"THE FOUNDER OF ELORA" - Elora, ON
Posted by: 
ras258
N 43° 41.006 W 080° 25.836
17T E 545893 N 4836870
This plaque tells of Captain William Gilkison who chose this site for a settlement 1832 and named it Elora.
Waymark Code: WMCVKN
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 10/15/2011
Views: 9
It is thanks to Captain Gilkison, to a large extent, that the town of Elora exists. This plaque tells of how he chose this site and started a settlement here by the Grand River and called it Elora.
The plaque reads:
"The Founder of Elora
Captain William Gilkison (1777-1833) was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and emigrated to North America in 1796. He served with the British forces in the War of 1812 as an assistant quartermaster-general, and in 1832 purchased some 14,000 acres of land in Nichol Township. He selected this area at the falls of the Grand River as a town site for his proposed settlement and named it Elora. It was laid out by Lewis Burwell, deputy provincial land surveyor, late in 1832, and the following year Gilkison established a sawmill and a general store. The founder of Elora died in April 1833, before the full results of his foresight and enterprise were achieved.
Erected by the Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board."
* Treknschmidt noted that a shiny new plaque had replaced the original one so I have used their photo to show the current plaque. Thank you for the update and the use of your photo.
Address or location of plaque: On Geddes Street, near Colborne Street, Elora, ON
Physical location of plaque: Village
"Ontario Plaques" Website for this "Plaque": [Web Link]
A web-site for more details.: [Web Link]
Description of any physical remains at site of "Historical Plaque": None
This 'Plaque' describes: A 'Person'
Condition of sign: Fading
Is this a bilingual sign?: No !
What is the second/third language?: None
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