History

Amalgamation

In the mid-1990s, the provincial government of the day – the Mike Harris led Progressive Conservatives, engaged in a major restructuring of municipal government in Ontario. The result of that restructuring was amalgamation.

A total of 850 municipalities across the province would shrink to 440 by January 1, 1999. One of those 440 newly created municipalities was the Township of Wellington North.

The creation of a new municipality was not as simple as telling the smaller municipalities to pick teams like one would in a pickup game of baseball; rather, some were told who they would be joining with, and a transition board for each new municipality would be formed to guide the process of bringing multiple municipalities into one.

The Town of Mount Forest, Village of Arthur, parts of the Townships of Arthur and West Luther, as well some of the outlying areas in the Townships of Peel and West Garafraxa make up the municipality we now know as the Township of Wellington North.

The Transition Board

The transition board – aptly named the Transition Board for Mount Forest, Arthur Village, Arthur Township, and West Luther Township – included representatives from all the former municipalities. Board members were Bruce Barton (Mayor of Mount Forest), Greg Boggs (Councillor of Arthur Village), Richard Gilder (Councillor of West Luther Township), Dorothy Jackson (Deputy-Reeve of Arthur Township), Murray Langdon (Reeve of West Luther Township), Harry Quartel (Reeve of Mount Forest), vice-chairman Don Ross (Reeve of Arthur Township), and chairman Clive Williams (Reeve of Arthur Village).

During 1998, the Transition Board met 21 times, discussing all matters to do with bringing four area municipalities into one.

Choosing a Name

In early 1998, a new name had not yet been chosen for the new municipality. The Transition Board decided that a referendum would be held to name the municipality. Some of the initial names suggested for the new municipality were Riverview, North Saugeen, Maple Heights, Kenilworth (one resident suggested the municipality be named after its most central area) and Wellington Heights.

Coincidentally, Wellington Heights ended up being the name selected for the new high school in Mount Forest, which opened in 2004 following the amalgamation of the Mount Forest and Arthur high schools.

On May 26, 1998, during a public meeting in Mount Forest that was attended by nearly 100 residents, the name “North Wellington” or “Wellington North” was identified as the favourite for the new municipality. Shortly after, it was recommended by the Transition Board that the new municipality be named the Township of Wellington North.

On January 25, 1999, Council officially approved the name Township as Wellington North as the new municipality’s name.

Another hurdle that the Transition Board had to overcome was the site selection for the new municipality’s offices. During the same May 26, 1998, public meeting, those in attendance believed Kenilworth to be the ideal site for the municipal office, as it was the most central point of the new township.

Other items the Transition Board dealt with were the hiring of staff for the new township, and the 1998 municipal election, including the voting method to elect Wellington North’s inaugural council. Telephone voting was identified as the voting method midway through 1998. It was also identified that one Mayor and four councillors (one for each of the four wards) would make up Wellington North Council.

Selecting the Municipal Office Location and First Election

Voting for the 1998 municipal election was held from November 5-9. Elected Wellington North’s first Mayor was Don Ross, the final Reeve of Arthur Township, with 1,501 votes. Mount Forest Deputy-Reeve Marion Reeves-Yake finished runner up, with 1,033 votes. Mount Forest Reeve Harry Quartel received 982 votes, and Douglas Teddiman received 183 votes.

Dan Yake (678 votes) was elected Ward 1 councillor, defeating Merv Weber (356 votes). In Ward 2, Mike Broomhead (756 votes) was elected councillor, defeating Bob Mason (376 votes). Gilbert Reid (352 votes) won the race for Ward 3 councillor over Don McWilliam (85 votes). And in Ward 4, Evelyne Near (567 votes) defeated Pat Kelly (491 votes).

Also elected during the 1998 municipal election was the Wellington County Ward 3 Councillor. Bob Hill defeated Mount Forest Mayor Bruce Barton by 203 votes to win the council seat.

The telephone method proved to be popular with voters, with the Township of Wellington North having one of the highest voter turnouts in Wellington County, at 42 per cent.

Following renovations at the former Arthur Township municipal office in Kenilworth, the new Township of Wellington North municipal office in Kenilworth officially opened on August 19, 2000. During the opening ceremonies, Mayor Don Ross noted the office remained open during renovations, which saw additions to the front and rear of the building.

Present Day

Fast forward 25 years, the Township of Wellington North continues to grow.

In 1999, the population of Wellington North was approximately 11,000. Today, the Township is now home to over 12,500 people across 526 square kilometres of land.

The Township is expected to continue growing, with growth estimates expecting Wellington North to have a population of 20,500 by 2051 (an increase of more than 64%).

Wellington North is a well-diversified and evolving Township with a strong industrial and manufacturing employment base, as well as a strong agricultural and agri-food business sector. 

The community is also home to many walking and cycling trails, unique stores, and gift shops as well as many cultural and historical amenities and exciting events. This includes the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival, one of the top 100 festivals in Ontario.

The former Village of Arthur was named after Arthur Wellesley, who became the Duke of Wellington. The Village of Arthur was first surveyed in 1841 by John McDonald and then officially in 1846 by D.B. Papineau. The establishment of saw and gristmills sparked growth in the community. In 1851, a post office was opened and the first church and school were organized. Development was further encouraged in 1872 when a station of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway was opened.

Canada's Most Patriotic Village

The Village of Arthur received formal confirmation of its patriotism in 2002, when David Tilson, MPP for Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey, stated in the Ontario Legislature that because of Arthur's extraordinary effort in World War II the community would be recognized by the Legislature as "Canada's Most Patriotic Village."

This unique designation was first declared by the Toronto Star in its November 2, 1942, edition. Achievements leading to this description included the sacrifices of Arthur families as well as highly successful War Bond and Victory Bond campaigns to raise money for the war effort. In the first campaign in 1940, Arthur Village led all communities in Canada in reaching its objective. In every following campaign (six in all) the Village let all communities in the country in reaching its objective. As well, during the war, a Navy League was formed in most Canadian communities, to raise funds for Canadian Sailors at sea. In September 1944, Arthur Council received an award for having raised the most per capita of any community in Ontario.

A series of murals are featured in the downtown core in keeping with Arthur's war history.

Arthur High School

The  Arthur High School, then located on Smith Street, was constructed in the spring and summer of 1890 at an estimated cost of $3,500. It was heated by steam by a wood-burning furnace. The two-storey building had 14-foot ceilings and was made with a wall thickness of three bricks.

When the school was first opened, there were 55 students and only two teachers. In 1904, the student population increased to the point where an addition was needed. Five classrooms and a science room were built for $5,000, making Arthur High School one of the most modern up-to-date schools in the province. Another educational advance occurred in 1921 when the tuition fees were dropped and students were no longer charged for their education. The Arthur High School provided secondary education to the residents until 1953 when the new school was built on Conestoga Street.

In the early 2000s, Arthur High School was closed. A new school, Wellington Heights Secondary School (WHHS), was opened in 2004. Students from Arthur enrolled in the Upper Grand District School Board now attend WHHS.

Sussman's of Arthur

In 1906, Joe Sussman and his two brothers moved from Poland to the clothing district in Toronto. Joe then moved to the Arthur area and travelled the countryside with his horse-drawn wagon, bringing clothing of all kinds right into farmhouse kitchens. Joe earned respect from area farmers by lending a hand with fieldwork when they were short of help. When Joe settled his store in a permanent location in 1914, those families began travelling to buy clothing from Joe.

Today, Sussman's is considered one of Canada’s largest independently-owned clothiers in Canada.

Interesting Facts:

• The Wellington County Creamery, in Arthur on George Street where Crawford Funeral Home is now located, during a 15 year period produced 1.5 million pounds of butter.
• In 1897, the Village of Arthur was one of the earliest in Ontario to be served by a power transmission line. There were no meters, but people were charged 10 cents for each light bulb used. Power was available in the evenings and was cut off at midnight.
• The Arthur Enterprise News, established in 1863, was one of the few non-syndicated weekly newspapers in Canada. The paper continued publishing weekly until 2019. Today, Arthur's newspaper coverage comes from the North Wellington Community News and the Wellington Advertiser.

The former Town of Mount Forest was originally known as Maitland Hills because it was believed that the Saugeen River was the Maitland River. The name was later changed to Mount Forest in 1853. Francis Kerr surveyed the Village into village lots in 1853.

The first public school was built in 1856 on McDonald Street. The first high school was originally in the Old Drill Hall, but was an unsuitable location because it was beside the Market Square, where livestock sales were held monthly. The new high school was built on Colclough Street in 1878.

By 1864, the population of Mount Forest had reached 1,185 and qualified as a Village, and by 1879 had reached Town status. The first issue of the Mount Forest Confederate was printed in 1867. For the first year, the newspaper was sent to village residents free of charge, but the second year it was 50 cents per year. The Mount Forest Confederate was published weekly until 2019. Today, the North Wellington Community News and Wellington Advertiser serve the community.

The 1871 directory stated that Mount Forest had 10 hotels, 8 churches and 18 stores and later that year, the first train entered Mount Forest, drawn by a wood-burning engine.

Strathcona Hospital

Dr. A.R. Perry purchased the home of Alex Martin on the corner of Dublin and Princess Streets and established Strathcona Hospital, a 10-bed private hospital. In 1923, a group of citizens headed by G.L. Allen, changed Strathcona Hospital into a public hospital. Wentworth Marshall, a pharmacist, generously bought the hospital from Perry. Marshall’s mother, Louise, was the supervisor at the hospital until she became ill with cancer. It was closed in 1921, but a year later was reopened under a new name, Mount Forest General Hospital. In 1928, the Deed of the Hospital was turned over to the town and the name was changed yet again to Louise Marshall Hospital in honour of Marshall’s mother.

Mount Forest Library

In 1909, a public vote established the need for a free library. Andrew Carnegie, a well-known philanthropist, approved a grant of $10,000 and in 1912 Mrs. Luxton donated the site on east side of Main Street, in memory of her father. The new library was officially opened in December 1913.

Mount Forest Carriage Factory

The Mount Forest Carriage Factory was established in 1903 near the CPR Station by the Steeles, two brothers from Palmerston, and employed about 70 people. They manufactured buggies, carriages and cutters and shipped them throughout western Ontario. The Steeles' fine houses on Dublin and Waterloo Streets held many parties and they had one of the first radios in town. The factory closed when the automobile replaced the horse-drawn carriage. The building later held the Mount Forest Basket Factory.

The former Township of West Luther was originally in the possession of the Mississauga Indians but became part of a tract of land signed over by them to the government in 1818. In 1854, George McPhillips surveyed the land. At the same time he was surveying Melancthon Township and he decided that they were the worst two townships he had ever surveyed. Being a Roman Catholic, McPhillips named the townships after Martin Luther and Philip Melancthon, two of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. It is a good story; however, Luther received its name several years before McPhillips surveyed the area.

Progress of the Township was very slow because Luther was almost covered completely with timber and swamps. In the early 1870s, during a dry summer, fires broke out over the Township, which burnt off the muck and leveled most of the timber, which improved development. The township developed rapidly once the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway was built in 1871.

The Grand River runs through the whole length of East Luther, therefore they needed many bridges, unlike West Luther, who needed roads badly. For a long time, the people of East Luther were able to elect a majority in Council and money was spent on building bridges, which caused problems that eventually led to the separation of the township. In 1879, the West elected a majority and quickly prepared a bill to separate the township. In 1881, the Ontario Legislature passed a bill dividing Luther Township into separate townships, West and East Luther.

In 1915, High Tension Hydro Lines supplied local residents with power if they were interested, but it wasn’t until 1950 that hydro became widespread through the rural areas of Luther.

Information in this section courtesy of: Jean Hutchinson's The History of Wellington County and Paul O'Donnell & Frank Coffey's A History of the Arthur Area.

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Although the area now known as the Township of Wellington North was settled by European immigrants in the early 1800s, the land has a much deeper and richer history rooted in the presence of Indigenous Peoples.

Long before European settlement, this region was home to various Indigenous communities, whose history and connection to the land span thousands of years.

Learn more about the history of Indigenous Peoples in Wellington North below, or watch the Wellington North Cultural Roundtable's Cultural Moment on the History of Indigenous Peoples in Wellington North.

Before European Settlement

The area now known as the Township of Wellington North has a rich pre-settler history rooted in the activities of Indigenous peoples. Before European settlement, the land was primarily inhabited by the Neutral, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. These groups had complex societies with distinct cultures, languages, and traditions.

The Neutral people, known for their role in trade and diplomacy, occupied much of what is now Southern Ontario, including parts of Wellington North. They were named "Neutral" by French explorers due to their neutrality in conflicts between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Huron-Wendat Nation. The Anishinaabe, including the Ojibwe, Mississauga, and Odawa nations, also utilized the area for its rich resources and as part of their extensive trade networks.

During this period, the land that would become Wellington North was characterized by dense forests, fertile soil, and numerous waterways, making it an ideal location for hunting, fishing, and agriculture. These Indigenous groups established seasonal camps and villages, practiced sustainable agriculture, and managed the land through controlled burns to clear areas for cultivation and to attract game.

17th Century

In the early 17th century, European explorers and fur traders began to arrive in the region, initiating changes that would eventually lead to significant disruption of Indigenous ways of life. Despite this, the Indigenous presence remained influential in shaping the early interactions and development of the area.

There are well-known reports of the contributions of Ojibway Chief James Nawash to the early surveyors of Wellington and Grey counties, notably Charles Rankin. Rankin, who surveyed the Garafraxa Road in 1837, noted that Chief Nawash provided the most accurate information about the country and its rivers and streams. One significant piece of information shared by Chief Nawash was that the river Rankin reached outside of what is now Mount Forest was a branch of the “Saugin,” now referred to as the Saugeen River.

18th and 19th Centuries

By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, treaties and land agreements began to cede large portions of Southern Ontario to the British Crown, paving the way for European settlers and the establishment of townships such as Wellington North.

The Township falls within the lands covered by the Nanfan Treaty (1701), Treaty 3 (1792), the Nottawasaga Purchase/Treaty 18 (1818), the Ajetance Purchase/Treaty 19 (1818), and the Saugeen Tract Purchase/Treaty 45.5 (1836). These treaties, however, often resulted in displacement and significant changes for the Indigenous populations, whose ancestral lands were transformed by new settlements and agricultural practices.

Land Acknowledgement

As part of the township’s ongoing reconciliation efforts with Indigenous Peoples, Council approved a Land Acknowledgement in June 2023. This came following an extensive report commissioned by the lower-tier municipalities in Wellington County. Click the link below to read the Wellington North report.

Wellington County Municipalities Land Acknowledgment Project (PDF)