Creemore () is a former village, now part of Clearview Township, located in

Simcoe County Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...

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. It lies approximately north of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 40 minutes west of

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

, and 20 minutes south of Collingwood and

Georgian Bay Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...

. It sits on the eastern boundary of the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...

. Creemore purportedly has North America's smallest jail.

Coboconk Coboconk, often shortened to Coby, is a community in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the south-central portion of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The village lies at the junction of Ontario Highway 35, Highway ...

and

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

make similar claims of their jails.

History

The settlement of Creemore began in 1842 and by the turn of the century it was a thriving village of about 800 people with a vibrant business community. In 1993, the amalgamation of Sunnidale, Nottawasaga, Village of Creemore and Town of Stayner took place and it became Clearview Township. Before explorers arrived in the early 17th century,

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

lived in the general area of Creemore. Some of these native tribes included:

Petun The Petun (from french: pétun), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati ("People Among the Hills/Mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the woodlands of eastern North America. Their last known traditional homeland was sout ...

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language * Wyandot religion Places * Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Wyandot County, Ohio * Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...

(Wendat),

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

, and

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

. Soon, early white explorers arrived to trade with these native tribes. Along with the arrival of the explorers, English civilization was soon imported into the area that we now know as Creemore. French explorer

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

first visited the Creemore area in 1616 to promote trade with the Petun, a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

tribe. He was the first to write a description of the area: “The country is full of hill-slopes and little level stretches, which make it a pleasant country.” Creemore's name and town origins have strong Irish roots – the name is derived from the Irish “cron mor,” which means “big heart” and it was the village's founder, Irish entrepreneur Edward Webster who coined the name in the year 1845. He paid tribute to his family by naming the original streets after them: Elizabeth (for his wife and daughter), Francis and Wellington (for his sons), and Alice and William (for his parents). Historical signs are scattered around Creemore that explain more about the town's history. If you ever visit Creemore, it is advised that you read the signs if you are interested in the historical features of Creemore. In Creemore, there are many historical sites that are quite interesting to look at. Some of these sites include: *Four old churches there were constructed sometime before the 20th century *An old school that was constructed in the early 20th century - was no longer used as an educational site by 2013 *Old bridge at the south end of Collingwood Street that was constructed in the 20th century - was revived in 2016 with new materials, with the shape and style of the bridge still remaining the same.

Economy

Creemore has a vibrant small business community and is the home to

Creemore Springs Creemore Springs is a brewery in Creemore, Ontario, Canada, which first opened in 1987. It was founded by John Wiggins, and its flagship brew was a premium amber lager brewed with specialty malts, fire brewed in a copper kettle. In 2005, it was a ...

Brewery. The

microbrewery Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

was acquired by

Molson The Molson Brewery is a Canadian based brewery company based in Montreal which was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Can ...

on April 22, 2005. Each year the Copper Kettle festival attracts thousands, closing the entire main street with activities and antique automobile displays, bands, Farm animals and many other attractions for young and old.

References

{{authority control Communities in Simcoe County Former villages in Ontario