Flesherton, Ontario

Flesherton (population 700) is a community in the Municipality of Grey Highlands, in Grey County, Ontario, Canada, located at the junction of Highway 10 and Regional Road 4 (formerly Highway 4). It is the self-proclaimed "Gateway to the Beaver Valley", and is also host of the annual Split Rail Festival.

Original Settlement

In 1850, William Kingston Flesher completed a survey of the township of Artemisia. The north-south Toronto-Sydenham road and the east-west Durham Road were completed shortly thereafter. [cite web| url= http://www.flesherton.info/history.html | title=Local History and Geneology|publisher=Flesherton and District Chamber of Commerce |accessdate=2008-07-20]

Flesher then laid out lots around the intersection of these two roads, as well as building a saw and grist mill on the nearby Boyne River. The first settler, a Mr. Munshaw, built an inn and stagecoach stop on the corner of the two roads which became the Artemisia Post Office. His building, now known as Munshaw House, still stands on the original spot. Other settlers, mainly Scottish immigrants, claimed lots and began to clear the land. The settlement became known as Flesher's Corners.

In 1867, the settlement had grown to the point where a more "village-like" name was seen as desirable, and the name was changed to Flesherton.

In 1881, A.R. Fawcett published the first issue of the "Flesherton Advance" newspaper [cite web| url= http://www.greyhighlandspubliclibrary.com/Newspapers/ProjectNews/FA_History.htm | title=History of the Flesherton Advance|publisher=Grey Highlands Public Library |accessdate=2008-07-20] .

Twentieth Century

In 1912, Flesherton was incorporated as a village.

Two years later, in 1914, the Great War broke out in Europe. Local enlistment in the Canadian Expeditionary Force was enthusiastic, and several local men were decorated for bravery. [cite newspaper| title=Decorated for Bravery|publisher=Flesherton Advance |date=1918-11-21] The names of all volunteers were engraved on the cenotaph in the local park, which is flanked by a Vickers machine gun and trench mortar. The names of those that were killed are marked by a star.

In 1939, enlistment at the start of the Second World War was likewise popular, and the names of those that volunteered were also added to the cenotaph.

In 1968, Grey Highlands Secondary School was built in Flesherton to serve a large cachement area formerly covered by three smaller high schools. The placement of this school in Flesherton was considered a controversial decision at the time, since the town of Markdale, Ontario, 10 kilometres to the north, was considerably larger, more centrally located in the cachement area, and was already home to the local school board offices. With the new secondary school in place, the former Flesherton High School was converted to Macphail Memorial Elementary School; this new school replaced all of the one- and two-room schoolhouses in the district. This was also the year that Walter Walls, owner of the "Dundalk Herald", bought the "Flesherton Advance", closed the paper's Flesherton offices after 87 years of operation and moved publication 15 km south to Dundalk, Ontario. The "Advance" has been published in Dundalk since that time.

In 1969, a fire in the downtown district destroyed several 19th-century buildings on the southwest corner of the main intersection.

In 1998, Flesherton was amalgamated with the Township of Artemesia by the Mike Harris government. In 2001, Artemesia itself was amalgamated with several other townships to form Grey Highlands.

Twenty-first Century

In 2006, the old elementary school was torn down and a new building constructed close to the same spot.

In addition to the two schools, Flesherton also has an arena, a community centre, several art galleries, antiques and collectibles shops, restaurants, a dairy, several stores, a senior citizens' home, a Canadian Legion Hall, a library, two churches, real estate offices, a funeral home, a cemetery, a post office, a park, a swimming pond and the Southeast Grey County Museum. The area has become something of a haven for artists and musicians, and several artists' retreats and colonies can be found nearby. Businesses in the area, including those in the villages of Priceville, Ceylon, Eugenia, Kimberley, Maxwell, Rock Mills and Feversham, have been represented by the Flesherton and District Chamber of Commerce, which grew out of the Flesherton Service Club

Famous People

*Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to the House of Commons, was born in nearby Proton Township, and served as MP and MPP (Ontario Legislature) of the local district for several years. The elementary school in Flesherton is named after her.

*Oliver Schroer, fiddler and recording artist, was raised in nearby Vandeleur and went to school at Grey Highlands Secondary School.

*Chris Neil, hockey player (NHL: Ottawa Senators, 2001- ), was raised on a farm just outside Flesherton.

Notes

External links

[http://www.flesherton.info Local Chamber of Commerce website]

[http://www.splitrailfestival.com Information regarding the Split Rail Festival]

[http://news.ourontario.ca/GHPL Read the Flesherton Advance from 1882-1951 online]

Resources

* [http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=13268 Split Rail Country: A History of Artemesia] Volume I now online
* Split Rail Country: A History of Artemesia Volume II 1985-2000 is presently being written