Durham, Ontario
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Durham is a small valley town on the base of the Bruce Peninsula in Grey County, Ontario, Canada.
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[edit] Location
Durham, Ontario is 44 kilometers South of Owen Sound and 65 kilometers North of Guelph on Grey Road 6. The middle of the town is the intersecion of Grey Road 6 and Grey Road 4. Durham is approximately 18 kilometers East of Hanover.
The population of Durham has not expanded or contracted much over the past decade, staying steady at roughly 2500 people. This compares to neighbour Hanover which has grown from 6400 to 8200 people in the past decade.
Durham is built around the Saugeen River and has three manmade dams. These dams have suffered at least two major floods, once in 1929 when the dam broke and again in 1997 due to ice blockage. Durham also used to be the center of the livestock exchange for the surrounding Grey and Bruce counties, which it lays close to the border of. On the outskirts of Durham, there are several small communities, such as Varney, Dornoch, Aberdeen, Allan Park, Priceville and Holstein.
[edit] Foundations of Durham
Founded on May 1, 1842 by Archibald Hunter, a Scottish traveller, Durham became one of the first ever self-sustaining communities in Canada through the flour and saw mills of an Irishman named John Edge, founded in the 1840s. Those mills were purchased by Robert McGowan in 1888, hence the Durham landmark McGowan Falls on the Saugeen River. Durham now has two major companies for employment: Durham Furniture and Interforest. Durham Furniture is a company that specializes in stained and whitewashed bedroom furniture and employs slightly more than 600 people. Interforest is a multinational corporation that deals with the treatment and production of lumber.
Durham has its own hospital with limited emergency facilities, although it was once a full blown community hospital equipped to handle most situations. The town is patrolled by the municipality's West Grey Police, and the town does have its own police station. Also, Durham has its own volunteer firefighter service and station. The town has its own Canada Post building, as well as a town hall. The town also has a Conservation Area with camp sites that are very popular during the summertime and help expand local business.
- Text from the Founding of Durham Plaque:
- In 1842 Archibald Hunter, a Scottish immigrant, led a party northward on the Garafraxa "colonization road" to the banks of the Saugeen River. The resulting settlement was first called Bentinck and later Durham, probably to honour the English birthplace of George Jackson, the first local Crown Land Agent. The establishment of flour and grist-mills in 1847 made the town the major agricultural centre of the district. The Durham Road, another settlement route , was constructed through the town in 1849. Further growth followed, churches were founded, a school organized, and a newspaper, the Chronicle, was established in 1857. By an Act passed in 1872, the Ontario legislature incorporated Durham as a town. [1]
[edit] Community Centers
Durham presently has two schools: Spruce Ridge Community School and St. Peter and St. Paul's Catholic School. Spruce Ridge is the result of the amalgamation of the Saugeen Valley Community School and Durham District Community School. Durham District used to be the town's high school until the 1970s when it amalgamated with Hanover's high school to form John Diefenbaker Secondary School. Students that graduate from SRCS generally attend Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton or JDSS in Hanover. Durham has an arena that can hold 3000 people and also has an art gallery. The town hosts an annual fall fair that attracts many visitors. There is a public library and a couple small bookshops. Durham is the home of Branch 308 of the Royal Canadian Legion and multiple churches for the variety of denominations. The Durham Agricultural Society was founded in 1858. The Durham Loyal Orange Lodge has existed in Durham since the 1850s. The Durham Horticultural Society dates back to at least 1896. Durham's Masonic Lodge was chartered in 1873. Girl Guides have been presented since two years after it's Canadian founding, 1912. The first Rotary Club meeting held in Durham was on February 17, 1938. The Kinsmen Club was founded May 30, 1950 and the Kinette Club was founded March 28, 1957. Boy Scouts in Durham date back to the 1920s. The Durham & District Optimist Club was chartered June 14, 1988.
As of the town census in 1861, Durham had 4 churches: the Free Church Presbyterian, the Church of England, the Wesleyan Methodist, and the Baptist Church. Durham has always had a cornicopia of churches, even to this day the town is scattered with beautiful old buildings of faith. The Durham Baptist Church was founded by Reverend Alexander Stewart, and dates back to the mid-19th Century. In 1902, the frame of the church was moved and a new large red brick church was built as its replacement. This building is detailed with beautiful stained glass windows. The Durham Foursquare Gospel Church was founded in 1929 in a tent. A year later, in 1930, the Church took up permanent residence on the town's main street. The Durham Presbyterian Church was founded in the early 1850s. The Presbyterian Church was granted 10 acres of land by the Crown in 1852. Due to a Federal Government law that combined the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational faiths into the United Church in 1925, a new and controversial church was created in Durham. Only some Presbyterian and Methodist Churches followed this order, but nonetheless this law led to the formation of the Knox United Church that was erected on top of the Durham Hill. The earliest known Methodist service was help in 1849. The Methodist Church was erected in the mid-1860s. The Methodist Church joined the Knox United Church in 1925. The first Anglican service happened in 1849. The Trinity Anglican Church dates back to around that time and burnt down in 1876. The church was rebuilt in 1877 and still stands there today despite multiple lightning strikes. Catholic services in Durham date back to 1852, the first being held by Jesuit Missionary Reverend Casper Matoga. The first Catholic Church was built in Durham 1867 but was burnt down by an arsonist on July 4, 1870. A second Catholic Church was purchased for $900 in 1892. The Church's main hall, known at St. Andrew's Hall was used as their place of worship until the 1940s. In 1940, St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church was created on top of the Durham Hill, right beside the St. Peter and St. Paul's Catholic School. The Fellowship Baptist Church was founded in 1990. There is also a Jehovah's Witness Church to the West of Durham on Grey Road 4.
[edit] Population and Demographics
The following information is a product of a Statistics Canada Report. 2
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- According to the 2001 Census Report conducted by Statistics Canada, the population of Durham stands at 2647 people. This number is up from 2641 people in 1996.
- Durham, which stands at 4.62 km², has a population density of 572.9 ppl/km².
- As it stands, 47.3% of the residents of Durham are Male and 52.7% of the residents are Female.
- The median Male age is 37.5, the median Female age is 44.7.
- 94.5% of Durham's people speak only English, and only 0.4% can speak any French what-so-ever.
- 93% of the population is Canadian born.
- 2.3% of Durham is of Aboriginal descent.
- Durham is 99.4% Caucasian while the other 0.6% is of any visible minority.
- 58.1% of the population are Protestant, 11.5% are Catholic, 0.4% are Christian Orthodox, 3.3% are Christian (No Specific Denomination), and 26.2% are of no relgious belief.
[edit] Sports in Durham
During the 1850s and 1860s Durham athletes constantly travelled to neighboring towns like Mount Forest to compete in Curling matches during the winter and Cricket matches during the hot Southern Ontario summers. The local Cricket league in the 1860s included, with Durham and Mount Forest, Owen Sound, Chesley, Walkerton, and Listowel. In 1882, Harriston and Dundalk joined the local league. For 40 years, Durham maintained a Junior, Senior, and School league team. By the 1910s, Cricket dropped in popularity and was no longer consistently played by the people of Durham. Soccer, then known as Football, became popular in the late 1870s but was replaced by Lacrosse in the 1890s. The Town of Durham enjoyed sports so much that at the turn of the 19th Century, Durham used to dedicate 3 days per year to day-long displays of athletics. These days usually involved Soccer, Lacrosse, Cricket, and Baseball games, from Dawn until Dusk, to be played for the townspeople.
In 1908, the first ever indoor ice arena was built by Thomas Brown to fascilitate the towns growing fascination with the sport of Hockey. At least two outdoor arenas had been built in rescent years, but this was meant to be a perminant replacement. The first hockey game was played in the arena on January 1, 1909. A new arena was built in 1952 through fundraising by the Kinsman Club, the Rotary Club, and Branch 308 of the Royal Canadian Legion. Hap McGirr was the Guardian of this arena until 1974. This arena was condemned in 1975 and the current complex finished construction in 1977.
Durham considers itself a hockey town, and for the most-part it is true. Hockey is the most popular pastime and normally draws over 250 children and teens into its Minor Hockey system. Durham has won a number of All-Ontario Championships. The town's parent club under minor hockey guidelines is the Grey-Bruce Highlanders AAA Hockey Team. Durham hockey was first organized in the early 1900s by Frank Irwin and Peter Gagnon. Erben Schutz and Martin Lauder found early success through Durham hockey, playing in the 1920s for the NHL's Boston Bruins. The town won its first major hockey award in the 1930-31 season as one of the precurors to the Durham Huskies won the Junior Northern Hockey League. Durham's first Ontario Hockey Association Senior championship happened in 1935-36, won by another precursor to the Durham Huskies. In fact, the Huskies (before they were called the Huskies) were 3 different hockey teams: a Junior team, an Intermediate team, and a Senior team. By 1952, the year the team was named, there was only an Intermediate and Senior team, but they were quite dominate in their leagues. The Intermediate Huskies folded around 1970, but not before winning 4 championships. The Senior team was extremely successful, winning multiple championships and competing for Allan and Hardy Cups, but folded before the 1992-93 season. The Durham Flyers were a short lived team in the 1950s, but did not find much success in their 3 years of existence. In 1996, Durham was granted the creation of the Durham Huskies Junior "A" Hockey Team by the Metro Junior A Hockey League. The Jr. Huskies folded in 2001. The ever-successful Durham Thundercats Senior Hockey Team have brought the town 14 WOAA championship trophies and remain at the top of the WOAA to this day. They were originally called the "72's" to coincide with their founding and fill the Durham Community Centre every Friday night.
Durham has soccer and baseball youth programs and competes in the local leagues. Most of Durham's soccer is played across from the Durham Community Centre at the Durham Soccer Field. Baseball is played outdoors behind the Durham Community Centre in the Durham Ball Parks. Durham youths still enjoy playing lacrosse, but the sport has not been organized in Durham for many decades. Generally, players have to travel to Williamsford or Owen Sound to play lacrosse. The Durham Curling Rink is on the East end of town beside what was the Saugeen Valley Community School, and has been a long enjoyed pastime for the people of Durham.
- Related Pages: Durham Huskies, Durham Thundercats, Durham Flyers
[edit] Current Events
On January 9, 1997, Mayor Kris Kennedy declared a state of emergency and asked for federal assistance to deal with extensive flooding that was crippling the west end of town. Canadian Forces were sent in for the relief effort and 200 citizens were evacuated. The schools and many businesses closed during the most dangerous week of flooding, and due to poor weather conditions, relief efforts were considered strenuous. Most of the evacuated residents were able to return home as of January 24, 1997. The cause of the flooding was determined to be ice blockages at Durham's reinforced dams. There was a point were there was concern that one of the main bridges in town was going to get ripped away by the flood, but the National Guard elected to remove the ice that was effecting the bridge with explosives. 3
"Despite the adversity, the people of Durham showed great courage during that flood. I want to pay special tribute to the volunteers and the relief workers who offered the victims both the good work of their hands and the comfort of their spirits. Durham Mayor Kris Kennedy is also to be commended for taking swift and decisive action to protect public safety. I also want to thank the soldiers from the Militia Training and Support Centre at Meaford for their work and assistance." 4
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- - Rt Hon. Ovid Jackson MP on February 3, 1997
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Durham was named the 1997 "Best Bloomin' Town" in Canada by the Communities in Bloom Committee. The town won the prize in the 1500 to 5000 people category.
Due to former Ontario Premier Mike Harris and a variety of other political forces, Durham has recently joined the Municipality of West Grey. Former Mayor Kris Kennedy (list of Durham's Mayors) signed the town over to the municipality in 2001. Due to the amalgamation with West Grey, the position of Durham's mayor has been surrendered to the municipality, and has since been vacant. Due to the loss of the incorporation of the town, Durham's library was swallowed by the West Grey Library. Durham's long running newspaper, "The Durham Chronicle", was sold to an out of town company and is now published in Osprey, Ontario under the name "The Post". The Durham District Community School has lost its identity, and is now known as the Spruce Ridge Community School. The Durham Huskies, the town's traditional hockey franchise, has been inactive since the year of the amalgamation.
There is no word on the possibility of a severance of the Town of Durham from the Municipality of West Grey.
[edit] Sources
[edit] Book Sources
- "A History of the Town of Durham 1842-1994" by The Durham Historical Committee. Stan Brown Printers Ltd, Owen Sound, Ontario. Copyright 1994. ISBN 0-9699201-0-5.
[edit] External links
- Durham Art Gallery
- Durham Conservation Area
- Durham Public Library
- Grey & Bruce Groundwater Study
- West Grey Website
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Owen Sound Chatsworth Williamsford Dornoch |
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| Walkerton, Hanover |
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Priceville, Flesherton | ||
| Mount Forest Arthur Fergus Guelph |
