Cotswold is a small community located in the Town of Minto, in the northern part of Wellington County in southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Cotswold was originally a separate community, but was amalgamated with other communities to create the Town of Minto.

History

The name

Cotswold The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the be ...

is English, associated with a range of hills in the central South West of England renowned for farming. The name does not reflect the backgrounds of the early settlers in the district, most of whom where Scottish and Irish; legend says that a settler imported sheep from Cotswold hills and borrowed the name for the post office. The early settlement did have several stores, including a blacksmith shop,

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who repairs shoes * Cobbler (food), a type of pie Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * ''The Cobbler' ...

, cheese Factory,

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

, log schoolhouse, and

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, one of which also functioned as the post office.. The Cotswold Cheese factory (Minto and Arthur Cheese and Butter Manufacturing Company Limited) opened in 1881 and was successful in its 30 years of business, but was still only a marginal operation. Records show a change in

ownership Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as '' title'', which may be separated and held by dif ...

of various businesses (possibly due to low profits). The community declined as the roads to Palmerston and Harriston improved. The post office was the last holdout; it closed in 1914. After 50 years of settlement, most of Cotswold's pioneers were gone.

List of some Cotswold settlers and pioneers

*Wellington Adams *George Calder *John Campbell *Richard Conquest *John Darroch *John Greenwood *Charles, Thomas, and William Hughes *Elizabeth and Micheal Lawless *Peter Mckenzie *John Prain *George Reid *James Robertson *Wellington Wilson

Today

The last remaining building was the Cotswold United Church, which was torn down circa 2010. The community has been amalgamated with: Clifford, Cotswold,

Drew Drew may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;In the United States * Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Drew, Mississippi, a city * Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Drew County, Arkansas ...

, Fultons, Glenlee, Harriston, and Palmerston to form the Town of Minto.

References

External links

* * * * {{authority control Communities in Wellington County, Ontario