Georgetown (Ontario)

Georgetown is the largest community (population 42,000 in 2016) in the town of Halton Hills in the Halton region of the Greater Toronto Area.

Understand
It is on the Credit River, approximately 60 km west of Toronto, making it part of the Greater Toronto Area. Georgetown was named after entrepreneur George Kennedy who settled in the area in 1821 and built several mills and other businesses.

History
By 1650, the Hurons First Nation had been wiped out by European diseases and the Iroquois. The region was now open to the Algonquian Ojibwa (also known as Mississauga). By 1850 the remaining Mississauga natives were removed to the Six Nations Reserve, where the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation Reserve was established. Commencing in 1781, the British government purchased blocks of land from the Mississauga Nation. In 1818, they purchased land that later became the townships of Esquesing and Nassagaweya. The task of laying out the townships fell to Timothy Street and Abraham Nelles. Charles Kennedy was hired by Nelles to survey the northern part of Esquesing Township in 1819, and received a significant parcel of land as payment for his work. The brothers of Charles Kennedy, John, Morris, Samuel and George, all acquired land close to each another in the Silver Creek Valley. Charles Kennedy built a sawmill in a location where Main Street meets Wildwood Road today.

George Kennedy took advantage of the Silver Creek in the early 1820s to power a sawmill, and later a gristmill and foundry and then a woolen mill; a small settlement formed around the mills, often called "Hungry Hollow". In 1828, John Galt of the Canada Company opened the York to Guelph Road (now Highway 7) which connected the settlement around George Kennedy's Mill with other settlements in the area. The road also extended to Galt, to Guelph and to Goderich.

In 1837 the Barber brothers, including William and James, purchased land and the woolen mill and foundry from Kennedy in 1837; they renamed the settlement Georgetown. The brothers started the paper-making industry in 1854, using electricity produced by a dynamo at the Credit River. Their products included large volumes of wallpaper. John R. Barber's home, Berwick Hall, still stands at Main and Park Streets. Other entrepreneurs arrived including Philo Dayfoot in the early 1840s, who started the local leather industry. In the 1850s, George Kennedy subdivided his land into small lots for sale to new settlers.

The Grand Trunk Railway arrived in 1856 and a line of the Hamilton and North-Western Railway reached the community about 20 years later. Hotels opened near the station, including the Railroad Exchange in a building that still stands.

The Toronto Suburban Railway ran the Toronto-Guelph electric rail line through Georgetown from 1917 until the Guelph line was closed in 1931. This radial line had a passenger station on Main Street (at a site occupied in 2022 by Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza). The venture failed because of the Depression and the increasing popularity of the automobile, buses and trucks. Its proximity to the competing Grand Trunk Railway (later Canadian National) line at the current Georgetown railway station was also a factor.

In the mid-1940s, the population was close to 4,000 and began to grow more quickly in the 1950s. The GO commuter train arrived in Georgetown in 1974, enabling residents to commute to downtown Toronto for work.

Get in
Georgetown is on Highway 7.

Get around
There is no local bus service, although the Georgetown Halton Hills ActiVan provides local transportation for individuals with physical disabilities.

Do

 * Georgetown Highland Games: The second Saturday in June, Georgetown is host to a variety of Scottish traditional games and celebrations.
 * Georgetown Highland Games: The second Saturday in June, Georgetown is host to a variety of Scottish traditional games and celebrations.
 * Georgetown Highland Games: The second Saturday in June, Georgetown is host to a variety of Scottish traditional games and celebrations.


 * A farmers' market operates on Main St. in downtown Georgetown on Saturdays 8AM–12:30PM from June through October. The section of Main St. that hosts the market is closed off to vehicles during the event.


 * The Georgetown Fall Fair started in 1846. It is held the Friday to Sunday following the Labour Day Weekend. The annual event is held at the Georgetown Fairgrounds and consists mainly of carnival rides and rural contests, such as the tractor pull and demolition derby. The Georgetown Agricultural Society organizes and runs the fair each year.


 * Georgetown Santa Claus Parade on the third Sunday in November, in the evening starting at 5pm. Organized by the Georgetown Lions Club. Includes a variety of floats from local organizations and businesses, bands, and Santa Claus himself! The parade route is: Guelph Street from Sinclair to Mill Street and Charles Street to the Fairgrounds. These roads are closed to traffic from approximately 5–7PM.


 * The Georgetown Craft Beer Festival, also known as "Head For The Hills", is held the third Saturday of the month in September, and runs from 11AM–6PM at Trafalgar Sports Park. Organized by the Georgetown Lions Club, Georgetown Kiwanis Club, Georgetown Kinsmen Club, and Georgetown Rotary Club. The festival showcases craft brewers from across Ontario, gourmet food trucks, live music, and games.