delivery night a free concert was held, with a stage being erected right in front of Shaw’s. There were also performances by local bands and comedians and women’s groups set up booths to sell food. This festival grew and eventually became known as the Kleinburg Binder Twine Festival. It ran annually until Charlie Shaw’s death in 1931 and then from 1967-2020.

City of Vaughan Archives: MG 10

The third #AAW2025 post focuses on the Maple Superior Propane Plant. This plant operated in Maple until 1962. Shortly after 11 pm on August 4th, a massive explosion at the business rocked the village of Maple, with those nearby describing it as being like a bomb going off, making a loud noise, shattering windows and spreading fire. It injured several and caused one fatality. Herbert Joslin, who worked for the propane plant as a stock clerk, had made a heroic attempt to stop gas from escaping from a tank truck in the storage yard. However, he was unable to do so before the explosion occurred and he died. This explosion led to the establishment of a professional firefighting force in Maple.

City of Vaughan Archives: M993.10

During All-American Week 2025, veterans and paratroopers participated in the annual run alongside their families at Stang Field following a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights Parachute Team. This year's theme, "We're All-American and Proud to Be," celebrates the legacy of the 82nd Airborne Division.

During All-American Week 2025, veterans and paratroopers participated in the annual run alongside their families at Stang Field following a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights Parachute Team. This year's theme, "We're All-American and Proud to Be," celebrates the legacy of the 82nd Airborne Division.

During All-American Week 2025, veterans and paratroopers participated in the annual run alongside their families at Stang Field following a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights Parachute Team. This year's theme, "We're All-American and Proud to Be," celebrates the legacy of the 82nd Airborne Division.

The final highlight for #AAW2025 is the Woodbridge Agricultural and Machine Works. It was established in 1849 and employed two hundred people by 1874, becoming intertwined with the health of the village. This factory specialized in the production of various types of steam-powered agricultural equipment. By 1880, both the plant and village were thriving. The company’s triumph tractor and steam engine received several awards at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, while Woodbridge had gained a library, post office, school, a local newspaper and more.

The factory was relocated in 1885 due to the refusal of the Toronto, Grey, and Bruce Railway to construct a switch from the main line directly to the plant. This decision brought about a significant decline in both population and economics in Woodbridge.

City of Vaughan Archives: M995.11

The Soules Inn, located at 8038 Yonge Street, is the next feature for #AAW2025. Originally a private home, this brick building was constructed in 1830 for David Soules. For many years it served Thornhill as its finest hotel, and has been referred to as "Soules Inn", "Mansion House,” “Royal Hotel", and “Mrs. Christian’s Temperance Hotel”. The spacious yard and barns also served as a stopping point for stagecoaches as they travelled between Holland Landing and Toronto, until a Metropolitan Railway extension was built in 1896. It became a nursing home in 1970, before being designated as a heritage property in 1983. It is one of the few surviving structures from the original village of Thorne’s Hill.

City of Vaughan Archives: MG 18