A store established here about 1819 by Joseph Abbott Keeler, a prominent early settler, provided the nucleus around which a small community began to develop. Within ten years a distillery and a blacksmith's shop had been erected. The settlement, named Colborne reputedly after Lieutenant Governor Sir John Colborne, soon emerged as a service centre for the surrounding region and, with the establishment of a harbour nearby for the shipment of lumber and grain, it prospered. By 1846, it contained a foundry, a pottery, six stores, three churches, a number of tradesmen and artisans and some 400 residents. The arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1856 spurred further growth, and three years later Colborne, with a population of about 800, was incorporated as a village.

Location

In Victoria Park, opposite the municipal building, 1 Toronto Street, Colborne

Themes

• Communities
• Industry and trade
• Transportation systems and communications