Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along Highway 2. Bowmanville was first incorporated as a town in 1858, but later incorporated with the neighbouring townships of Clarke and Darlington in 1974 forming the Town of Newcastle, which was renamed in 1994 to the Municipality of Clarington. Bowmanville is part of the Greater Toronto Area. History Settlers were attracted to the area by the farmland, and creeks for water mills. The lands which would later become Bowmanville were first purchased by John Burk, who began to clear the forest. Mills were built first on Barber's Creek (now called Bowmanville Creek), including one still standing, now called Vanstone's Mill, at the present-day intersection of King Street and Scugog St. More mills were built on nearby Soper Creek, including another mill still standing as the municipality's Visual Arts Centre which has been designated as an architecturally protected historical building. Burke later sold his land to Lewis Lewis. Lewis opened the first store in what was then called Darlington Mills. The store was purchased in about 1824 by Charles Bowman (for whom the town was eventually named) who then established the first post office. Its first postmaster was Robert Fairbairn, who ran the post office from 1828 to 1857. Bowmanville incorporated as a town in 1858. By 1866, Bowmanville was a town with a population of about 3,500 in the township of Darlington, County Durham. It was a station of the Grand Trunk Railway. It was established on the north shore of Lake Ontario. It possessed a good harbour and there was extensive water power in the vicinity. The surrounding country was fertile. The success of the Vanstone Mill, fueled by the machinery of the Crown's land grant program, led to the rapid expansion of the Bowmanville settlement in the early years of the 19th century. Under the generous yet discriminate eyes of wealthy local merchants such as John Simpson and Charles Bowman, small properties would often be sold to promote settlement and small business. The town soon developed a balanced economy; all the while gradually establishing itself as a moderate player in shipping, rail transport, metal works and common minor business (including tanneries, liveries, stables and everyday mercantile commodity exchange). By the time of Confederation, Bowmanville was a vital, prosperous and