From the archives: Elizabeth Arden
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Learn more about the city’s history from Vaughan Archives
From a farmland community to a bustling city centre and everything in between – Vaughan’s transformation is a story worth telling. As part of a monthly series, the City of Vaughan will be releasing historical content from the Vaughan Archives, Office of the City Clerk. Citizens are encouraged to scroll through memory lane, learn about the city’s past and explore the places, people and events that are pivotal to the development of the city of Vaughan that we know today.
From a farmland community to a bustling city centre and everything in between – Vaughan’s transformation is a story worth telling. As part of a monthly series, the City of Vaughan will be releasing historical content from the Vaughan Archives, Office of the City Clerk. Citizens are encouraged to scroll through memory lane, learn about the city’s past and explore the places, people and events that are pivotal to the development of the city of Vaughan that we know today.
Successful entrepreneur, beauty-industry marvel, passionate suffragette – most Canadians recognize the name Elizabeth Arden, but very few know her as a Vaughan personality. Ms. Arden is the second historical figure the City is highlighting in its new archival series.
Elizabeth Arden was born on New Year’s Eve in 1884 – her birth name was Florence Nightingale Graham. Her parents – William Graham and Susan Tadd – had emigrated to Canada from Cornwall, U.K. in the 1870s. In her early years, Ms. Arden grew up on a farm in Woodbridge with her four brothers and sisters.
She moved to Toronto when she was 18 years old to start nursing school. However, she soon dropped out of the program and held various jobs before moving to New York in 1908 to live with her brother, William. In New York, one of her first short-term jobs was as a bookkeeper at the E. R. Squibb Pharmaceuticals Co. There, she spent hours in the lab learning about skincare. She also held another brief – but critical – job with Eleanor Adair as a "treatment girl."
In 1910, Ms. Arden opened a salon in Manhattan, N.Y. with Elizabeth Hubbard on Fifth Avenue to pursue her new-found passion for the beauty industry. After that partnership failed, she travelled to France to learn beauty and massage techniques from Parisian salons. Upon her return to New York, she opened her own small beauty salon and soon after started her own line of cosmetics and facial products – now known as Elizabeth Arden, Inc. By 1915, she was well on her way to making her brand an international sensation. During this time, she was also an advocate for the everyday use of makeup by women – contrary to the then popular belief that makeup was a tool used only by street courtesans.
While leading the charge for change in the beauty industry, Ms. Arden also advocated for women’s rights. In 1912, she marched for this cause with 15,000 other activists. These women wore red lipstick (supplied by Arden) as a sign of solidarity, which later led her to develop her own special line of cosmetics for women serving in the military.
Ms. Arden returned to Vaughan in 1954 to open Dalziel Pioneer Park, more commonly known today as Black Creek Pioneer Village.
She passed away in 1966 at the age of 81 in New York and was buried with her birth name, Graham. Throughout her life, along with her outstanding entrepreneurship and activism, Ms. Arden received recognition abroad, most notably receiving the Legion d’Honneur Award by the French government in 1962 for her contributions to the cosmetics industry. At this time, there were more than 100 of her salons open around the world and more than 300 products in her beauty line.
ABOUT VAUGHAN ARCHIVES
Established in 1988, the City of Vaughan Archives is home to more than 600 collections, consisting of both City records and historical community records about Vaughan from 1860 to present day. Records include, but are not limited to, the following:
- City business records with long-term legal and administrative value, such as Council meeting minutes, by-laws, assessment rolls, financial records, reports and official correspondence
- church, community and school records
- census records
- historical photographs
- land records
- historical maps, plans and aerial photographs
- newspapers
- personal papers of past residents and founding families, such as diaries, family histories, journals and letters
- records of local organizations both past and present
VIEW VAUGHAN’S ARCHIVES ONLINE!
As part of the City's COVID-19 response, Vaughan City Hall remains closed to the public – but the City’s Archival Collection is on digital display for all to explore! The below galleries are now available in the City’s online gallery on Flickr:
- Featured Artists of Vaughan
- Historical Families of Vaughan
- Historical Figures: Sir Beaverbrook
- Historical Photography
- Recollections of Rural Vaughan
- The Mary Wood Collection
- The Way We Were: Representations of Vaughan’s Past
- Vaughan Working Environments
- Vaughan Through the Ages: Medicine aughan Through the Ages: Medicine
- Vaughan Through the Ages: Music
- Vaughan Through the Ages: Sports and Recreation
A personal Flickr account is not required to access the City’s online gallery, which contains only a small selection of the full archives collection. If you are looking for a certain image, original file, primary source record or more, contact the Vaughan Archives by calling 905-832-2281 or emailing archives@vaughan.ca.
By managing and preserving both City and community records, the Archives and Records Management Services team ensures that Vaughan’s rich and varied history will continue to be available for future generations. Learn more at vaughan.ca/archives.
First image: Elizabeth Arden and J. Dalziel sit together at the opening of Dalziel Pioneer Park in 1954.
Second image: Ms. Arden returned to Vaughan in 1954 to open Dalziel Pioneer Park, more commonly known today as Black Creek Pioneer Village.
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