Newcastle is a community in the municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The community inherits the former name of the present-day municipality which it belongs to. Newcastle is located about 80 km east of Toronto, and about 18 km east of Oshawa and Bowmanville on Highway 401. It is also the southern terminus of Highway 35 and Highway 115. It has been named one of the best small towns in Ontario, by Comfort Life, a website for retirement living in Canada. History Newcastle was incorporated as a town in 1856. It remained a small community until the 1990s, when new residential development began and the population quickly swelled. Newcastle had a jail in the late 1800s. Maps of Newcastle from those years have not been discovered. Many have tried to find the location of this jail, but it is believed that it was either demolished or destroyed by the elements. There are jail cells in the Newcastle Community Hall. Newcastle is surrounded by farms raising cattle, pigs, apples, grain, and corn. The town has a community hall, donated by the Massey family, one public high school (Clarke), two public elementary schools (Newcastle Public School and The Pines Senior Public School), one Catholic elementary school (St. Francis of Assisi), a post office, churches, a few plazas, several small parks, six restaurants, Tim Hortons, a recreation complex, an ice arena, a new fire hall, two grocery stores (Foodland and No Frills), professional offices, hardware stores, a marina on Lake Ontario, and a golf course (Newcastle Golf Course). Post office The first Post office was opened in Newcastle in 1845 with John Short serving as Postmaster. Since that time, Newcastle has had ten postmasters with Charles Gray being the last (in 1991). Following Gray's retirement, Canada Post closed the Post Office since it was deemed too small. Most rural route and suburban mail is now handled by the Bowmanville Canada Post. Notable residents Joseph E. Atkinson (December 23, 1865 – May 7, 1948) was a Canadian newspaper editor and activist. Under his leadership, the Toronto Star became one of the largest and most influential newspapers in Canada. Charles Brent, Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States, born and raised in Newcastle in 1862. Chalk Circle, a 1980s rock band, was formed in the village. They had hits in Canada with songs like "April Fool," "Me, Myself and I," and