North Dundas, Ontario

Village of Chesterville

Chesterville on the South Nation River

In 1825, two men by the name of Merkley made plans to build a mill, but while returning from Waddington with their supplies, both men drowned after their canoe upset. In the early 1830s, Thomas Armstrong and his son John, both of Edwardsburg, erected a saw mill on the site where the previous mill was supposed to be built. The site was a prime location because it was situated on the Nation River, a major transportation route at the time.^[2] After John's death from cholera, Thomas took over and soon had a grist mill in operation as well, and by 1838, these two mills had attracted many settlers to the area. It was because of Thomas and John Armstrong that the area gained the name Armstrong's Mills. In 1845, a post office was erected and the area became known as Winchester. In 1848, the Province of Ontario was divided up into townships, and in 1850, the first Chamber of Council was established in the area. There was much confusion due to their being a Winchester, West Winchester, and North Winchester, so in 1875, Winchester was changed to Chesterville, after Chester T. Casselman, a telegraph operator in the area who eventually became the postmaster.^[3] In 1890, Chesterville was incorporated as a village.^[4]

Village of Winchester

Winchester

The village was originally settled by Ben Bates in 1835 and was first called Bates Corners. During the early years residents traveled to Winchester (Chesterville) for supplies and to pick up their mail they went to Matilda (Iroquois). The Morewood area had swamp like conditions which drew the Irish and Scottish settlers, as water has always been crucial for survival and development. The early Irish settlers in the Ormond area used the Castor River as means of transportation. Business started to evolve and by 1855, Winchester had a general store, blacksmith shop, a carriage maker and a farm produce business. Also in 1855, the first post office was opened and with this the name of Bates Corners was changed to West Winchester. In 1884 with the establishment of the Canadian Pacific Railway, West Winchester became Winchester. Winchester enjoyed years of growth and, in January 1888, was incorporated as a village and an independent township.^[5]

Winchester District Memorial Hospital (WDMH) is located in the Village of Winchester. The hospital recently underwent a $60 million redevelopment. This significant redevelopment included the construction of a new wing, redevelopment of emergency services, acute care, obstetrical inpatient services, day surgery and a state of the art diagnostic imaging unit including a new CT Scanner and digital mammography.

It is a rural teaching hospital affiliated with 14 universities and colleges, including the University of Ottawa and St. Paul's University. It is networked with all hospitals and community agencies in the Champlain LHIN.

It is supported by 150 physicians in the fields of anaesthesia, cardiology, dentistry, diagnostic Imaging, emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, geriatrics, gynaecology, internal medicine, nephrology, ostetrics, ophthalmology, paediatrics, physical medicine, and urology.

Mountain Township

In 1798, it was named by John Graves Simcoe after Jacob Mountain, the first Anglican Bishop of Quebec, a personal friend. The township began to develop between 1868 and 1872, when two saw mills were erected by John Smirle and James Hyndman. The township had three post offices: in South Mountain (1851), Hallville (1873), and Mountain (1888). In September 1887, the first railroad track was opened and the station became a shipping station for cheese, livestock, milk, eggs and other farm produce.^[6] The Tinkler's Oak Valley Farms are one of the many examples of great quality dairy out of the region.