Chesley (originally Sconeville) is a community in

Bruce County Bruce County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It has eight lower-tier municipalities with a total 2021 population of 73,396. It is named for James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, the sixth Governor General of t ...

, Ontario, Canada, located within the municipality of Arran–Elderslie. The name Sconeville was replaced in 1868 to mark the career of Solomon Chesley, an official in the pre-Confederation

Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...

. Its town slogan is "The Nicest Town Around." Chesley is located north of both Walkerton on Bruce Road 19 and

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

on County Road 10. It is now an example of a typical rural Ontario community. Chesley originally developed around mills built on the

Saugeen River The Saugeen River is located in southern Ontario, Canada. The river begins in the Osprey Wetland Conservation Lands and flows generally north-west about before exiting into Lake Huron. The river is navigable for some distance, and was once an im ...

around 1858. It expanded further when it was connected to the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

in 1881. A great fire destroyed most of the original downtown core in 1888, and the destroyed wood buildings were replaced by brick and stone. From 1877 to 2004, the town had a weekly newspaper called ''The Chesley Enterprise''. The town's major source of employment is commercial manufacturing. From 1886 to 1987, the Krug family operated the Krug Bros. furniture manufacturing business. Currently Crate Designs, a locally owned furniture manufacturing factory, is the only surviving furniture factory, following the recent downsizing of Durham Furniture (2007). Chesley is part of the Bluewater District School Board and has a junior kindergarten to grade 8 school called the Chesley District Community School. In 2014, the original Chesley District High School joined with the Kinghurst Community School to form a junior kindergarten to grade 12 facility. In 2017, the high school section closed and it is now a junior kindergarten to grade 8 facility. The town is known for the statue of a giant steer on the north end of town, which is affectionately known as "Big Bruce." Recently the town has begun to create a network of walking trails that encompasses much of the town's existing infrastructure of walking paths. Known as the heritage trail, it spans a large part of the town, and its waterside parks. In 2005, Chesley was able to open a Heritage and Woodworking Museum due to an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant. The museum was housed in the Dawson House on 1st Avenue, formerly the home of town doctors Stewart and Dawson. The building had been left to the town for public use in the 1970s; in 2013, Chesley put Dawson House up for sale.

Notable people

Actors

* Victoria Pratt (1970 – ), known for her roles of Sarge in

Cleopatra 2525 ''Cleopatra 2525'' is an American science fiction television series that aired in syndication for two seasons, from January 2000 to March 2001. Produced by Renaissance Pictures and distributed by Studios USA Television Distribution, many stat ...

and Shalimar in Mutant X

Athletes

* Paul MacDermid (1963 – ), professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player with the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

and

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

Mickey MacKay Duncan McMillan "Mickey" MacKay (May 25, 1894 – May 30, 1940) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre (ice hockey), centre and Rover (ice hockey), rover who played primarily in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHL) and Western Canada ...

(1894 – 1940), professional

player with the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

who was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 1952 * Charles Pletsch (1893 – 1950), professional

player with the Hamilton Tigers * Percy Traub (1896 – 1948), professional

player with the

and Detroit Cougars

Philanthropists

* Frank Gross (1919 – 2006), awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in 2006

Politicians

* Reuben Baetz (1923 – 1996), member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from 1977 – 1987 * Solomon Yeomans Chesley (1796 – 1880), member of the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

from 1841 – 1844; town of Chesley is named after him *

Walt Elliot Robert Walter Elliot (October 17, 1933 – June 4, 2020) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Ontario Liberal Party, Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990. He represented the riding of Halton North. B ...

(1933 – 2020), member of the

from 1987 – 1990

References

{{authority control Former towns in Ontario Communities in Bruce County