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, the settlement grew rapidly during the 1850s. By 1860, the village, now called Arkona reportedly after a lighthouse point in Germany, contained a foundry, tannery and woollen factory among its many industries. Arkona, with over 700 inhabitants, became an incorporated village by a county bylaw of June 10, 1876.

Location

At the fire hall, Victoria Street and Arkona Road, Arkona

Themes

• Agriculture
• Communities