About Us

Clay and Carol Benson opened their first antiques shop in Newcastle, Ontario in 1968. In 1971 C. Benson Antiques moved to Port Hope, Ontario and sold to dealers, collectors and museums from our home. During this time we travelled and bought extensively throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces.

In 1980 the now famous Port Hope flood devastated part of the downtown core. Some buildings were lost and 27 Walton St. was scheduled for demolition. A desire to save the original 1847 block resulted in the purchase of a very derelict but structurally sound building. A long difficult and expensive but ultimately rewarding restoration followed.

In 1985 we decided it was time for a main street location for our antiques business.

Smith’s Creek was a name we chose for our retail shop. (Port Hope began in 1792 as a Loyalist Settlement named Smith’s Creek).

In the beginning C. Benson Antiques (our original and current business name) joined four respected dealers in our building.

C. Benson Antiques continues to operate under the retail umbrella of Smith’s Creek Antiques.

With this website Smith’s Creek Antiques endeavors to make themselves available to interested collectors and dealers everywhere while maintaining a large fully stocked open store for hands on shoppers who prefer to buy the traditional way.

We invite you to visit us and spend time exploring Port Hope and Northumberland County’s shops, restaurants and historic sites and scenery.