Grafton is a community in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

. It is an example of the type of hamlets that flourished in the 19th century.

Location

Grafton is located in Northumberland County, in the township of

Alnwick/Haldimand The Township of Alnwick/Haldimand is a township (Canada), township in central Ontario, Canada, in Northumberland County, Ontario, Northumberland County, situated between Lake Ontario and Rice Lake (Ontario), Rice Lake. It was formed in 2001 by th ...

. It is 12 km east of

Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County, Ontario, Northumberla ...

on the former Highway 2 (now County Road 2), with close access to

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...

. The hamlet is near the geographically significant

Oak Ridges Moraine The Oak Ridges Moraine is an Ecology, ecologically important Geology, geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon, Ontario, Caledon and Rice Lake (Ontario ...

at Rice Lake.

Name

Grafton was originally called Grover's Tavern until March 1832, when it was renamed in honour of the hometown of John Grover:

Grafton, Massachusetts Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,664 at the 2020 census. The town consists of the North Grafton, Grafton, and South Grafton geographic areas, each with a separate ZIP Code. Incorporated ...

. The original Grover's Tavern, the namesake building of the hamlet, still stands today as the Grafton Village Inn, a restaurant and bed and breakfast in the heart of the hamlet. It was also referred to early in its history as Haldimand, which is the name of the township it is located in.

History

Benjamin Ewing was one of the first settlers in Grafton, having settled by 1798 in a property located on what is currently Benlock Road. Another early settler (from 1807 or 1808) was his friend Eliakim Barnum, the original owner of the Barnum House on Hwy #2. Barnum House is now a museum in Grafton, and it is thought that Eliakim Barnum bought the house from another family who owned it before. Barnum married Ben's sister Hannah Ewing Blanchard just after 1812. Grafton had a bustling port for many years,

shipping grain The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...

, barley, and other commodities to communities along the Great Lakes. In addition, the hamlet included a

Sons of Temperance The Sons of Temperance was and is a brotherhood of men who promoted the temperance movement and Benefit society, mutual support. The organization was started in New York City in 1842. In the 1840s, it spread quickly across the United States and ...

group, an order of Freemasons, and numerous other social leagues. Bolstered by satellite communities such as Centreton, Castleton, Wicklow, and Vernonville, Grafton was a productive hamlet that supported itself through both agriculture and services. By the late 1870s, the hamlet could boast of having a doctor, several taverns and inns, a cheese factory, a blacksmith, a public scale, and a train station on the GTR line. Milk and dairy products were shipped daily to both

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and regular passenger service was also available. Grafton was successful enough at this time to earn a weekly column in the Cobourg daily newspaper, "Latest Items from Grafton," which ran from 1875 to 1877. The column included news of the surrounding communities and hamlets and detailed various social, political, and economic on-goings in the area, such as picnics, local crime, sporting contests, and harvest reports. The town of Grafton currently has a small population of under one thousand. Many early settlers continue to have descendants living in the area; notable family names include McKenzie, Calnan, McBride, Johnston, Inglis, Harnden, Harrison, Raymond, Owens, Davis, Bryden, Broomfield, Chamberlain, Mian, Lackey, Lawless, and Bryson. Many of the early settler families have routes, roads, and landmarks named for them in the hamlets and surrounding areas, such as Broomfield Road, which runs roughly between Vernonville and Centreton.

Economy

Businesses and community buildings include the Haldimand Memorial Arena, the Grafton Community Centre & Library, Grafton Public School, St. Marys Elementary School, Grafton Variety, Prentice's Garage, The Durham Farmers Co-op farm and feed store, the Bullpen, 1812 Antiques, Lantern Books, the Grafton Village Inn, and the Lawless Art Gallery. Grafton is currently home to such notable places as St. Annes Inn & Spa, the former home of Bob Homme ("The Friendly Giant"), the Barnum House museum, and a defunct canning factory, Grafton Arena (since converted into a private residence). Grafton is supported by these smaller businesses and tourism. Agriculture is still prevalent in the surrounding area, predominantly with crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat, and livestock including beef, dairy, and poultry. The processing and shipping elements of the agricultural business have moved on beyond Grafton. There continues to be development and residential growth in and around the hamlet as the area grows in size. Grafton is the current site in which the Kirkland Signature brand of Costco sources its spring water (sold in stores across the province). It is also the source for water for the RealCanadian water bottle company. File:Grafton Ontario, Barnum House, 1819.jpg, Barnum House, 1819 File:Grafton, Commercial Building 1820 LK.jpg, Commercial Building, 1820 File:Grafton, Lawless Cottage, c. 1820, LK.jpg, Grafton, Lawless Cottage, c. 1820, LK File:Grafton, Grover House, 1822, LK.jpg, Grover House, c. 1822 File:The Grafton Inn, 1833 1 LK.jpg, The Grafton Village Inn, c. 1833 File:Grafton Ont. St. Andrew's United Church, formerly Presbyterian, 1844, LK.jpg, St. Andrew's United Church (Formerly Presbyterian), 1844

References

External links

{{authority control Communities in Northumberland County, Ontario