1906 GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY RPPC POSTCARD CLARKSON\'S DEPOT MISSISSAUGA ONTARIO For Sale

1906 GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY RPPC POSTCARD CLARKSON\'S DEPOT MISSISSAUGA ONTARIO
Handwritten note reads: \"A glimpse of Clarkson\" the location of which was verified when comparing the postcard to photos of the station. It is located in Mississauga, Ontario Canada. It is postmarked 1906. The stamp appears to have been removed by a previous owner.
Please see photos for details. Note lighting variations may alter colors of item in photos.
From the Toronto Railway Historical Association website:

While a railway station was not initially built here, theGreat Western Railwaywas constructed through modern-day Clarkson in 1855. The first station only appears on timetables after the rivalGrand Trunk Railwaygained control of the Great Western in 1882. It was a small shelter and platform that was built on the property of Warren Clarkson, and was originally called Clarkson’s as a short form of nearby Clarkson’s Corners. The building itself contained little more than the station agent’s office, and in lieu of a proper waiting room had outdoor seating beneath a canopy next to it.

A larger station was built by the Grand Trunk to replace its inadequate predecessor in the early 1900’s, capable of handling the growing population of the nearby community. It was around this time that it became known as the “Strawberry Capital of Ontario”, and in 1915 a sign was placed at the station which read “Through this station passes more strawberries than any other station in Ontario”. The station’s name lost the apostrophe around this time, changing from Clarkson’s to Clarksons. The interior of the station had a waiting room and a freight room, with the station agent’s office located in the bay window between the two. For an unknown length of time there was also a small canopy towards the west end of the platform. After the financially ailing Grand Trunk was nationalized and merged intoCanadian Nationalin 1923, CN continued the trend by further shortening the station’s name to Clarkson.

As automobiles gained popularity throughout the early to mid 20th century, passenger ridership began to decline. This was further affected by the completion of a four-lane divided highway initially called the Middle Road, now known as the Queen Elizabeth Way between Toronto and Hamilton. It ran parallel to the railway approximately 1.5 kilometers north of Clarkson Station. On December 15th, 1962, a defective oil burner caused the station to go up in flames. The fire completely destroyed the station and numerous christmas parcels inside the freight room. A replacement station was never built by CN, but five years later the newly-formed GO Transit would build one just a kilometer to the west in 1967.

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