Drayton is a community in Wellington County,

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is a part of the township of

Mapleton Mapleton may refer to: Places Australia * Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region Canada * Mapleton, New Brunswick, a rural community in Kings County * Mapleton, Moncton, New Brunswick, a neighborhood * Maple ...

. The village is on the corner of Wellington Road 8 and Wellington Road 11, geographically northwest of Fergus and southwest of

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

History

In 1851, the community was named after

Drayton Manor Drayton Manor, one of Britain's lost houses, was a British stately home at Drayton Bassett, since its formation in the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. In modern administrative areas, it was first put into Tamworth Poor Law Union ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England. Drayton Manor was the home of

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

, former Prime Minister of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Dining

Drayton offers both a restaurant, The Drayton Chophouse and a café, à la mode.

Education

Drayton is in the

Upper Grand District School Board The Upper Grand District School Board (known as English-language Public District School Board No. 18 prior to 1999) is a school board in Ontario, Canada. It spans an area of 4211 km² and serves approximately 35,000 students through 65 elemen ...

. Both Centre Peel Public School and Drayton Heights Public School (K-8) service students from the Drayton area; while high school students attend

Norwell District Secondary School Norwell District Secondary School, formerly known as Palmerston High School,Palmerston, Ontario Palmerston (population 2,599) is an unincorporated community in the south end of the town of Minto, in the north part of Wellington County, in Ontario, Canada. History Palmerston was a key division point for the Grand Trunk and later the Cana ...

. Drayton is also the home of Community Christian School, formerly known as Calvin Christian School.

Entertainment

Drayton is home to the Drayton Festival Theatre, which is a renovated 1902 Opera House that seats 375 people, and has a rich history of entertaining audiences with the finest talent in professional theatre, including legendary performers as

Beatrice Lillie Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989), known as Bea Lillie, was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer. She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End debu ...

. Alex Mustakas is the CEO and Artistic Director of Drayton Entertainment. Drayton hosts one branch of the Wellington County library system.

Healthcare

Located downtown Drayton, the Mapleton Health Centre's eight primary care physicians and four nurse practitioners service 15,000 patients.

Media

Drayton is serviced specifically by a local newspaper The Community News, in addition to the Wellington Advertiser, a publication serving the entirety of Wellington County.

Natural disasters

On June 23, 2017, Drayton and surrounding Wellington County towns declared a state of emergency due to flooding. Over 100 mm of rain fell within 24 hours. Many roads were closed and hundreds of basements were flooded.

Recreation

Drayton contains the PMD Arena as well as the agricultural fairgrounds, Kinsmen Park, Riverside Park, Centennial Park, and ABC Park. There are various soccer field and baseball diamonds located throughout Drayton. Children can play in official Drayton soccer, hockey, or baseball leagues as well as on many intramural teams in school.

References

External links

Township of Mapleton: Area History

Drayton Entertainment / Drayton Festival TheatreDrayton
at Geographical Names of Canada {{authority control Communities in Wellington County, Ontario Former villages in Ontario