FOUNDING OF DURHAM
In 1842 Archibald Hunter, a Scottish immigrant, led a party northward on the Garafraxa "colonization road" to the banks of the Saugeen River. The resulting settlement was first called Bentinck and later Durham, probably to honour the English birthplace of George Jackson, the first local Crown Land Agent. The establishment of flour and grist-mills in 1847 made the town the major agricultural centre of the district. The Durham Road, another settlement route , was constructed through the town in 1849. Further growth followed, churches were founded, a school organized, and a newspaper, the Chronicle, was established in 1857. By an Act passed in 1872, the Ontario legislature incorporated Durham as a town.
From: Wikipedia
Durham
Durham is a community in the municipality of West Grey, Grey County, Ontario, Canada. Durham is located near the base of the Bruce Peninsula.
Location:
Durham, Ontario is 44 kilometers South of Owen Sound and 65 kilometers North of Guelph on Ontario Highway 6. The middle of the town is the intersection of Highway 6 and Grey Road 4. Durham is approximately 18 kilometers East of Hanover.
The population of Durham has stayed steady at roughly 2500 people over the past decade. This compares to neighbour Hanover which has grown from 6400 to 8200 people in the past decade.
Durham is built around the Saugeen River and has three manmade dams. These dams have suffered at least two major floods, once in 1929 when the dam broke and again in 1997 due to ice blockage. Durham also used to be the center of the livestock exchange for the surrounding Grey and Bruce counties, which it lays close to the border of. On the outskirts of Durham, there are several small communities, such as Varney, Dornoch, Aberdeen, Allan Park, Priceville and Holstein.
Foundations of Durham:
Founded on May 1, 1842 by Archibald Hunter, a Scottish traveller, Durham became one of the first ever self-sustaining communities in Canada through the flour and saw mills of an Irishman named John Edge, founded in the 1840s. Those mills were purchased by Robert McGowan in 1888, hence the Durham landmark McGowan Falls on the Saugeen River. Durham now has two major companies for employment: Durham Furniture and Interforest. Durham Furniture is a company that specializes in stained and whitewashed bedroom furniture and employs slightly more than 200 people. Interforest is a multinational corporation that deals with the treatment and production of lumber.
Durham has its own hospital with limited emergency facilities, although it was once a full blown community hospital equipped to handle most situations. The town is patrolled by the municipality's West Grey Police, and the town does have its own police station. Also, Durham has its own volunteer firefighter service and station. The town has its own Canada Post building, as well as a town hall. The town also has a Conservation Area with camp sites that are very popular during the summertime and help expand local business.