Clarington Sports
Who won the first major race at Mosport?
Stirling Moss won the Player's 200 on June 25, 1961, driving a Lotus 19. It brought drivers from around the world to rural Ontario.
Durham Region trivia
Fun facts about Clarington
23 facts and quiz questions about Clarington, Ontario. Each one links to its source. A new fact of the day goes live every morning.
Fact of the day
Clarington Quiz
Where does the name Clarington come from?
It blends the names of two former townships, Clarke and Darlington. The municipality was called Newcastle from 1974 until it was renamed Clarington in 1993.
Source: Wikipedia, Clarington
Clarington History
What mystery surrounds Newcastle's old jail?
Newcastle had a jail in the late 1800s, but no one has found where it stood. Old jail cells can still be seen in the Newcastle Community Hall.
Source: Wikipedia, Newcastle, Ontario
Clarington Culture
How many people go to the Orono Fair?
Nearly 30,000 a year. The fair runs the first weekend after Labour Day, with livestock shows, horse pulls, a pie and cake auction and a demolition derby.
Source: Wikipedia, Orono, Ontario
Clarington Quiz
True or false: Orono is named after a town in Maine.
In 1852 a visitor from Maine suggested Orono, the name of a town near Bangor, because the landscape looked similar.
Source: Wikipedia, Orono, Ontario
Clarington Quiz
How many people lived in Clarington in the 2021 Census?
Clarington counted 101,427 people in the 2021 Census, up 10.2 percent from 2016, spread over about 611 square kilometres.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile, Clarington, Wikipedia, Clarington
Clarington Quiz
Which Beatle was meant to headline a 1970 festival at Mosport?
John Lennon was set to headline the Strawberry Fields Festival in August 1970 but pulled out after a dispute with the promoter. Alice Cooper and Jethro Tull played anyway.
Source: Wikipedia, Clarington
Clarington History
Which old mill still stands in downtown Bowmanville?
Vanstone's Mill on Bowmanville Creek still stands at King Street and Scugog Street. Another old mill on Soper Creek now houses the Visual Arts Centre.
Source: Wikipedia, Bowmanville
Clarington History
Who is Bowmanville named after?
Merchant Charles Bowman, who bought the village store around 1824 and set up the first post office. The settlement, once called Darlington Mills, became a town in 1858.
Source: Wikipedia, Bowmanville
Clarington Places
What is happening to the old Bowmanville Zoo grounds?
The Bowmanville Zoo closed in 2016. As of 2022, the municipality and volunteers were turning the grounds into a town park with trails.
Source: Wikipedia, Clarington
Clarington History
What was Camp 30 in Bowmanville?
Built as the Bowmanville Boys Training School in the late 1920s, it held German prisoners of war from late 1941. It became a National Historic Site in September 2013.
Source: Wikipedia, Bowmanville POW camp
Clarington History
What did Canadian guards use to end a standoff at Camp 30 in 1942?
Hockey sticks and fire hoses. Prisoners had barricaded themselves in the mess hall to resist being shackled, and after hours of scuffling they gave up peacefully.
Source: Wikipedia, Bowmanville POW camp
Clarington Culture
Which 1980s rock band formed in Newcastle?
Chalk Circle, whose Canadian hits included April Fool and Me, Myself and I.
Source: Wikipedia, Newcastle, Ontario
Clarington Quiz
How many Santa Claus parades does Clarington hold?
Five, in Bowmanville, Newcastle, Courtice, Orono and Enniskillen-Tyrone. That is more than any other town-sized municipality in Canada. One is a farmers' parade of lights.
Source: Wikipedia, Clarington
Clarington Quiz
What was Courtice once called?
The settlement grew around the Ebenezer Church and was called Ebenezer for a time. Its current name comes from Thomas Courtice, who arrived from Devon, England, in 1831.
Source: Wikipedia, Courtice
Clarington History
How long did it take to build the Darlington nuclear station?
Concrete was first poured in June 1981, but the four units only came online between 1990 and 1993. The delays and costs helped lead to the breakup of Ontario Hydro in 1999.
Clarington Numbers
How much of Ontario's electricity comes from Darlington?
About 20 percent. Darlington's four CANDU reactors produce up to 3,512 megawatts, enough to serve a city of two million people.
Clarington Numbers
How much garbage does the Durham-York Energy Centre burn?
About 140,000 tonnes a year from Durham and York regions. The plant opened in 2016 and turns the waste into 20 megawatts of electricity.
Source: Wikipedia, Clarington
Clarington Quiz
True or false: Formula One once raced in Clarington.
Mosport, now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, hosted the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix until 1977, when the race moved to Montreal.
Clarington History
Which giant science project did Clarington once bid for?
ITER, the international fusion energy reactor. Clarington was a candidate site in 2001, but the bid was withdrawn two years later.
Source: Wikipedia, Clarington
Clarington People
Which famous newspaper editor came from Newcastle?
Joseph E. Atkinson, who made the Toronto Star one of the largest and most influential newspapers in Canada.
Source: Wikipedia, Newcastle, Ontario
Clarington History
Who helped deliver the first mail around Courtice?
A mule. William Mulligan, the area's first mail carrier, made his rounds with his mule, which lived until 1863.
Source: Wikipedia, Courtice
Clarington Quiz
In which Clarington hamlet was Sam McLaughlin born?
Sam McLaughlin, whose company became General Motors of Canada, was born in Enniskillen. The hamlet's general store opened in 1840 and is still running.
Source: Wikipedia, Clarington