The Town of Erin covers 360 square kilometres or 140 square miles. .jpg)
There are 11,830 residents within the Town - 3900 households.
The Town of Erin Roads Department maintains 288.55 km of roads and 50 bridges.
Erin was named by the surveyors for Ireland because it was surveyed immediately after Albion, named for England and Caledon, named for Scotland.
The survey of the south half of the municipality took place in 1819 and the north half in 1820. You may have noticed the slight jog in the lines at Sideroad 17 where the surveys didn't quite meet up.
In 1841 the Governor General of Canada issued a proclamation to provide for government of the District of Wellington, which was formed as a part of Upper Canada.
On the 8th day of February 1842, the Township of Erin was represented by George Henshaw at the Guelph Courthouse.
With the arrival of the Credit Valley Railway, the population of the Village of Erin increased to the point that it was able to seperate from the Township of Erin in 1879. The Village of Erin became incorporated and formed its own Council. It was amalgamated with the Township to form the Town of Erin in 1998.
| The Elora Cataract Trailway now follows the route of the Credit Valley Railway. In its day, four Credit Valley Railway trains ran through Hillsburgh and Erin. Before it was abandoned and transformed into the trailway, the rail line had been a branch of CP Rail. |
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Back Then......
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And Now......
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The first Council meeting was held January 5th, 1824. The location of the very first Town Hall has not been confirmed. The second Town Hall was built in 1887 in cooperation with the Oddfellows and Workmen Societies. It was a two-storey brick building, the second storey being used for the lodge room of the two societies. The building was sold in 1962 to Bruce Morette and is now being used as a showroom for Morette's Furniture on the Main Street of Hillsburgh.
How's Store was the first store in the Village of Hillsburgh. There was an incident with gunpowder that destroyed the first actual building, but the "Hall's" Store is still sitting on the site of the original. It is now a family home and rental unit. The building has retained much of its original character and looks much the same now as it did then.
From the 1860's to the 1880's, the former Wellington Rd. 124 and Trafalgar Rd. were both toll roads, with toll gates approximately every 8 miles.
Bill McLachlan in Hillsburgh was the first Chevy dealership in Canada with an indoor showroom - now the Split Rail Tack and Feed Shop.
Mr. James Russell, first station agent in Hillsburgh, had the first car in Hillsburgh. It was a 1911 Regal.
In the Hills of Headwaters hikers can enjoy 400 kilimtres of walking trails.
Hopedale Ponds (corner of the Eighth Line and Sideroad 27) has been hatching trout since the 1860's, making it one of the first commercial hatcheries in Canada.
The abundant water power of the Credit River attracted millers to this area in the late 1820's. By 1850, with the addition of other small industries, Erin had become a significant milling and manuarfacturing centre for the region.
Did you know that in the 1800's the Township of Erin and the Village of Erin were home to no less than .JPG)
five hotels?
The Globe Hotel in Erin (now the location of the Credit River Motor Company)
The Queen's Hotel in Erin (at 77 Main Street)
The Wellington Hotel in Hillsburgh (now a residence)
The Grand Central Hotel (where the Royal Bank in Hillsburgh stands)
and the Exchange Hotel in Hillsburgh as seen today (to the right)
The way it was.....and the way it is more recently.
Many of the original hotels were lost to fire or demolished to make room for new development.
Our local newspaper, the Erin Advocate, was founded in 1880 and is still publishing local weekly news toaday.
The now hamlet of Orton was nicknamed "Little Chicago" and actually had a hotel, bank and general store and the bank safe is still in the building which is still standing, as it is too big to move. In 1912 Orton had rural mail, telephone in 1911, hydro and electric lights in 1932.
Some interesting and "fun" facts:
Do you remember when ..... or can you find these places in the Town of Erin?
Howville - now known as Hillsburgh - after Nazareth Hill
Plugtown - eastern corner - Lot 5 Con. 11
Slabtown - Cedar Valley - Fifth Line at Sideroad 24 - named because of the large sawmill operated in the 1800's by the Tarzwell Family.
Binkham - Wellington Rd. 22 between the Ninth and Tenth Lines
Coningsby - Fifth Line at Sideroad 17 - Lot 16, Con. 6
Cedarvale - Lot 8 Con. 5 - Fifth Line
Greenock - Lot 5 & 6, Con. 1, east corner of Sideroad 5 and First Line
Ryckman's Corners - renamed Crewson's Corners
Woodside - Sideroad 5 (Wellington Rd. 50) between the Fifth and Sixth Lines - Lot 5, Con. 5
Swackhammer's Corners - Third Line and Erin Halton Townline (Churchill)
Peacock Sideroad - Sideroad 5 (Wellington Rd. 50) at Trafalgar Rd.
Currie's Hill - Lot 13, Con. 4
Mimosa - East half Lot 26, Con. 2 now over to Wellington Rd. 26 at Sideroad 27 - Mimosa Church
Little Chicago - Hogtown - now named Orton - Erin East Garafraxa Townline between the Third and Fourth Lines
Chricket Hollow - Third Line north of Wellington Rd. 22
Gooseberry Hill - Eighth Line south of Wellington Rd. 22 (affectionately called Groundhog Hollow now)
Hopedale - Eighth Line at Sideroad 27
Moonshine Mountain - Sideroad 27 between the Fourth and Fifth Lines
Devonshire - now called Orangeville Street
Drumhill - Erin Eramosa Townline, Lots 25 and 26 - a small settlement in 1861 - there is nothing there today.
Deerpit - area down behind Centre 2000 formerly owned by the Deer Family.