Former Village of Arthur | Township of Wellington North

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.

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 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.
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.
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.