|
ACTON MEETS THE CHALLENGE By Colin Gibson ‘Leathertown’. The acronym has a certain cachet – a swaggering panache, if you will. But this offers merely a one- dimensional picture of a town, which most definitely deserves better.
Originally Danville, then Adamsville - after brothers Ezra, Zenas and Rufus Adams, Methodist preachers who came to farm the area in 1825, and are recognized as the founders of the community. In 1844, the name Acton was adopted, at the suggestion of Postmaster Robert Swan. The Adams brothers built a saw mill and a flour mill, Halton Flour Milling Inc. presently occupies the original location, brought relative prosperity to the area in terms of jobs and disposable income and laid out the plans for the town. A number of streets still bear the name of Adams family members.
Ransom Adams, a local businessman who died in 1880, was the last Adams family member to live in the community. The ‘Leathertown’ connection traces its roots back to when Abraham Nelles established a tannery in 1842, and has been nurtured ever since. The area became even more of an attraction when, pardon the phrase, "the railway came to town" in 1856. In 1865, Beardmore Tanning Company of Hamilton purchased the Nelles tannery and quite literally, soon became the engine that stoked the fires of the town. Employee housing sprang up; the company built tennis courts, a bowling green, a golf course, a boathouse on what they called the Mill Pond, an outdoor arena and ran a cooperative store. The town was flourishing. At one point, it is recorded; Beardmore billed itself as the largest tannery in the British Empire.
In 1874, Acton was incorporated as a village and 100 years later, 1974, along with a portion of Oakville, the Township of Esquesing, Norval, Georgetown and a number of cluster hamlets, joined together to become the Town of Halton Hills and eventually part of the Halton Region. The tannery was purchased by Canada Packers in 1944 and provided local employment until its closure in 1986. The closure of the Beardmore Tannery in 1986 was a harsh blow to the community. The loss of jobs meant a loss of money circulating through the town and small businesses suffered as a result. You can’t keep a good town down for long, however and Acton has revitalized itself as something as a tourist attraction. The phrase "Its worth the drive to Acton" has become known throughout southern Ontario by way of print, radio and television advertisements as the siren call of the Olde Hide House a very successful leather goods retail outlet. In fact, the store opened in 1980 in one of the original Beardmore warehouses, which was built in 1899. As customers flocked to the Olde Hide House, the town and businesses people took note, and advantage, and with the closure of Beardmore, a burgeoning tourism industry took shape.
These include: the Olde Hide House, Halton Flour Milling Inc., the Acton Town Hall (built in 1882) and Moorecroft House. Edward Moore purchased this property in 1855 from the Adams family. In 1897, Moore had the original house moved and erected a magnificent mansion. It later became the home of the president of the Beardmore Tannery. Activities abound in Acton year-round. On the weekend of June 24-25th, a reunion I scheduled for students who attended the old Acton and District High School between 1954 and 1957. A Summer Sample Fest of food is scheduled for Canada Day, while the extremely popular Leathertown Festival takes place on the first Sunday after the August Civic holiday. Not to be forgotten, is the Acton Fall Fair, billed as "One of the best little Fairs in Ontario", its held on the third weekend in September at Prospect Park. Prospect Park sits in the middle of Acton on the shore of Fairy Lake and its 14 acres offer picnic areas, ball diamonds, tennis courts, a beach and boat rentals. Fairy Lake, originally called the Mill Pond, was dammed-up by the Adams’ to provide power for their saw and flour mill.
Service clubs are very active in the community, including the very community- oriented Branch 197, Royal Canadian Legion. A myriad of adult and youth sports are available and the new Acton Arena complex, opened two years ago, includes a seniors centre and a community centre. Two golf clubs, Blue Springs and Acton Meadows are located within easy driving distance just outside the town limits.
Elliot notes controlled development in the works which should raise the population to 10000 within five years. This would be the maximum the present sewage system could handle. Connie Turpin, 54 a single mother whose two sons, Robert and Ryan, thrived in the town and school sports’ systems, was voted Citizen of the Year in 1990. She was recognized for her dedication and hard work in the Acton Minor Softball Association, Acton House League hockey and the local Air Cadets. She describes Acton as, "A friendly community with old-style values." She offers this bit of cogent advise for both new parents and new residents, "It takes a lot out of you, but when you’re a parent and a member of the community, you have to be involved with your kids and be supportive of your kids. You don’t give the child $5 and say ‘see you later’!" With acknowledgement to the Olde Hide House, it is ‘Worth the drive to Acton’, for its tourist attractions, its friendly residents and its small town Ontario ambience that seems harder and harder to find as we tentatively enter the 21st century. |
Leathertown is Acton, a community of approximately 7400 in the town of Halton
Hills, which is multi-dimensional in the sense that it offers a rich history of
the area. Acton shows a determination to preserve and protect its historical
legacy, while at the same time, battling with fierce resolve to retain its
small-town integrity at a time when those supposedly in the know assume that ‘bigger
is always better’.
Acton became part of the Township of Esquesing – land purchased by the
British government in 1818 from an Ojibwa band of native Canadians, Mississauga,
as a haven for United Empire Loyalists.
Other tanneries sprang up in the late 1800’s and leather was supplied to
companies which included: Hewston Shoe, Coronna Shoe, Superior Glove, Marzo
Glove, Frank Heller and Co. and a number of others.
The town now offers a comfortable half-hour walking tour of its historic
environs and a number of buildings have been designated ‘heritage’ buildings
and sport an appropriate historic plaque.
The Lake has seen hard times but is now – like the town itself – going
through revitalization. Over the past few months, an environmental organization,
the Friends of Fairy Lake, who promise "long-term vigilance" have been
stalwart in their efforts to nurse the lake back to truly healthy status.
Norm Elliot, born and raised in Acton, has been active in local politics for
26 years. Naturally a town booster, he and his wife, Kate raised two sons and a
daughter who went through the town school system and presently are attending
university.