A place that calls you home.
In the mid 19th century, Port Perry and the wider Prince Albert county beckoned those from as near as the heavily populated Whitby and as far as the United States, offering an escape from the crowded city centres, and the declining quality of life and lack of community that accompanied. It was a place for visionaries who saw an oasis that had the unique ability to be close enough to the 'big city' to never lose touch with loved ones and loved places yet remain out of reach of the scurry.
THE WIDDIFIELD
Prior to the surveying of the Reach township, Joseph Widdifield was the Northern most settler along the path between Oshawa and what is today Port Perry. North of him was unbroken, thick forest and swamp land. At the time, no one could have imagined the beautiful community this region would one day become, but the daring ventured Northward to establish a new community of adventure seekers, nature lovers and and small-town-at-heart folks.
THE WILMOT
Durham representative in the Legislative Assembley of Upper Canada, Samuel Wilmot was a surveyor, tanner and farmer. In 1809 he was charged with the historical task of surveying the unchartered Reach Township, laying the groundwork and setting the land boundaries for what would become home to many seeking an alternative to the burgeoning Whitby and Oshawa regions.
THE
CRANDELL
Born in Saratoga, New York in 1799, Reuben Crandell moved with his parents to Canada at a young age. In 1819 he married Catherine Moore and in 1823 Reuben and Catherine became the first European settlers in the area, blazing the trail North from the city, plowing each step by the strength of their two oxen. They settled on 200 acres of land and their establishment of the townships first hotel and tavern attracted travellers and tourists to the area.
Two centuries later, Port Perry remains one of the few places in Ontario that achieves the elusive feat of having developed as a thriving city of its own, with all the sought after amenities and luxuries, while maintaining the undisturbed small town ethos and beautiful vistas that truly make it a place like no other.
