Arthabasca, Québec merged with some other communities and became , Victoriaville, Québec, a settlement 57 miles northwest of Sherbrooke, Québec the area was known to the native Abenaki peoples as Arthabasca meaning "place of bulrushes and reeds" the area was first claimed in 1802 way fur trader named John Gregory with the first settlers arriving around 1825. Early colonists from the banks of the St. Lawrence River arrived slowly the first provincial road was built in 1844 and a Parrish was established in 1851. In 1854, a train station was erected to serve the Grand Trunk Railway line from Richmond 109 miles to Levis, Arthabasca (later to be Victoriaville) was 33 miles north of Richmond and it united the region with Montréal and Québec city the name Victoriaville was created May 8, 1861, named to honor Queen Victoria. Postcard view of railway station.

Hamilton 18 size, 17 jewel, Grade 926, Serial No. 112219. Manufactured 1900 from a run of 112201 - 113000. Double sunk Roman numeral private-label dial marked "J.N. White & Co. Coaticook P.Q." Movement full plate with same markings as dial with "The White" on the top of the barrel bridge. Housed in a screw back and bezel Silveroid case.

Dial

Dial private-label signature close-up

Movement "The White" marking

Movement close-up

Case back

Case trademark

Grand Trunk Railway Station colored postcard view.

Coaticook, Québec is located 102 miles east of Montréal, Québec and 21 miles South of Sherbrooke, Québec . It is a town in Stanstead County, Québec and is situated on the Coaticook River, the land now occupied by the town was settled between 1825, and 1850 By United Empire Loyalists who had originally located further West. A village took shape in 1853, on the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway (now Canadian National Railways.) between Montréal and Portland, Maine. It was Incorporated as a village in 1864 and is a town in 1884 and is the training center for a thickly populated agricultural district and has flourishing industries such as saw, wooden, knitting, and cotton mills, its name is derived from the Iroquois and Krvaktakwak meeting "something crooked which straightens itself" use by the Indians in designating the Coaticook River, others say the name is derived from two Abnaki words, koa, pine and tegw, a river meaning "The River of the Pines"

Canadian Eastern Railways map showing Coaticook on line to the right of Sherbrooke and four stations South of Lennoxville just north of the USA border and what later became The Grand Trunk Western line to Portland, Maine.

Now we start going West again to Ontario with this:

Hampden 18 size, 15 jewel Hunting movement, Serial No. 237813, Manufactured 1899, Single sunk private-label Roman numeral dial marked "Morphy, Son & Co." full plate movement marked "Morphy, Son, & Co. 141 Yonge St. Toronto" with a Tucker patented regulator.

Dial

Dial signature close-up

Hunter movement with watchmakers address marked on it.

Case back

Crescent silveroid case trademark

141 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, was located five blocks from Toronto's Union Station on Front Street West postcard view from the 1930s

Modern artists view showing modern CN Tower to the West

Aerial view of Union Station showing CPR's Royal York Hotel across Front Street I stayed there in 1982. Very convenient for seeing the sights downtown and traveling back from New York City from Grand Central Terminal

Interior view showing the 10 provincial flags of Canada

Toronto Area Railways Map

C.H. Ward & Co., London, Ontario . . .


Here's my first Canadian PL watch. It's a 15-jewel Illinois Model 6, Grade 59 (movement #1873063, circa 1906).

The single-sunk 24-hour dial is marked "C.H. Ward & Co., London, Ont." and the movement is marked "Ward's Special." It's in a Fortune gold-filled SB&B case.



Single-sunk 24-hour C.H. Ward & Co. dial