Cookstown, Ontario: A Town Worth Slowing Down For
Written by Jordana Jones
Cookstown local Jordana Jones gives us an inside look at the quiet magic of Cookstown. Here you’ll find the way to cozy coffee shops, enchanting antiques, and community spirit that can only be experienced by those willing to slow down.
Driving home from the organic farm where I buy our produce, Cookstown Greens, my toddler eats three whole carrots in the backseat in the ten minutes it takes us to get home. I have one too: the sweetest carrot I’ve ever tasted. When I moved my family from Toronto to Cookstown three years ago, I knew we were trading the fast pace of the city for a quiet town an hour north.
I understood what we were giving up, but I didn’t know yet what we would gain.
I would soon discover the only way to experience Cookstown is to step out of the constant pursuit and slow down.
To most people speeding along the 400, Cookstown is little more than the exit for Tanger Outlets. But cross the highway to the town itself and you will find a walkable, deeply honest place with hardworking businesses that do things a bit differently.
At the Mad Hatter’s Table, my day starts with a friendly ring of the door and a barista who remembers me. Regulars stop their buoyant chatter and welcome me in, often even helping me get my stroller through the door. It’s a feeling of belonging that I always dreamed I would find in a small town like this. Around the corner, Woodcraft Bros dazzles visitors with handcrafted cutting boards and amazing focaccia sandwiches. And up the road, the Cookstown Antique Market is a cozy centuries-old barn brimming with ghosts, where ordinary objects become fantastical. Thirty-five vendors together under one roof create a meandering treasure hunt through objects that tell the stories of other lives, with new curiosities added all the time. And in the spring, the whole town opens up during the Wing Ding: a town-wide yard sale, a sprawling celebration of tchotchkes, sunlight, and community spirit.
Like many small towns in Ontario, Cookstown is evolving. What was once the Antique Capital of Ontario, with a Victorian tea room and fine dining restaurant, has gone through a fallow period, but slowly business is coming back. A few older buildings have come down, changing the look of Church Street. Yet the community spirit remains strong. The South Simcoe Theatre continues to put on thoughtful productions full of heart that prove the arts are essential for a healthy society. At the library, the librarians create programs that make every visit special and create a real sense of community.
Cookstown does not demand attention with flashy attractions, but that’s exactly why it’s worth a visit.
It’s a place where small details and slow moments come together to create an experience that gently glows, shimmers and shifts under the sands of history passing.
The next time you see the exit for Cookstown, I challenge you to spend a day where you can finally catch your breath. Ask for your coffee, for here, and see where the magic takes you.