By 1851, Andrew West, a New York native, had opened a hotel in the recently surveyed township of Mornington. This building was the focal point around which a small community initially known as West's Corners developed. The hamlet grew gradually and a post office was opened in 1854. Ten years later, the settlement contained a sawmill, a tannery, two churches and some 200 residents. About 1871, the name of the village was changed to Milverton, reportedly after a town in Somerset, England. With the arrival of the Stratford and Huron Railway in 1877, the market for Milverton's agriculturally based industries was greatly expanded and the thriving community, with a population of about 550, was incorporated as a village by a county by-law effective January 1, 1881.

Location

At the public library, Mill Street East and Arena Drive, Milverton

Themes

• Agriculture
• Communities
• Transportation systems and communications