Aylmer is located in southern Ontario just north of Lake Erie on Catfish Creek. It is 20 kilometres south of Highway 401. It is located on Highway 3 between St. Thomas to the west, and Tillsonburg to the east. In October 1817, John Van Patter, an emigrant from New York State, obtained 200 acres of land and was the first settler on the site of Aylmer. During the 1830s a general store was opened and village lots sold. Originally called Troy, in 1835 it was renamed Aylmer after Lord Aylmer, then Governor-in-Chief of British North America. By 1851 local enterprises included sawmills and...

Centre Wellington is a township in south-central Ontario. The primary communities in the township are Elora and Fergus. Some of the smaller communities are Alma, Salem, and Speedside. Parker was a settlement in Ontario, located along the Elora-Saugeen road. Settlers moved to the area to begin new lives and to farm. To provide accommodation for travelers in horse-drawn vehicles, a hotel opened in 1850. In 1865, Thomas Burns opened a post office which brought a few neighbouring businesses to the area. As travel became more modern, the need for overnight stay diminished and the town began to...

Tillsonburg is a town in Oxford County located about 50 kilometers southeast of London on Highway 3 at the junction of Highway 19 which connects to Highway 401. The area was settled in 1825 by George Tillson and other immigrants from Massachusetts. A forge and sawmill were erected and roads built which led to the establishment of a settlement on the Big Otter Creek originally called Dereham Forge. In 1836 the village was renamed Tillsonburg in honor of its founder. It was also in this year that the main street, Broadway, was laid out to its full 100-foot (30 meter) width. Because the village...

Arthur is located just north of Highway 6 and Wellington Road 109 in the township of Wellington North. Arthur, named for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was the southern terminus of the Garafraxa "colonization road" to Owen Sound. Settlers arrived in 1840 with the town site being officially surveyed in 1846. The establishment of saw and grist mills hastened growth in the community which was also the natural market centre for the area's agricultural production. In 1851 a post office was opened and the first church and school were organized. A weekly newspaper, The Arthur Enterprise News,...

Rockwood Rockwood is located on Highway 7 between Acton and the city of Guelph. The Eramosa River runs through the centre of the village. Early settlers to this area were Quakers. John Harris, the first settler, erected a shanty in 1821. In 1840 Colonel Henry Strange settled and brought further development to the area which became known as Strange's Mills. Strange was the Deputy Provincial Surveyor and he opened a lime quarry which provided stone for building mills. In the 1850s the community became known as Rockwood which reflected the lovely river valley, mixed forest, high rocky hills, and...