Palgrave is a Compact Rural Community and

unincorporated place An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the Town of Caledon,

Regional Municipality of Peel The Regional Municipality of Peel (informally Peel Region or Region of Peel, also formerly Peel County) is a regional municipality in the Greater Toronto Area, Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of three municipalities to the west and northwest ...

in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

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 ...

. It is about north of

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

and about northwest of

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 ...

. Palgrave is located east of Orangeville, south of

Alliston Alliston is a settlement in Simcoe County in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has been part of the Town of New Tecumseth since the 1991 amalgamation of Alliston and nearby villages of Beeton, Tottenham, and the Township of Tecumseth. The p ...

, west of Newmarket and north of

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

Geography

Palgrave is situated on the

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 ...

, a long ridge of hilly terrain created by retreating glaciers depositing large quantities of sand and gravel sediments. The

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

is a primary source for many river systems in this part of

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

. The nearby Palgrave Moraine intersects the Oak Ridges Moraine, and ultimately merges with it to the east, at the western boundary of King Township. The Humber River flows west of Palgrave. Several creeks and swampy ponds are found in the area and a former

mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the co ...

lies to the northwest. Mount Wolfe, one of the highest hills in the area, is located east of the town. *Population (2006): 830 persons in 274 households *Population (2011): 1002 persons *Population (2016): 1044 persons in 396 households *Name of inhabitants: Palgravian PLPSP6p

History

Palgrave was originally called Buckstown after Brian Dolan, nicknamed Barney or Buck. He managed the Western Hotel after it was built in 1846. In 1869, postal authorities renamed the community Palgrave. In 1877 Hamilton & North-Western Railway was constructed through the centre of Palgrave, from the southwest to the northeast. This railway was taken over by 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 1888, and later absorbed by

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

s. Much of the track throughout this region was damaged by flooding in 1954 as a result of

Hurricane Hazel Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest, second-costliest, and most intense hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed at least 469 people in Haiti before it struck the United States near the border between North and Sou ...

and had to be rebuilt. Palgrave was a flag station on the CNR. Although there was a station with a passenger waiting room, the Agent at this location was removed in 1931. The station was located on the west side of the track (west of Hwy 50). Scheduled passenger service ended in July 1960 and the station was removed shortly thereafter. The rails over this section were removed in 1986. In 1906 the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

was constructed from

towards Muskoka. This line passes to the east of Palgrave and remains as part of the CP mainline between Toronto and Sudbury. The Canadian Pacific's Palgrave station was located near Mount Pleasant Rd. 2 kilometers northeast of the village. Canadian artist David B. Milne (1882–1953) lived in Palgrave for a short time from 1929 to 1932 and painted a number of scenes there. His work
''Kitchen Chimney''
depicts a view of the town's Elm Tree Hotel and is part of the collection of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

. Small housing developments were built around Palgrave in the 1950s, followed by estate home development and subdivisions beginning in the late 1960s.

Places of interest

Palgrave was bisected by a line of the Hamilton & North-Western Railway (mentioned above). The line was abandoned by CN in 1986 and has since been rehabilitated and incorporated into a multi-use regional recreational trail which is part of the Caledon Trailway, The Great Pine Ridge Trail and the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

. The Bruce Trail, one of Ontario's major recreational hiking trails, passes the town roughly 1.5 km to the west. Palgrave is home to the Caledon Equestrian Park, which played host to the equestrian portion of the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

. Many Equestrians who regularly horse show at the Caldeon Equestrian Park refer to the facility itself as Palgrave. The Albion Hills Conservation Area is located south of the town and offers picnicking, camping, hiking trails, swimming, mountain biking and cross-country skiing. The Palgrave Forest and Wildlife Area lies on the northwest periphery of the town and offers trails for hiking and cross-country skiing. EfstonScience, an astronomy and science retail store in

Toronto, Ontario 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 ...

, holds evening observing sessions at this Conservation Area. In 1963,

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

Productions filmed the family movie " Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" in Palgrave. The Palgrave Public School has 462 students (2020) from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Caledon Hills Brewery occupies what was the Church Public Inn. This heritage site contains the 1865 St. Alban's (Anglican) church.

Palgrave is home of following clubs

* Rotary Club of Palgrave * Palgrave

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Club

Notable people

* E.B. Cox - Internationally known sculptor and artist (1914-2003). Contemporary and friend of the Group of Seven *

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...

- Author, naturalist and adventurer. * William Abernethy Ogilvie - Painter and war artist *

Skye Sweetnam Skye Alexandra Sweetnam (born May 5, 1988) is a Canadian Rock music, rock and Heavy metal music, metal singer. She first entered the music industry in 2003 with the release of her debut single "Billy S." More than a year later, her debut studio ...

- Singer, raised in nearby Cedar Mills.

Settlements

*Castlederg, southwest *Cedar Mills, south *Cedar Meadows, southeast

Nearest communities

, south *

Caledon East Caledon East is an unincorporated community located within the Town of Caledon, Ontario, Canada, within the Regional Municipality of Peel. It has a population of 5 575. Geography Caledon East is located in Ward 3 of Caledon. The area is surrou ...

, west *

, north * Schomberg, east

References

External links

Albion Hills Conservation Area
Toronto and Region Conservation

current owner of the historic Elm Tree Hotel building, hotel history page {{Authority control Neighbourhoods in Caledon, Ontario