Speyside, Ontario

Last updated
Speyside
Unincorporated community
Speyside, Ontario.jpg
Entering Speyside from the south along Highway 25
Halton locator map 2021.svg
Red pog.svg
Speyside
Location of Speyside
Canada Southern Ontario location map 2.png
Red pog.svg
Speyside
Speyside (Southern Ontario)
Coordinates: 43°34′41″N79°58′34″W / 43.57806°N 79.97611°W / 43.57806; -79.97611 Coordinates: 43°34′41″N79°58′34″W / 43.57806°N 79.97611°W / 43.57806; -79.97611
Country Canada
Province Ontario
Regional municipality Halton
Town Halton Hills
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
GNBC CodeFCRCB [1]

Speyside is an unincorporated community in Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. [1]

Once a thriving pioneer community, little remains of the original settlement. [2]

The Bruce Trail and Speyside Resource Management Area are located near the settlement. [3]

History

Abandoned business in Speyside Abandoned store - Speyside, Ontario.jpg
Abandoned business in Speyside

Early settlers believed a local creek resembled the River Spey in Scotland, and named the new settlement "Speyside". [2]

Between the 1850s and 1870s, Speyside had a hotel (the Stewart Hotel), two general stores, a village hall (used as a school), a tannery, a blacksmith, two saw mills, and a stone quarry. [2] [4] The settlement had seven streets and several houses. [2] The population in 1874 was 200. [4] Speyside had a post office from 1873 to 1914. [5]

By 1908, the population had declined to 40. [6]

An oak tree in Speyside is recognized for its historic importance. The tree was grown from an acorn of an English oak growing in Royal Park in Windsor, England. The acorns were sent across the Commonwealth to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The acorn was planted at a nearby school in 1937, and then transplanted to the school in Speyside when it opened in 1960. The school closed in 1986. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak</span> Tree or shrub in the genus Quercus

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus, as well as in those of unrelated species such as Grevillea robusta and the Casuarinaceae (she-oaks). The genus Quercus is native to the Northern Hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and North Africa. North America has the largest number of oak species, with approximately 160 species in Mexico of which 109 are endemic and about 90 in the United States. The second greatest area of oak diversity is China, with approximately 100 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milton, Ontario</span> Town in Ontario, Canada

Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing municipality in Canada, with a 71.4% increase in population from 2001 to 2006 and another 56.5% increase from 2006 to 2011. In 2016, Milton's census population was 110,128 with an estimated growth to 228,000 by 2031. It remained the fastest growing community in Ontario but was deemed to be the sixth fastest growing in Canada at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown, Ontario</span> Community in Ontario, Canada

Georgetown is a large unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Halton. The town includes several small villages or settlements such as Norval, Limehouse, Stewarttown and Glen Williams near Georgetown and another large population centre, Acton. In 2016, the population of Georgetown was 42,123. It sits on the banks of the Credit River, approximately 40 km west of Toronto, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. Georgetown was named after entrepreneur George Kennedy who settled in the area in 1821 and built several mills and other businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halton Hills</span> Town in Ontario, Canada

Halton Hills is a town in the Regional Municipality of Halton, located in the northwestern end of the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada with a population of 61,161 (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erin, Ontario</span> Town in Ontario, Canada

Erin is a town in Wellington County, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Erin is bordered by the Town of Caledon, Ontario to the east, the Town of Halton Hills to the south, the Township of Guelph/Eramosa to the west and the Township of East Garafraxa to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acton, Ontario</span> Rural area in Ontario, Canada

Acton is a community located in the town of Halton Hills, in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. At the northern end of the Region, it is on the outer edge of the Greater Toronto Area and is one of two of the primary population centres of the Town; the other is Georgetown. From 1842 until 1986, the town was a major centre for the tanning and leather goods industry. In the early years, it was often referred to as "Leathertown".

Airlie is an unincorporated rural community in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilmacolm</span> Village in Inverclyde, Scotland

Kilmacolm is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley, 7+12 miles southeast of Greenock and around 15 miles (24 km) west of the city of Glasgow. The village has a population of around 4,000 and is part of a wider civil parish which covers a large rural hinterland of 15,000 hectares containing within it the smaller settlement of Quarrier's Village, originally established as a 19th-century residential orphans' home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair Oak</span> Human settlement in England

Fair Oak is a large village to the east of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. Together with the village of Horton Heath, which lies to the south, it is part of the civil parish of Fair Oak and Horton Heath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashburn, Ontario</span> Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Ashburn is a hamlet in the town of Whitby, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada, located approximately 15 kilometres north of the town core, and centred on the intersection of Ashburn Road and Myrtle Road. It is a rural settlement area on the Oak Ridges Moraine, situated on the headwaters of the Lynde Creek watershed and part of Ontario's protected Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halton (provincial electoral district)</span> Provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada

Halton was a provincial electoral district in Central Ontario, Canada. It elected one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norval, Ontario</span> Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Norval is an unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada, within the Regional Municipality of Halton. Situated on the Credit River at the intersection of Highway 7 and Winston Churchill Boulevard, it is located immediately east of Georgetown and approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) west of the current urban boundary of Brampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banda, Ontario</span> Unincorporated rural community in Ontario, Canada

Banda is an unincorporated rural community in Dufferin County, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haltonville, Ontario</span> Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Haltonville is an unincorporated community in Milton, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living Springs, Ontario</span> Unincorporated rural community in Ontario, Canada

Living Springs is an unincorporated rural community in Centre Wellington Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. The settlement was part of West Garafraxa Township until 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rural Municipality of Ste. Anne</span> Rural municipality

Ste. Anne is a rural municipality in the Eastman Region of Manitoba, Canada, lying southeast of Winnipeg. The separately-administered town of Ste. Anne lies within the geographic borders of the municipality, in its northwestern part.

Boisdale is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island. It was named for Lochboisdale, the main village of the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Neil Campbell was granted land in the area in 1836. In 1821, Thomas Lockman, an Irishman who came to Cape Breton in 1799 and lived at Lloyds Cove, petitioned for land, and got a grant next to Neil Campbell's lot in 1842. Angus McIntyre got a grant in 1846, and in 1869, land at what was then called Boisdale was granted to Dugald O'Henley. Farming and lumbering were the basic industries. In 1840, a small log church was constructed by Father John Grant on where the present-day church resides. It was replaced by a new building in 1862, which burned down in September 1928. In 1846, Boisdale Parish was officially erected. A post office was established at Boisdale Chapel in 1854. On October 1, 1873 a new post office was established with Michael McIntyre as office keeper. In 1874, the total population of Boisdale, was that of 500. During this time, the area had 1 store, 3 sawmills, 1 grist mill, and a post office, of which mail was delivered bi-weekly. By 1908, it contained 1 hotel, 2 general stores, 1 saw mill, and 2 gristmills. The population at that time, was 300. In 1915, a newer 40,000 gallon open-wood tank was built replacing an older 40,000 gallon wood tank, for the water services within the area. Father Alexander F. MacGillivray, whom was the fifth pastor of Boisdale, had installed the bell within St. Andrew's Church in Boisdale, in 1882, and had built the Glebe house there in 1890. A new and larger bell, cast by the Meneely Bell Company of New York, was installed in St. Andrew's Church, by Father MacGillivray, on Nov. 14, 1897. In 1921, Father Gillis built St. Andrew's Parish Hall, James Johnston of Red Islands, Nova Scotia was the contractor. The formal opening of the hall was held on September 13, 1921. The original St. Andrew's Parish Church was destroyed by fire on Sunday, September 11, 1927. Construction of a new stone church commenced in June 1929, with help from workers from Quebec. The design style of the church was inspired by the Norman architecture as well as the St Mary the Virgin, Iffley church in England. Link, Weber, and Bowers, architects hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed the architecture of the church. The approximate cost of the church was $55,000, but the exterior walls had to be repointed during the summer of 1930, which added an extra $7,500 to the total cost. The new church was blessed on Sunday, August 31, 1930, by Bishop James Morrison, assisted by the late Bishop Alexander MacDonald. In 1931, the total population of Boisdale was 449. There was also a train station located on Station Road, in Boisdale during this time. The former Glebe House for St. Andrew's Church was burnt down in 2011, due to a fire. Dugald Smith was the teacher in 1839, and a school-house had been constructed by that time. A new school-house was completed in 1917. Education within the area dates back to the early 1800s, with the Boisdale Consolidated School closing in 2003. The enrolment for the school, in the 1957–1958 academic year, were 82 students, and 3 teachers. By the 1987 Academic year, there were only 21 students, all within grades primary-second, and fourth. In 1943, within what is now known as Ironville, then known as Boisdale Barrachois until 1907, a youth summer camp was built. The two-week summer camp operated from 1943, until its closure in the 1980s. Efforts were made in 1997 to re-open the camp in the spring of 1998. The camp officially closed in 2010, due to the deterioration of some of the buildings. The property in which the youth camp was on, was sold in 2013. In August 1977, the community of Boisdale, as well as Father Webb, unveiled and held a ceremony for the opening of an indoor stone, ice-skating rink. Father Webb also built a Co-op store, in the 70s. A new hall above the store replaced the old Holyrood Hall, which burned down on December 18, 1975. By 1956, the population of Boisdale was 133. Over the years the population decreased, down to 138 by 1991, and estimated to be 105 by the 2001 Census.To the Hill of Boisdale,a book on the genealogical history of Boisdale was published in 1986, and later in a revised edition in 2001, by Father Allan MacMillan, then Priest of the Diocese of Antigonish. Highland Gold Maple, a family-owned and operated sugar maple producer, has been operating within the area for over fifteen years. In late April 2018, their operation burned to the ground due to a fire. By March 2019, Highland Gold Maple had rebuilt the Sugar Shack and are back in operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palermo, Ontario</span> Former village in Ontario, Canada

Palermo, founded as Hagartown, is a former village in Halton County, Ontario, Canada which has been amalgamated into the town of Oakville.

Esquesing Township was a municipality within the historic Halton County in Ontario, Canada. It is today a geographic township in the town of Halton Hills in the Regional Municipality of Halton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumnock, Ontario</span> Unincorporated rural community in Ontario, Canada

Cumnock is an unincorporated rural community in Centre Wellington Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. Cumnock was part of Nichol Township until 1999.

References

  1. 1 2 "Speyside". Natural Resources Canada. October 6, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Clarke, Gwen (June 2, 1955). "Speyside Looks Back to Century of Activity With Sawmills, Hotels, Hop Kilns and Quarry" (PDF). The Canadian Champian.
  3. "Halton Hills Cultural Master Plan" (PDF). Town of Halton Hills. May 2013.
  4. 1 2 Crossby, Peter Alfred (1874). Lovell's Gazetteer of British North America. Lovell. p. 320.
  5. "Speyside". Library and Archives Canada. May 27, 2014.
  6. Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada (PDF). John Lovell & Son. 1908. p. 878.
  7. Niblock, Frances (July 17, 2008). "Royal Oak at Speyside Designated Ont. Heritage" (PDF). The New Tanner.