First we kicked out the natives…
It all started in 1650 when French missionaries came to this area and wiped out once plentiful Hurons. OK, to be fair, it were not just the missionaries, Iroquois and European diseases played a role too. The region was open to Mississauga natives (then called Ojibwa) who moved in. They only stayed for 200 years, and by 1850 were conveniently moved to the Six Nations Reserve.
Then, we split the land…
In 1781 the British Government started purchasing land from the Mississauga Nation and in 1818, they bought what are now the townships of Esquesing and Nassagaweya. Charles Kennedy was hired to survey the northern part of the townships and received land as payment for his work.
The Kennedy’s were five brothers- Charles, John, Morris, Samuel and George. They all acquired land close to one another in the Silver Creek Valley. A few years later, their brother-in-law, Benajah Williams came and settled in the area that is now Glen Williams.
Charles Kennedy built a sawmill in the area where Main Street meets Wildwood Road. George Kennedy built another mill off of the 10th line and that became the centre of a small settlement.
At the same time the Stewart Brothers had a prosperous mill a short distance to the west, in Esquesing Village, now called Stewarttown,. It was on the main north-south route to the steamships at the Oakville harbour.
James McNab also had a prosperous mill in Norval.
In 1828, John Galt opened the road which connected the settlement around the three mills.
And the town starts to grow. Kennedy's Mill was prosperous and he added a grist mill, foundry and a woollen mill, using power provided by Silver Creek. But the business slowed down, (which is where the nick-name 'Hungry Hollow' comes from) and around 1834-1837 George sold the mills to the Barber brothers. It was about 1837 when the area became to be known as Georgetown. When Georgetown was booming, in the 1850s, George Kennedy had his land split into town lots and named the streets after his children. ( You thought naming the car after your kid was generous). He died in 1870. George Kennedy played an important part in transforming the farm land into a prosperous industrial town. Barber brothers built mill. They produced more wallpaper than any other plant in the province, and that was only by 1850s! The Barbers were also the first manufacturers in North America to operate their mills by hydro electric power. The paper mill and the ruins of the electric dynamo can still be seen along the Credit River and I wonder what made the builder give up on his plans to rebuild the mill? Railroad brought new opportunities for the farmers. In May 1852 a rail route through Georgetown, Brampton and Weston to Toronto was announced and four years later, in 1856, after the Grand Trunk Railway was opened, Georgetown became the railroad centre. About 20 years later it was connected with the Hamilton and Northwestern Railway. In 1917 rail connection to the Toronto Suburban Railway was inaugurated (also known as the Radial Line since it radiated out of the centre of Toronto). This was very important for Georgetown as it connected the industry and farmers with the city. It also brought plenty of business to hotels such as the Railroad Exchange (still across from the railway station). The Clark and Bennett Houses were the hot spots of the time where traveling salesmen would close the deals with local farmers.
Why they call it Delrex?
Georgetown started with 700 settlers in 1845 and when it was finally incorporated as a village in 1864, there were about 1,400 people. The community grew steadily, becoming a town in 1922 and by the end of World War II it’s population grew to almost 4,000.
Town started to grow rapidly after the arrival of Rex Heslop who transformed the farms on the eastern edge of town into the Delrex subdivision. Heslop was a businessman and developer ( he’s the guy that built Rexdale in Etobicoke). He developed Georgetown’s oldest subdivision, Delrex, and to make sure his legacy won’t be forgotten, named the streets after him Rexway, Heslop, Delrex.
Rex ran into political problems and got tired of cat fighting so he sold his interest. By 1960 Georgetown had reached a population of 10 000 and a year later the community had its own hospital.
Where did the French come from?
After WWII, in 1947, a boys orphanage from St. Catherines relocated to Georgetown. It was operated by Father Clovis Beauregard and his niece, Therese St Jean. The Acadian boys from the orphanage remained in Georgetown and learned apple farming. Other Acadian families moved in to help with the apple business. In 1957 they formed a French-Canadian Association and by 1966, about 150 French-speaking Catholic families rededicated the old Holy Cross Church as L'Eglise Sacre Coeur.
Georgetown becomes part of Halton Hills
On January 1, 1974, Georgetown together with Acton, Milton, Oakville, Burlington and most part of the Esquesing Township became part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, and is known as the Town of Halton Hills. New neighbourhoods grew, Moore Park in 1962, Georgetown South in 1989, Arbour Glen, Stewart Mills and Four Corners. And the town keeps flourishing.
Georgetown grew as new neighbourhoods were added. The oldest section is around Main Street and Church Street. The arrival of the railway produced a new section - around King Street and Queen Street. The Delrex subdivision was the third part of the town that was added. Shortly after Delrex, Moore Park was developed. In 1989, the Georgetown South development began and the town has grown considerably since that point.
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
Keep up the good work!!