Arthur, Ontario

Arpher
—  Unincorporated community  —
The Village of Arthur Sign at the Intersection of Hwy 6 and Wellington Road 109.
Coordinates: 43°49′58″N 80°32′16″W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Wellington County
Township	Wellington North
Area
• Total	524.38 km2 (202.46 sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Forward sortation area	N0G 1A0
Area code(s)	519 and 226
NTS Map	040P15
GNBC Code	FADVI

Arthur (population 2,450) is a community located just north of Highway 6 and Wellington Road 109 in the township of Wellington North, Ontario, Canada. Formerly an independent village, Arthur was amalgamated into Wellington North on January 1, 1999.

History

Founding of Arthur Plaque

Arthur Village was named after Arthur Wellesley, who is better known as the Duke of Wellington. Arthur Village was first surveyed in 1841 by John McDonald and then officially in 1846 by D.B. Papineau. During the first survey in 1841, the population of Arthur was 22 people. Over the next 15 years this number rose to 400 and by 1900 the population has risen to just over 1500. The establishment of saw and grist mills sparked growth in the community. In 1851, a post office was opened and the first church and school were organized. Development was further encouraged in 1872 when a station of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway was opened.

The Arthur Enterprise News, established in 1863, was one of the few non-syndicated weekly newspapers in Canada.

In 1897, Arthur was one of the first villages in Ontario to be served by a power transmission line. There were no meters, but people were charged 10 cents for each lightbulb used. Power was available in the evenings and was cut off at midnight.

In 1906, Joe Sussman and his two brothers moved from Poland to the clothing district in Toronto. Joe moved to the Arthur area and would drive a horse-drawn carriage along the countryside, bringing clothing to people who lived on farms, and also would help out on farms if help was needed. In 1914, Joe settled his store at a permanent location, and the store quickly became popular with people from Arthur and surrounding areas. Today, Sussman's of Arthur is one of the largest independent owned clothiers in Canada.

Canada's Most Patriotic Village

Arthur Cenotaph

In November 1942, the Toronto Star ran a front page headline that read "Arthur Village Gives Sons and Money to Aid the War", and recognized Arthur as the Most Patriotic Village in Canada, as one out of every seven Arthur residents fought in the Second World War. At that time 126 residents had enlisted from the population of 890. It was the highest ratio in comparison to villages of comparable sizes in Canada. By the end of the war, 338 Arthur residents had enlisted, and 25 were killed in action.

During the first war bond campaign, the village of Arthur was the first community in Ontario to reach their quota within a few minutes. Arthur also led the communities in Wellington for every other war and victory bond campaign and surpassed all objectives that had been set. By the end of the fourth campaign, Arthur had raised a total of $250,000 which was an amount equal to 64% of the assessed value of the villages taxable property.

In 2002, David Tilson, MPP for Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey stated in the Ontario legislature, that because of the village of Arthur’s extraordinary World War II record, the community was now being recognized as “Canada’s Most Patriotic Village”.

Demographics

Populations for the Township of Wellington North (2011 Statistics Canada Census):

• Arthur: 2,421
• Mount Forest: 4,757
• Rural Wellington North: 4,299
• Total Population for the Township of Wellington North: 11,477
  • Population Density: 21.8 persons/km²

Education

Arthur High School

Built in 1890 and located on Smith Street, the first Arthur High School was constructed by D.M. McPherson. At the time it opened there were 53 students and 2 teachers but after an addition was built in 1906 it had doubled in size. Joining the teaching staff in 1927 and becoming principal three years later, P.E. Brown stayed on as principal until his retirement in 1967. In 1953, a larger high school was built along Conestoga Street which was able to hold many more students until it closed in 2004. The building has now been converted into the new home for Arthur Public School. Students from the Arthur community now attend high school at the Wellington Heights Secondary School in the neighboring town of Mount Forest.

Arthur Public School

Constructed in 1945 on the same grounds as the previous public school, the building on Eliza Street stayed open until 2005 when the school was then relocated to the old high school building on Conestoga Street.

St. John’s Catholic School

Originally built in 1884; St. John’s School was located on Georgina Street beside the St. John’s Church. This school was demolished and replaced with a one storey school in 1963. A new school was built on the east end of Tucker Street in 1995 where Catholic students from the Arthur area still attend. The former school on Georgina Street is now being used as a Parish Centre for St. John’s Church.

Famous Connections

• Chad Culp - lacrosse player from Arthur
• James J. Morrison – born in Arthur and became a political activist for Ontario farmers’ rights
• Olive Palmer – Arthur District High School teacher from 1938-1939 later married Prime Minister John Diefenbaker
• William Lyon Mackenzie – leader of the Upper Canada rebellion once owned a 100 acre farm on the outskirts of Arthur
• Rixon Rafter – born in Arthur and became the first blind newspaper editor in Canada in 1908
• Jamie Rooney (lacrosse) - lacrosse player from Arthur

External links

• Arthur at Geographical Names of Canada
• Ontario Plaques - Founding of Arthur
• Ontario Plaques - James Morrison 1861-1936
• - Township of Wellington North Website