Stirton

Introduction

Stirton was a small milling hamlet located in Wellington County, settled in the early 1860s. By 1863 it had a post office. A school opened a few years earlier, in 1854. Stage coach service to other nearby villages such as Hollen began in 1866.

By the early 1870s, Stirton was a prosperous mill town with a population of around 150. It included both saw and flax mills and also a tannery. The mills were employing about 50 to 60 hands and Stirton grew rapidly.

Commercial services included wagon and blacksmith shops, a hotel, a shoemaker, and cabinet maker. They added a Methodist Church and parsonage during the 1880s.

Stirton was one of many prosperous little industrial hamlets that suffered from lack of railway access. When the railway arrived, nearby Drayton won the prize. Stirton’s businesses could not compete and the hamlet slowly faded away.

Very little remains of this small community. During the late 1950s, the opening of the Conestoga Dam led to flooding of much of the original mill site. Today three original homes and the remains of a small cemetery are all that remains. Learn more