Nathaniel Roszel, a native of Pennsylvania, was the first white settler in Erin Township. He took up the land at Lot One, Concession 7 in November 1820. On November 11, 1821, his son Benjamin, the first white child was born. It was here the hamlet of Ballinafad sprang up, and here, Erin Township began.
The next year, 1821, William How and his family came from Kent, England, and made Lots 22 and 23, Concession 7, their home in what is now Hillsburgh. The settlement that Mr. How started was called Howville but in 1823 Nazareth Hill took possession of Lot 25 and built the first hotel on the site of today's Foodland. The name of the settlement was changed to Hillsburgh.
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There is controversy over the first settler and founder of Erin Village and the founding date. C. J. MacMillan felt that one of his relatives, Daniel MacMillan, was the first settler. However, accounts in both the historical atlas of Wellington County and the Credit Valley report tend to cooroborate the fact that the first sawmill was built by the Trout family in 1826 at the lower dam. This sawmill eventually fell to a Mr. William Chisholm. Daniel MacMillan bought the Trout sawmill after having previously rented it. Nevertheless, the man responsible for the growth of the village was indeed Daniel MacMillan, aided by his brothers Hugh and Charles. The village's original name was Macmillan's Mill to Erinsville in 1851, which was later shortened to Erin.
Crewsons Corners is comprosed of the corners of four townships in two counties, the south corner of the Town of Erin, the east corner of Guelph Eramosa, in Wellington, the west corner of Esquesing and the north corner of Nassagaweya, in Halton Hills. It was first called Ryckman's Corner after Samuel Ryckman, the surveryor, who laid out Eramosa and Nassagaweya but later changed to Crewsons Corners for the first family to live in the area.
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Crewsons Corners was in close proximity to the Old York Trail, the main road from Guelph to Toronto, now known as Highway # 7. Although the Grand Trunk Railway passes closely to Crewsons Corners, the station was built in Acton. The small community consisted of a general store, post office, Methodist Church, a succession of schools, a brickyard and sawmill. Telephone came to Crewsons Corners in 1910 and rural mail delivery in 1912. A subdivision of estate homes is being built on the original Crewson farm. The farm's stone barn built in 1845 has been restored as a residence and is being designated as a heritage building.
The farmhouse built in 1833 has been saved also for possible future restoration.
Ballinafad was named after a village in Ireland and is the location of the home of the first white settler in Erin Township, who came to the area from Pennsylvania in 1821. The community grew to include a general store and post office which is still running today. There was also a school, a United Church which still hosts United Church Suppers to this day, a temperance hall, parsonage, two hotels, one that was lost to fire but was one of the last remaining hotels in the area, a chopping mill, two blacksmith shops, a wagonmaker, a pumpmaker and a shoemaker. The Methodist Church with a Good Templar's Hall on the second floor stood in the location of the current Ballinafad Community Centre. Ballinafad was a stop along The Old York Trail to Toronto from Guelph. A stagecoach ran from Georgetown to Erin in 1871.
Brisbane is located at the corner of the "Guelph Road" or Wellington Rd. 124 and Trafalgar Rd. The village was originally named Bristol and was surveyed in 1854. In the early days, Brisbane had a blacksmith shop, gunsmith, woodworking shop, and two hotels. The original post office was located at the site of the PetroCan station and mail was brought from Guelph by stage coach. The stage coach travelled between Guelph and Erin daily except for Sundays and could carry 6 - 8 passengers as well as the mail. A version of this stage coach can be seen at the Santa Claus Parade on the Town of Erin float every few years.
Ospringe was named from a village in England, a suburb of Canterbury in the county of Kent, from which came the first settlers around the immediate corner in 1842. The settlement began earlier (1831) but wasn't named. A toll gate was located in Ospringe on the Erin and Guelph Road in 1875. The hamlet boasted two grocery stores, the Fielding Hotel, a United Church, two blacksmith shops, a woodworking shop, a shoemaker and a China & Gift shop with a population of 110 in 1897, quite a thriving little community in its early days.
Cedar Valley was originally called Slabtown in the eighteen hundreds. The name was taken because of the sawmill operation by the Tarzwell family that was operated in the hamlet. Cedar Valley baosed a pump manufacturing business, a planing mill and blacksmith shop, a grocery store, a church and a welding shop in its early days. Cedar Valley had its first telephone in 1910, rural mail delivery in 1912, their first hydro in the 1940's, street lights in 1962 and the road to Hillsburgh (Station Street) was hardtopped in 1965.
Orton was first named "Little Chicago", but was later named Orton in honour of the Dr. Orton of Fergus, who so faithfully looked after his rural patients in those horse and buggy/cutter days. Orton was on the Credit Valley Railway line from 1879, with the station on the Garafraxa side. Early Orton was a thriving community with a railway station, post office, Royal Bank, 2 stores, a blacksmith shop, chopping mill, fire hall, sawmill and shingle mill, hotel, a Methodist Church, school and baseball park. The hotel and school became private residences.
The material presented here is reproduced with permission from The History of Wellington County by Jean F. Hutchison, printed by Landsborough Printing Limited. The Town is not responsible for any inaccuracies.
We honour our fallen soldiers at the Cenotaph in the Village of Erin. Remembrance Day Ceremonies and Parades take place from the cenotaph to the Royal Canadian Legion Erin Branch #442 every Remembrance Day.
Did you know:
The origin of the names of Hillsburgh Streets :
1. Anne Street - names after Anne Wheeler, daughter of miller and farmer Aaron Wheeler who first owned Lot #25, 8th Concession where the street is located.
2. Elizabeth Street - named after Elizabeth How. The store was right on its corner.
3. George Street - likely named after George Henshaw who served as the first representative of Erin Township to the Wellington County Council in 1842.
4. Jane Street - perhaps named after the admired widow of George Lane. She taught school and raised two boys, after her husband died.
Old Township of Erin and Village of Erin information has been archived at the Wellington County Museum.
For more interesting historical information please visit or contact:
Wellington County Museum & Archives
RR#1 Fergus, ON
N1M 2W3
0536 County Road 18
(between Fergus and Elora)
or visit www.wcm.on.ca
Interesting historical books:
1. Hillsburgh's Heydey by Patricia Kortland printed by the Boston Mills Press
2. Centennial History 1842 - 1967 - Erin Township and Erin Village - author unknown
3. The History of Wellington County by Jean F. Hutchison printed by Landsborough Printing Limited
4. Main Street - A Pictorial History of Erin Village - coopeerative effort by Annie Cook, Bill Weber and Jean Denison - published by the Boston Mills Press
5. Early History of the Township of Erin by C. J. McMillan printed by the Boston Mills Press
We have used interesting excerpts from these books within the website. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in these books.