Esquesing Township

Esquesing Township was a municipality within the historic Halton County in Ontario, Canada. It is today a geographic township in the town of Halton Hills in the Regional Municipality of Halton.

The township of Esquesing was surveyed in 1818 and opened to settlement the following year (area 66,700 acres (270 km²)). The first town meeting was held in 1821 when the population was 424. The name Esquesing was said to come from a First Nations word meaning "the land of the tall pine(s)", but is more likely to come from the Mississauga Indian word ishkwessin, meaning "that which lies at the end", which was the original name for Bronte Creek. The grid pattern of lines and sideroads that define the landscape of the township to this day, is often interrupted by the rugged cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment, the deep Credit River valley or the headwaters of Sixteen Mile Creek. It was this natural beauty that drew the Hurons first and then the Mississauga Natives to hunt, fish and live in this area.

The Township was organized into a corporation with its “capital” at the village of Stewarttown. The principal road to the lake was Trafalgar Road so development of several villages began along this route first. A more direct route to the capital was established by the York to Guelph Road, now Highway Seven. In pioneer times, these little hamlets provided the essential services for pioneers and travelers. It was the arrival of the Railway in 1856 that changed the landscape and provided the stimulus for Georgetown and Acton to grow into villages.

George Kennedy started the town named after him with a flour mill and foundry. However, it was the Barber Brothers who put the village on the map. The railway prompted the Barber Brothers to build a paper mill, becoming the largest employer. By the turn of the 20th century, Georgetown had three paper mills which earned it the name of “Papertown”. About 100 years after Georgetown’s railway growth, came the idea of a model community built by Rex Heslop. The huge Delrex community sprawled south of old Georgetown. Finally, an even larger development began south of the Silver Creek Valley about 1989. That development, carried out by several builders continues to this day.

The Rev. Zenas and Ezra Adams were responsible for the founding of a village, first known as Adamsville and since 1844 as Acton. It was the leather industry that defined Acton from its earliest days. The Storey Glove factory was the largest employer for many years, but in the 20th century, the largest employer was the Beardmore Tannery. It became the largest tannery in the British Empire. The leather industry still defines Acton, even though the tannery closed in 1986.

Esquesing Township Council governed the remaining rural areas which included many villages. The largest is Glen Williams, north of Georgetown on the Credit River. The beautiful setting attracts many tourists to the Williams Mill complex and many new residents. However, the village was known for its woolen products from 1839 until 1982.

Stewarttown, the original “capital” of the township became known by Lawson’s flour and saw mills. Norval on the Highway 7 at Peel Region was famous across the Dominion of Canada for their fine flour produced from the mills in the village. Limehouse, between Acton and Georgetown, was known for their lime products burned from the limestone on which it was built. Beautiful lime kiln and mill ruins attract hikers through the village today.

In 1864, the Corporation of the Village of Georgetown separated from Esquesing. In 1874, the Village of Acton was incorporated. In 1974, the three corporations were once again reunited under the Town of Halton Hills, which includes a small part of Trafalgar Township. The south-west corner of Esquesing Township was given to the newly created Town of Milton in 1974.

External links

• Traveling Luck
• The Esquesing Historical Society