Visit to Glencoe, Ontario

Visit to Glencoe, Ontario

The Village of Glencoe, formerly know as Dundonald, is nestled neatly among corn fields in the area of Middlesex, Ontario. It's about
10 minutes from where we are house-sitting in West Lorne.







Our hosts told us that this was the nearest place to go for groceries, so we thought we'd check it out. We had been to Glencoe in Scotland, so we were interested to visit its name-sake, here in Ontario. We were not disappointed!




The first building that I noticed, being a railway enthusiast, was the old station that sits proudly beside the main street. It has been lovingly preserved and was inducted into the North American Railway Hall of Fame in 2010 as the 'Best Restored Station in North America'. (Search for Glencoe or page 46 on this DayTripper link). The restored station is now viewed daily by many Via Rail passengers who pass through and stop at Glencoe along the busy Toronto to Windsor Route.

Artifacts have been preserved inside the station, itself

The main street is representative of many old towns in Ontario in that its main stores are to be found on the roadside, and they have escaped the 'box-store' trend that has been the death knell of so many rural towns. Not only are there hanging blooms from the lamp posts, but there is a tangible sense of pride that is present in the way that most of the buildings and gardens are kept.

Presbyterian Church

At one corner, there are three majestic churches that dominate the intersection - reminders of the heritage of the founders of the community. I find it interesting to note the size of these buildings compared to the population at the time when they were first erected.

St. John's Anglican Church

United Church

As mentioned, the homes that we saw as we entered the town were resplendent. Some of them were tucked away on side roads, but many of them were on the main road.

I loved the colour of the leaves on this tree

We thought that this decorated pump was a great idea, making creative use of the cedar fencing.









I think we also found the smallest lending library in the world!

Once again, we have found that, if we take the time to look, we'll find little gems dotted all over the place. 

Here's a little bit of history, for those who may be interested. 

Designated as a train stop on the Great Western Railway in 1853, the hamlet of Dundonald was first established by two land owners. In 1854, when the first train stopped at Dundonald, the hamlet was not surveyed but contained two taverns, two blacksmith shops, a lumber merchant, a coppersmith, a shoemaker, a tailor, two grocers, and several rail employees. The hamlet boasted a population of 75 residents. In other words, it was a typical pioneer town.

The name of the hamlet changed to Glencoe in 1856 just before an official survey of the community was performed. The village of Glencoe was incorporated in 1873 with a population of 650 people and 75 businesses.

Over the early years of the village of Glencoe, several large fires destroyed the early wooden buildings that lined the community's main street.

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