Spencerville, Ontario

The mill at Spencerville was long an economic backbone of the village, but these days it is a restored heritage landmark.

The village of Spencerville is a rural community located in Eastern Ontario, about 80 kilometres southwest of downtown Ottawa on Highway 416. The village lies within the amalgamated municipality of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal township, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. The South Nation River runs through the southern portion of the village.

Spencerville is a historical village with many old houses, churches, farms, and cemeteries; most notable being the old mill. Every autumn, the Spencerville Fair is held here, which has been an annual event for over a century. The village's proximity to Ottawa has allowed the local businesses to prosper in recent years, and has led to an influx of new housing projects in the surrounding area.

History

Peleg Spencer first built a wooden dam near the site in 1811.Peleg and David Spencer built mills on the banks of the South Nation River, which enabled the economic development of a small pioneer community. The community contained a variety of small industries by the middle of the 19th century. It was the site of an annual agricultural fair.

The village's best-recognized landmark is the Spencerville Mill, a restored, heritage gristmill on the South Nation River. By 1864, Robert Fairbairn had built a stone gristmill on the north side of the river and installed a steam engine to allow the mill to operate year-round. Fairburn had purchased the property from David Spencer, the father of his wife Mercy, who in turn had acquired a saw and gristmill from his father Peleg Spencer.

Spencerville Fair

Main article: Spencerville Fair

The Spencerville Fair is a long-standing end-of-summer tradition in Spencerville and its surrounding area, organized by the Spencerville Agricultural Society. The first fair was held in 1855, over 150 years ago, and is still an annual event held every fall. The countryside surrounding the village of Spencerville remains largely agricultural, with many dairy, beef, poultry, and hog farms contributing to the local economy. The rural and agricultural roots of Spencerville are still important within the community, and are showcased during the fair, which features agriculture and livestock exhibits, poultry and small animal shows and local art exhibits. Today, the fair also has a midway, and adult entertainment tent featuring a bar and live entertainment.

In 1854, the Leeds and Grenville County Council passed a resolution granting the founding of agricultural societies within the two counties, including the Township of Edwardsburg Agricultural Society. In 1855, the first fair was held on the south side of the Nation River on property settled by David Spencer.

Other annual events

Another popular event is A Country Christmas Remembered, which since its inception in 2004 has decorated the mill, select heritage homes and businesses around the community in the manner of 1930s-era small rural village at Christmas time. The two-day event features family-oriented events, food, crafts, displays, carolling, choirs, shopping, and entertainment and has begun to attract visitors from outlying areas.

Beginning in June 2004, Spencerville also began hosting another new annual event, the Veterans Memorial Highland Games, featuring highland games, piping and drumming and other events.

Education and schools

Spencerville is currently home to one elementary school, Centennial ’67 Public School. For secondary education, students in the area commute to high schools in nearby Kemptville or Prescott.

Spencerville was a designated school section by 1822, number fifteen in the township. The first school in the village was built in 1827 on land belonging to David Spencer and was known as S.S. #15. This school was replaced in 1849 by a one-room stone schoolhouse located northwest of Goodin Road and County Road 44. In 1872, S.S. #15 was replaced a third time by a two-room stone structure to compensate for overcrowding. A second floor was added in 1899 to serve the older students as a continuation school. Another addition was added in 1914 which allowed the school to house three elementary school classes downstairs and two continuation classes in the upper level. As overcrowding was still a concern, some elementary students attended classes in the old town hall until a fire destroyed the building in 1948. Continuation school classes ran until 1954, when students were transported to Prescott, Kemptville or other nearby towns for high school. S.S. #15 remained open as an elementary school until 1967, when Centennial ’67 Public School opened in the village. The building was used for various commercial purposes before being converted into apartments in the 1990s.

Centennial ’67 Public School was constructed in 1967 along Henderson Street, off of County Road 44. The rectangular, brick school has multiple classrooms, and was a modern replacement for the one-room schoolhouses in the village and the surrounding area. The school is one of three active elementary schools located in the township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal. Formerly, Centennial ‘67 served students in kindergarten and grades one through eight. Around 2008, the area school board made numerous changes to area schools, which included moving grades 7 and 8 from Centennial ’67 to South Grenville District High School. As of the 2009 school year, Centennial ’67 only serves students from kindergarten through to grade six.

Churches

Spencerville is currently home to three active churches. Within the village, there is a Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and an United church; these churches are known as St. Laurence O’Toole, St. Andrew’s Knox, and Spencerville United, respectively.

Prior to the construction of St. Laurence O’Toole Church, Spencerville’s Roman Catholic congregation was served by the Prescott parish. In 1882, the congregation began planning the construction of their own church within the village. Construction began the following year, 1883, and by February, 1884 the church was formally opened. A rectory and parish hall were built beside the church and in 1888, a burial ground was added. Although the rectory still stands, the parish hall was demolished in the 1980s. As of 2016, this church is still in use.

The Spencerville United Church is a brick church located along County Road 21. Prior to becoming the Spencerville United Church, the Methodist church in Spencerville was a Wesleyan-Methodist church. The first Methodist church was located where the masonic lodge currently sits, and was built around 1845 for the Wesleyan-Methodist congregation. In 1871, the church was relocated to the current site of the United church, and the building replaced with construction finishing in 1872. In 1925, the congregation amalgamated with other Methodist denominations to become a United church. In 1929, the current church was constructed on the same site as the former church, which was demolished. As of 2016, this church is still in use.

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, also known as St. Andrew’s Knox, is located along County Road 44 in the village. The current church structure is the fourth church building erected on that site. The church is accompanied by a cemetery. The first Presbyterian church was established in 1835 and was constructed of logs. This church was replaced two years later, in 1837, by a stone structure. The third church replaced the second in 1876 as the former church had become too small. The third church was built of cut stone and had a capacity of 450 individuals. The third church was gutted by fire in 1974, with only the exterior wall surviving. The fourth and current church was rebuilt two years after the fire within the original wall. A basement was added to the new building during construction and in 1977 the steeple was replaced. As of 2016, this church is still in use.

Amentities and services

The village of Spencerville is currently home to an elementary school, a public library, a Canada Post outlet, a restaurant, laundromat, two general stores, a gas bar that offers Beer Store and Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) products, a Royal Bank branch, a home heating and cooling dealer, a heritage restoration and construction business, a mechanic's garage, a small engine repair shop, an insurance company, a computer store, a funeral home, senior-living apartments, a Royal Canadian Legion branch and several home-based businesses. In addition, a Home Hardware franchise is located just outside the village limits.

Four churches are found in the community: Spencerville United Church, St. Laurence O'Toole Catholic Church, St. Barnabas Anglican Catholic Church, and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

In recent years, a $1.066-million span has been built to replace the rusting girder bridge that once crossed the South Nation River into the village proper. The bridge project was completed under the former Canada-Ontario Rural Infrastructure Fund.

Spencerville also has an arena that hosts minor league hockey tournaments from across Ontario, and also offers public skating..The land for the arena was donated by the Spencerville Agricultural Society and the arena was constructed by volunteers. The newer buildings on the fairgrounds were built by the George Drummond family of Drummond's gas franchises.

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  The village's Masonic Lodge.
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  St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
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  The old grist mill (Spencerville Mill)

External links

• Township of Edwardburgh/Cardinal
• Spencerville Fair Web Site
• Web Site of the Spencerville Mill Foundation