Palmerston, Ontario

Palmerston
—  Unincorporated community  —
Former Palmerston train station, now museum
Coordinates: 43°49′59″N 80°50′48″W / 43.83306°N 80.84667°W / 43.83306; -80.84667
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Wellington County
Town	Minto
Established	1875
Area[1]
– Total	2.90 km2 (1.1 sq mi)
Elevation	334 m (1,096 ft)
Population (2001)[1]
– Total	2,657
– Density	868.3/km2 (2,248.9/sq mi)
	1996 population: 2,468
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Forward sortation area	N0G 2P0
Area code(s)	519 and 226
NTS Map	040P15
GNBC Code	FDRCE
Website	www.town.minto.on.ca

Palmerston (population 2,518^[1] as of 2001) is an unincorporated community located at the south end of the town of Minto in northern part of Wellington County in southern Ontario, Canada.

History

Plaque commemorating the founding of Palmerston

Palmerston was a key division point for the Grand Trunk and later the Canadian National Railway in Southwestern Ontario with 6 subdivisions; Owen Sound, Kincardine, Durham, Fergus, Guelph Junction and Stratford. In its original concept the railroad was to run from Guelph to Harriston and would not have gone through Palmerston. Listowel needed to be linked to the railroad and it was decided to bend the route toward Listowel. It was also decided that a yard with maintenance shops would be needed. The mainline under Canadian National ownership became part of the Fergus, Owen Sound and Southampton Subdivisions. Passenger serviced ceased in 1971. The subdivisions were abandoned starting with Fergus to Palmerston August 1983, Harriston Jct. to Port Elgin and Southampton in 1988, Guelph to Fergus 1988 and Palmerston to Harriston 1995. And all rail service terminated in 1996 with CN abandoning the line from Stratford to Harriston.^[1]

When the railroad decided to build a junction and maintenance sheds between Guelph, Harriston and Listowel, this also included a station. One of the active supporters of the railroad was John McDermott, Reeve of Wallace and, because of this support, the railways decided to let McDermot name the station. He named it Palmerston in 1870 in honour of Henry John Temple, the future third Viscount Palmerston. As soon as the railroad decided where it would build, people started buying property around the area for businesses and homes.

In 1995, the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario began to reduce the number of total municipalities in the province. Effective 1 Jan. 1999, The Town of Minto is composed of the former towns of Harriston and Palmerston, the former village of Clifford, and the surrounding rural area of the former Minto Township.[1] Older documents show how this process has simplified local maps.[2]

Schools

Minto has public schools situated in Harriston, Clifford and Palmerston. Norwell District Secondary School is the secondary school for Minto and surrounding areas as governed by the Upper Grand District School Board. The schools located in Palmerston are:

1. Palmerston Public School (K-8, with French immersion)
2. Norwell District Secondary School - Sports: Rad mon
3. Wallace Public School

Trivia

The entire town is served by the single postal code of 'N0G 2P0'; a self-effacing mnemonic for the code reads as No 0ne Goes 2 (to) Palmerston, 0ntario.

References

1. ^ Visit Perth County, Ontario: the website of the Perth County Visitor's Association

External links

• Town of Minto website
• Palmerston Railway Heritage Museum
• Town of Minto Chamber of Commerce
• Norwell District Secondary School
• Ontario Plaques - The Founding of Palmerston
• Ontario Plaques - The Ontario Vaccine Farm
• Palmerston at Geographical Names of Canada

Coordinates: 43°49′59″N 80°50′48″W / 43.83306°N 80.84667°W / 43.83306; -80.84667