Hensall, Ontario
N 43° 26.050 W 081° 30.242
17T E 459207 N 4809153
The Village of Hensall was amalgamated into the Municipality of Bluewater in 2001. So, since then this place hasn't been a place of government administration, but still serves an important community purpose as a library.
Waymark Code: WM105NB
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 03/03/2019
Views: 0
The Government of Ontario ordered a large number of municipal amalgamations in 1998 and 2001. The Village of Hensall was the subject of one of those. On January 1, 2001, the Village of Hensall along with the Villages of Zurich and Bayfield and and Townships of Hay and Stanley ceased to exist. Together, they became the Municipality of Bluewater.
The building says "Town Hall", but Hensall was technically a Village. According to a plaque on the front of the building, it became a Police Village in 1984.
A history of the early days of Hensall appears on (
visit link) It reads:
George and James Petty, two brothers from Yorkshire, England (locale of the original Hensall), are credited with founding Hensall in the 1870s. With incredible foresight, the Petty brothers gave property (then valued at $10/acre!) to the railroad, on the condition that the proposed rail line run through their Village. By 1876, the London-Huron-Bruce Rail Line was active and the Village of Hensall quickly grew around that busy transportation venue. After only one year, the settlement’s population already numbered between 300 and 400!
Rail access was instrumental in attracting the popular businesses of the day: various mills used the London-Huron-Bruce Line to ship large quantities of barley and other crops. The line acquired the moniker of ‘The Bread and Butter Express’ because farm wives transported produce to London’s Covent Garden Market each morning on the 8:22 a.m. train.
Hensall became a Police Village in 1884, and by 1888, the village was booming. Hensall’s market was known as the best west of Toronto. Numerous businesses became established to accommodate the growing population; by the late 1890s, Hensall boasted six grocery stores! In 1896, Hensall was incorporated as a Village and the early 1900s brought another distinction to this thriving hub: Hensall’s Jenny Smillie became Canada’s first female surgeon. Dr. Smillie conducted a practise in Toronto most of her life, living to celebrate her 100th birthday.