Ponsonby, Ontario
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Ponsonby is an unincorporated rural community on Wellington County Road 7 in
Centre Wellington Centre Wellington is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, located in Wellington County. The primary communities are Elora and Fergus. The area is agricultural but also includes industries such as manufacturing. In the Canada 2016 Cens ...
township,
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 ...
. The Upper Grand District School Board maintains Ponsonby Public School on Wellington Road 7. Ponsonby Recreation Club hosts softball and fastball leagues at the Ponsonby ball diamonds on Second Line East near Ponsonby.Ponsonby Softball
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History

Ponsonby was situated along the Garafraxa Settlement Road (which led from
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
to
Owen Sound Owen Sound (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat, seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi River, Pottawatomi and Sydenham River ...
via
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...
) to an area known as the Queen's Bush. This settlement road was another government plan to bring settlers to the area with an offer of . The name Garafraxa is said to be a corruption of the word Sassafrax, a shrub that grew in the district. Others believed it was from an Indian word meaning 'panther country'. Charles Rankin surveyed the Garafraxa Road around 1840, however the road did not become well populated until the 1850s. Ponsonby was another of many small towns in which travellers could stop and rest for the night. The original name of the town was "Thorpville", however it was changed in 1863 when James Halley took over the post office.


References

Communities in Centre Wellington Ghost towns in Ontario {{WesternOntario-geo-stub