Chatsworth and Grey Bruce Ontario in Colour Photos: Saving Our History One Photo at a Time - Paperback

by Barbara Raue (Author)

Chatsworth is a township in south-western Ontario in Grey County located at the headwaters of the Styx, Saugeen, Sauble, Bighead, Spey, and Sydenham Rivers. The current township was formed on January 1, 2001 with the amalgamation of Holland Township, Sullivan Township, and the village of Chatsworth. The first white settlers arrived in this area in the early nineteenth century.The town of Chatsworth is located south of Owen Sound and north of Durham where Highways 6 and 10 merge. The village neighbours Williamsford, Dornoch, and Desboro. Chatsworth was founded in 1848 at the northern terminus of the Toronto-Sydenham Colonization Road. Modern Highway 10 follows most of the original road's route.The first house and store in the village of Desboro were built in 1866. The Desboro hotel was built in 1869 and was one of the only rural taverns still operating in the township before it closed in 2011. Desboro is about 13 kilometers west of Chatsworth and Williamsford.Keady is a small farming village, located at the intersection of Grey Roads 3 and 16. Keady saw its first settlers in the 1850s.The village of Dornoch was settled by Bartholomew Griffin in 1841 when he started the first general store. In the late 1850s the village was served by a stage coach that was running between Durham and Chatsworth. Dornoch is situated between Williamsford and Durham on Highway 6 and is 33 kilometers south of Owen Sound.Williamsford is a village on the North Saugeen River. It has a general store, post office, a bookstore and restaurant housed in a historic grain mill. A small dam controls the river. It is located on Highway 6 between Durham and Owen Sound. The post office was built in 1847 and the general store was built in the late 1800s.West Grey is a township in western Ontario in Grey County spanning across the River Styx, the Rocky Saugeen River, the Beatty Saugeen River, and the South Saugeen River. Unlike most rural communities, West Grey maintains its own police force, the West Grey Police Service. The municipality was formed on January 1, 2001, when the former Townships of Bentinck, Glenelg, and Normanby, the Village of Neustadt, and the Town of Durham were amalgamated in a county-wide reorganization. Elmwood is one of the communities in this township.Elmwood is a village in Grey County on the county line between Bruce and Grey, about six miles (10 kilometers) north of Hanover. Mennonites located here before 1870.Duncan is located south of Thornbury.Euphrasia is a former township in Grey County. Since 2001 it is a part of the municipality of Grey Highlands. Euphrasia is located east of Beaverdale, north of Wodehouse and southwest of Beaver Valley.Markdale is a community in Grey County. Markdale was first settled in 1846. In 2001, Markdale was amalgamated with the townships of Artemesia, Euphrasia and Osprey to form Grey Highlands.Arkwright was an important community in the early days of Bruce County's history. First settled in the 1850s, it gained prominence as both a supply centre and busy stopping place along the stage route. At its height Arkwright boasted two hotels, two stores, a wagon shop, two blacksmiths and a physician. A sawmill was located close by. There was also a school and two Methodist churches that later merged.Tara is located in the municipality of Arran-Elderslie in Bruce County and is located on the Sauble River. The opening of the Owen Sound Post road stimulated the growth of a small community. Situated in a rich agricultural region with abundant water power, the settlement developed quickly.Williscroft was a farming hamlet, located in Bruce County, first settled around 1850. By 1856 it had a post office, followed by a school in 1858. The village quickly grew to include a blacksmith shop, a store, two coopers, a door and sash building business, and saw and grist mills. Later industries in Williscroft included a cheese factory and woodworking and carriage shops.