History

History of Esquesing 

Henry Thomas Shepherd M.B.E (1895-1960)

Henry Thomas Shepherd was the grandson of one of the first documented African-American settlers in Georgetown who arrived via the Underground Railway. He was born in Stewarttown in 1895 where his family first lived at the Murray Farm (15 Sideroad), and later settled in the area surrounding Dayfoot Drive Park. He lived and worked in Town for his whole life including Fleck's Paper Mill for 49 years. Following a lifetime of achievements including receiving the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), (now known as the Order of Canada) and serving his community and country in the First World War, Henry Thomas Shepherd died in 1960.

Because of the family history and connection with the area around Dayfoot Drive Park, it was requested that the park be named in his honour.

Rich Leather History Brought to Acton

It all started back in 1829 when the Adams brothers came from Lower Canada (Quebec) looking to purchase some farmland. Each acquired parcels of land from the Canada Company and by 1842, their combined holdings totalled approximately 500 acres. The Adams brothers decided to survey their farms into town lots, open and name streets, and call the settlement Adamsville. However, in 1844 when a post office was established in the community, the name of the town was changed to Acton.

In 1856, when the Grand Trunk Railway ran a line through the town and opened the Acton Train Station, things began to grow rapidly. That same year, an ambitious businessman, George L. Beardmore came to Acton and purchased a small tannery which had been operating in the area since 1844.The buildings for the new Beardmore & Co. Tannery replaced the smaller and outdated plant of the earlier enterprise and were equipped with the most modern tannery machinery of the time. Soon the leather business became the major industry in Acton. Eventually, the main Beardmore tanneries in Acton had a combined floor space of nearly a million square feet, becoming – as noted above – the largest tanning operation in the British Empire by the turn of the century.

Acton Town Hall

The Acton Town Hall was built in 1882 and opened in 1883 by the town fathers who agreed it was an essential community building. The Town Hall was opened with a grand ball in March and remained the hub of Acton's social life for over 80 years.In 1988 The Town Hall became the first designated historic building in Halton Hills.

With the help of grants and fundraising, Heritage Acton has renovated the Town Hall to its former beauty. History of an old building is not complete unless there is a story of a resident ghost. Visit the Acton Town Hall website to learn about Jimmy the ghost!  

Georgetown

The building of the Grand Trunk Railroad through Georgetown and the Hamilton and North West Railroad that confirmed Georgetown would be the centre of commerce and industry in the north Halton area. Georgetown grew rapidly during the 1850s and 60s.

Iron Bridge is the longest span on the Canadian National Railway. It was considered an engineering marvel, designed by Sir Casimir Czoski; so notable that the Prince of Wales came to visit in 1860. 

Glen Williams

The former Beaumont Knitting Mill still stands on the north edge of the village. Built by Samuel Beaumont in 1882 it replaced the converted saw mill he acquired from Joseph Tweedle several years before. The Beaumont mill is now a popular antique store, Beaumont Mil Antiques & Collectables at 586 Main Street.

Norval - Lucy Maud Montgomery

The Town of Halton Hills can lay claim to having once been the home of Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery – best known for the Anne of Green Gables series. Eighteen years after publishing her first and most popular novel, Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery and her family moved to Norval, Ontario in 1926. While in Norval she partially wrote or published six more books and wrote several volumes of her personal journals often praising the village for its extraordinary natural beauty.

The L.M. Montgomery Garden of the Senses is a public garden, which blooms with colour from spring to late fall.

In 2017 the Manse property (the house where the minister traditionally lived), the caretaker's cottage and associated grounds from the main church property was sold to the Heritage Foundation of Halton Hills. The Presbyterian Manse located at 402 Draper Street in Norval is the subject of a restoration and construction project to become a museum.

Visit the Lucy Maud Montgomery Page on the Halton Hills Heritage Foundation website for more detailed history of LMM's time in Norval.

John Watkins

Born in Norval station, John Watkins was Canada's ambassador to the Soviet Union. In 1955 he organized a historic meeting between Canadian External Affairs Minister Lester B. Pearson and Nikita Khrushchev, a soviet statesman during the Cold War.

In 1964 Watkins was secretly detained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the US Central Intelligence Agency, who accused him of being an agent of influence. The events surrounding the death of Watkins were exposed by Ian Adams in 1980. The RCMP finally admitted that Watkins had died under police interrogation, he had not given in to Soviet blackmailing tactics, and he had not been found to be a traitor. His sexual orientation had come to be a contributing factor in his interrogation.

In 1999 Adams released Agent of Influence, a detailed book suggesting that the CIA had schemed to destroy Pearson, who had become Prime Minister, and had tried to get Watkins to implicate him. In 2002 the book was made into a television movie with the same title, starring Christopher Plummer.

Sports and Athletics

Hockey - Halton Hills is a hockey community through and through. Since 1936, Georgetown has been known national as the “Home of the Little NHL” as it was one of the first communities to organize leagues for children.

Lacrosse - The Mann Cup is awarded annually to the top senior men's lacrosse team by the Canadian lacrosse Association. The solid gold cup was donated by its namesake Sir Donald Mann, an Acton native who was knighted for his service to Canada.

Learn more about the different Heritage preservation projects underway in Halton Hills on the Heritage Foundation Website

Heritage Registry

The Town of Halton Hills has designated heritage properties that the municipality believes to be of cultural heritage value or interest. Visit the Heritage Registry page on the Town website.