Alliston is a settlement in Simcoe County in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has been part of the Town of New Tecumseth since the 1991 amalgamation of Alliston and nearby villages of Beeton, Tottenham, and the Township of Tecumseth. The primary downtown area is located along Highway 89, known as Victoria Street.
The town grew as a commercial centre for the area farmers and was best known as a potato-growing area. It is still a major industry in the town and is celebrated by the annual Alliston Potato Festival.[1]Honda of Canada Manufacturing operates a large auto manufacturing facility southeast of Alliston, currently consisting of three major factories. In the 2016 census, the town of Alliston grew by 25% since 2011 to 19,243 residents making it one of the top 10 fastest growing communities in Canada. This is over 5 times greater than the average growth recorded in Ontario during the same period.[citation needed]
History
Alliston traces its history to three brothers, William, John and Dickson Fletcher. Dissatisfied with life in England, the three left for Toronto, working farms in Toronto Gore northwest of the city. In 1821 William purchased Lot 15, Concession 3, Tecumseth Township. He married in 1828, and in 1847 went scouting locations for the construction of a mill with his son John. They chose a location at Lot 1, Concession 1, Essa Township, at the corner where four of the original townships of southern Simcoe County (Adjala, Tosorontio, Essa, and Tecumseth) meet. In early November they built a cabin on the property, and the rest of the family joined them in April the next year. A larger house, known as Fletcher House, was built in 1849, and still stands at 18 Fletcher Crescent.
In 1853 the Fletchers built a grist mill on the Boyne River, a tributary of the Nottawasaga River which runs to the east. The first child born in the new town was Margaret Grant, who was later mother to Frederick Banting. An Orange Lodge was built in 1856, and the next year the members decided to name the village as Alliston. The precise origin of the name remains in some doubt, but the most common story is that it was named for William Fletcher's birthplace, likely Allerston in North Yorkshire.[2] A post office was set up the next year, with another Fletcher son, George, the first postmaster. Starting in 1862, George published "The Alliston Star" newspaper, which changed its name to "Alliston Herald" in 1871 and continues to be published today. The village was formally incorporated in 1874, with George Fletcher as the reeve.
Alliston, 1910
In 1875, the town was approached by the North Simcoe Railway to run a line from Penetanguishene through Alliston to join the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway. This venture came to nothing, but the organization set up to investigate it later turned to the Hamilton and North-Western Railway to build a new arm from Clarkstown (now Beeton) through Alliston to Collingwood. The town raised $8000 for its portion of the railway from Clarkstown to Glencairn, about half way to Collingwood.
Alliston was upgraded from "village" to "town" in 1891. On May 8 the same year a fire started in the stables of the Queen's Hotel, and was quickly spread by high winds. Collingwood was telegraphed for assistance and sent their fire engine by train, but the downtown area was gutted long before it could arrive. When it did arrive at about 3 in the afternoon, it was sent to the southern side of town where the fire was still burning. In all, 30 acres (120,000m2) of the town were destroyed by the fire, which received the attention of John A. Macdonald. This led to the creation of a waterworks the next year, which included twenty fire hydrants, and the addition of a hook and ladder truck in 1894.
A census in August 1902 stated that 1,475 people were living in the town. A new line of the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) reached the town in 1905 or early 1906, with trains arriving later in 1906. The local electric power company, Alliston Electric, was merged into Ontario Hydro on May 24, 1918.
Geography
The town has two parks: Riverdale Park to the north along the Boyne River and PPG Park to the south, by the local fire department. Major residential areas are located to the north (as Previn Court Homes) and to the south, with additional residential and commercial developments made since then in the northwest (as "Alliston West"), north and southwest since the mid-1990s, with future developments expected in the future that could raise the population from 17,000 to 20,000. The urban area stretches from west to east, is nearly 5km, and from north to south ranges from 300 m, 600 m to 3km. Another residential area, adjacent to the Nottawasaga Inn are located 5km east of Alliston- the first phase built is known as Green Briar; the second phase, to the west of the Inn is known as Briar Hill. The Nottawasaga River is situated east of the town; the Boyne River, which runs through Alliston, joins the Nottawasaga, just downstream from Nicolston Dam. The CPR (Toronto - Parry Sound - Sudbury) runs right up through the middle of town with a siding for Honda vehicles. Many other business thrive today in Alliston. Honda of Canada Manufacturing has two facilities. The CNR tracks through town were lifted about the mid-1990s and the right-of-way removed.
Earl Rowe Provincial Park is located three kilometers west of Alliston, in the amalgamated Township of Adjala-Tosorontio. It is one of the largest provincial parks in Southern Ontario.
The current mayor of New Tecumseth is Rick Milne who won the chair position on October 27, 2014. Milne is a former mayor of New Tecumseth, serving the community in 1984. Milne decided to re-run for the mayor position in the fall of 2014 when former mayor Mike MacEachern announced he would not be seeking re-election.[4]
Former mayor of New Tecumseth is Mike MacEachern, who completed three terms in office. MacEachern overlooked four communities within New Tecumseth which consist of Alliston, Beeton, Tecumseth and Tottenham. In addition to being mayor, MacEachern also held a position with the County of Simcoe being a member of the County's Performance Management Committee, a chair member with the Nottawasaga Police Board, member of the South Simcoe mayors association, and also an Executive Director of Focus Community Development Corporation.[5]
Since the amalgamation of Alliston, Beeton and Tottenham under the Town of New Tecumseth, New Tecumseth Fire Rescue has 3 stations with a total force of 105 personnel. The Alliston Fire Station, now known as New Tecumseth Fire Station 1, was founded as the Alliston Fire Brigade in 1906 after many years of having a non-incorporated Fire Brigade.
Economy
Honda of Canada Manufacturing has three plants producing vehicles and parts for the Americas. Plant 1 creating the new model Civic, Plant 2 creating the new model CRV and Plant 3 manufacturing engines for these and other plants in North America. Plant 1 opened in November 1986, with Plant 2 following 10 years later in 1998, and Plant 3 (Engine Plant) in 2008. The plants have a combined work force of 4,600 workers.[6][7]
The Alliston Business Improvement Association was originally established in 1988 as a promotional campaign and management system in the revitalization of downtown Alliston. They have hosted many community events including food truck rallies, holiday events, as well as being a large part of the Potato Festival's organization.[8]
Health care
Stevenson Memorial Hospital first opened in 1928, when donations from Theodore Loblaw, of the famed Loblaws grocery chain, conceived the idea of a hospital as a tribute to his grandparents, William and Elizabeth Stevenson. This fully accredited hospital serves a catchment area that includes Adjala-Tosorontio, Canadian Forces Base Borden, Essa, Innisfil and New Tecumseth. The hospital works in close cooperation with Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.
Jim Wilson - member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Susan Froud - a curler active on the World Curling Tour, she appeared in Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 and is a regular in the Ontario provincials.
Alliston has three public elementary schools (Ernest Cumberland, Alliston Union and Boyne River) and three Catholic elementary schools (Holy Family, St. Paul's and St. Cecilia). There is also one public high school, Banting Memorial High School.
Adjala–Tosorontio is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the County of Simcoe.
New Tecumseth is a town in Simcoe County, in south-central Ontario, Canada. While it is not officially a part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is counted, in terms of the census, as being a part of the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area.
Essa is a township in Ontario, Canada, west and south of the city of Barrie in Simcoe County. It is bounded by County Road 90 to its north, County Road 27 to its east, and Ontario Highway 89 to its south. The township is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Toronto. The township is well known for its agriculture industry, particularly potato farming. Nearby CFB Borden brings a strong military presence to the area as well, including a high number of Francophone families.
Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe area, a densely populated and industrialized region, centred on the Greater Toronto Area.
Clearview is a rural incorporated township in Simcoe County in Central Ontario, Canada, west of Barrie and south of Collingwood and Wasaga Beach in Simcoe County.
Simcoe—Grey is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997.
York—Simcoe is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1979, from 1988 to 1997 and since 2004.
Beeton is a small community located in southern Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada between Tottenham and Alliston; all three were amalgamated in 1991 into the single Town of New Tecumseth. Beeton was named for a local apiary. Formerly known as Clarksville for Robert Clark, an early settler; the name changed to Beeton in 1878 with possible reference to David Allanson Jones, postmaster and Bee King of Canada.
Simcoe South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925, and from 1979 to 1988. It was located north of Toronto in the province of Ontario. It was initially created by the British North America Act of 1867 when the County of Simcoe was divided into two ridings, to be called the South and North Ridings in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.
Peel—Dufferin—Simcoe was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1979. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1966 from parts of Peel—Dufferin riding.
Banting Memorial High School is a public secondary institution serving grades 9–12, located in Alliston, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Simcoe County District School Board and has a student population of 1530. The principal is Rob Poissant.
Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School, also known as NPSS, is a public secondary school in Angus, Ontario. The principal is Colleen Ireland. It opened in September 2011, and currently has curriculum for Grades 9–12. The school is part of the Simcoe County District School Board. The school serves secondary school students from a number of areas such as, Essa Township, Base Borden, Community of Angus, Tosorontio,a portion of Clearview Township and the south west corner of the City of Barrie, Ontario.
Simcoe—Grey is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999.
The Boyne River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a left tributary of the Nottawasaga River. The rivers falls within the jurisdiction of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority.
The Hamilton and North-Western Railway (H&NW) is a former railway in Ontario, Canada. It ran north from Hamilton on the western end of Lake Ontario to Collingwood on Georgian Bay and Barrie on Lake Simcoe. Through the purchase of the Hamilton and Lake Erie Railway, the route continued south from Hamilton to Port Dover on Lake Erie.
Saint Thomas Aquinas is a Catholic secondary school educating grades 9–12, located in Tottenham, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board. The school is named after Saint Thomas Aquinas, who is the patron saint of universities, Catholic schools and students. The school participates in county sporting events under the name of the "Stingers". The school was founded in 1969 and offers a range of classes to its students. The principal is Ann Sheehan. The school has an enrolment of about 600 students.
Stevenson Memorial Hospital is located in the New Tecumseth community of Alliston, Ontario. The hospital is considered a medium-size community hospital with 41 in-patient beds and many outpatient services. in the 2019-2020 fiscal year there were 2,627 inpatient stays with an average length of stay of 4.2 days, and 35,500 emergency department visits.
Earl Rowe Provincial Park is an Ontario Parks recreational park located in Adjala–Tosorontio near Alliston, Ontario.
Simcoe was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of the Province of Canada, in Canada West. It was created in 1841, upon the establishment of the Province of Canada by the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Simcoe was represented by one member in the Legislative Assembly. It was abolished in the redistribution of 1853, when it was split into Simcoe North and Simcoe South.
Elections were held in Simcoe County, Ontario on October 24, 2022 in conjunction with municipal elections across the province.
References
A brief history of Alliston, W. G. E. Cumberland, historical pamphlet published on the town's centennial in 1947.
1 Separated municipalities but remain a census subdivision of the county
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