Beaverton is a community in

Brock Township Brock may refer to: Businesses * Brock Motors, a short-lived automotive company founded in 1921 in Amherstberg, Ontario * Crowne Plaza Niagara Falls – Fallsview also known as the Brock Hotel, a hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario * Brock Hotel Corp ...

in the

Regional Municipality of Durham The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater Toron ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada.

History

Beaverton was first settled in 1822. The settlement is located on Lake Simcoe at the mouth of the Beaver River. It was called Calder's Mills (after an early miller Duncan Miller and Alexander Calder), Mill Town and Milton until it was renamed Beaverton when the post office was opened in 1835. By 1869, Beaverton was a village with a population of 700 in the Township of Thorah Township in Ontario County. It was the terminus of the

Port Hope, Lindsay and Beaverton Railway The Midland Railway of Canada was a historical Canadian railway which ran from Port Hope, Ontario to Midland on Georgian Bay. The line was originally intended to run to Peterborough, but the competing Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was complet ...

in 1858. The steamer Emily May plied daily between Beaverton and Bell Ewart station of the Northern Railroad. There were stages daily to Whitby and Oshawa. In 1884, Beaverton separated from the Township and was incorporated as a Village. Old Stone Church NHS

As part of the creation of Durham Region in 1974, Beaverton was amalgamated with Thorah Township, the original Brock Township and the Villages of Cannington and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

to create the newly expanded Township of Brock. Today, Beaverton is the largest community in Brock. There are three elementary schools in Beaverton and area, as well as an arena, curling club, public library, small harbour and yacht club. The local economy is based on the provision of services to the surrounding area, supplemented by some manufacturing (car parts manufacturer Flex N Gate See burn). Tourism also plays a role; the Trent-Severn Waterway connects with Lake Simcoe a few kilometres north of Beaverton and the area attracts cottagers from other regions of the Province. Beaverton's downtown core has many stores, services, and two bars, attracting people from around the local area. Beaverton is the home of The Strand Theatre. The Old Stone Church, built in 1853 and a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

, is also located in Beaverton. The local post office services the town with lock boxes and rural routes.

Notable people

* Foster Hewitt – NHL broadcaster. * NHLers

Basil McRae Basil Paul McRae (born January 5, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is a part owner and alternate governor of the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League and he is the director of player personnel for the Columbus Bl ...

and

Chris McRae Chris McRae (born August 26, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 21 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. As a youth, he played in the 1978 Quebec Inte ...

. * Editorial cartoonist

Duncan Macpherson Duncan Ian Macpherson, CM (September 20, 1924 in Toronto – May 3, 1993 in Beaverton, Ontario) was a Canadian editorial cartoonist. He drew for the '' Montreal Standard'' (starting 1948) and for ''Maclean's'', illustrating the writings of Gr ...

. *

John Ritchie MacNicol John Ritchie MacNicol (August 31, 1878 – June 18, 1950) was a Canadian politician. Born in Beaverton, Ontario, MacNicol was educated at public school, collegiates, and at Bryant & Stratton College in Buffalo, New York. He taught school in ...

– Member of Parliament. * Lieutenant William John Gillespie – World War I flying ace. *

Ron Baird Ronald Arnott Baird is a Canadian artist. He is best known for his stainless-steel sculptures. He became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1978 and the 1971 recipient of the Allied Arts Award from the Royal Architectural Institute ...

, sculptor

In popular culture

* The 1973, Canadian horror classic, '' Cannibal Girls'', was filmed in the downtown of Beaverton. Sections of the downtown (The Strand Theatre, King's Bishop Tavern, the library and the bridge) can all be seen. In the movie, the fictitious town that Beaverton filled in for was called ''Farnhamville''. * The 1984 comedy, ''Oddballs'', was also shot in the area just north along Lake Simcoe, and also at the Trent-Severn Waterway's bridge entry into the lake. * ''The Story of Life'' starring a young girl on a mission to find her lost father was filmed here. * The movie '' Jasper, Texas'' was partially filmed in and around Beaverton, as was the 1987 thriller '' Dead of Winter''. * In 2012 the Canadian music group

The Strumbellas The Strumbellas are a rock band from Lindsay, Ontario, whose music has been described as alternative country, indie rock, farm emo, and gothic folk.

filmed the music video for the song "Sheriff" here.

References

{{authority control Communities in the Regional Municipality of Durham Former municipalities in Ontario Populated places disestablished in 1974 1822 establishments in Canada