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• Grand Bend
  Grand Bend derived its name from a hairpin turn in the Ausable (Aux Sables) River a short distance inland from Lake Huron where sand dunes blocked the river's outlet to the lake. Frequent flooding hampered farming in the region; nevertheless, a small milling community developed at the "Grand Bend" in the 1830s. In response to a local petition, the township cut a new riverbed directly to the lake along an old portage route in 1892...

• Founding of Arkona, The
  By 1836, the earliest settlers on the site of Arkona, notably Henry Utter, Nial Eastman and John Smith, had located in this vicinity. Within three years, Utter, the first to arrive, had constructed a grist-mill around which a small community, the Eastman Settlement gradually developed. About 1851, a post office was opened, a village plot laid out and the village became known as "Smithfield." Situated at an important road junction and serving a fertile region...

• Founding of Forest, The
  In 1858, Timothy Resseguie laid out the first village lots, and the opening of a railway station here in 1859 on the recently completed Grand Trunk line from Guelph to Sarnia provided the nucleus around which this community grew. A general store was opened and it was followed by other commercial enterprises. An Anglican church was established in 1861 and, the following year, a post office was opened. Grist-mills and sawmills were constructed and the...

• Founding of Thedford, The
  In 1858, during the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway through this region, Nelson Southworth purchased land here on this line, donated a site for a station and laid out a village plot that he named Thedford. The hamlet that developed, however, took the name of the depot, Widder Station, which opened to serve the nearby village of Widder. During the 1860s, Widder Station grew steadily as a shipping point for square timber, lumber, grain...