Chesley (originally Sconeville) is a community in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada, located within the municipality of Arran–Elderslie.[1][2] The name Sconeville was replaced in 1868 to mark the career of Solomon Chesley, an official in the pre-Confederation Indian Department.[3] Its town slogan is "The Nicest Town Around."[4] Chesley is located north of both Walkerton on Bruce Road 19 and Hanover on County Road 10.

Chesley
Community
Motto:  Nicest Town Around
Chesley Location in southern Ontario
Coordinates: 44°18′N 81°06′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Bruce County
Township	Arran-Elderslie
Founded	1858
Established	1865
Incorporated	1879
Government
• Mayor of Arran-Elderslie	Steve Hammell
• MP	Alex Ruff
• MPP	Bill Walker
Elevation	300 m (1,000 ft)
Population
• Total	1,800
• Demonym	Chesleyite
Time zone	UTC– 05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC– 04:00 (EDT)
Area code(s)	226, 519
Website	arran-elderslie.com

The town was named after Solomon Chesley, a former official in the Indian Department in Canada West. It is now an example of a typical rural Ontario community.

Chesley originally developed around mills built on the Saugeen River around 1858.[5] It expanded further when it was connected to the Grand Trunk Railway in 1881. A great fire destroyed most of the original downtown core in 1888, and the destroyed wood buildings were replaced by brick and stone.

From 1877 to 2004, the town had a weekly newspaper called The Chesley Enterprise.[5][6]

The town's major source of employment is commercial manufacturing. From 1886 to 1987, the Krug family operated the Krug Bros. furniture manufacturing business. Currently Crate Designs,[7] a locally owned furniture manufacturing factory, is the only surviving furniture factory, following the recent downsizing of Durham Furniture (2007).

Chesley is part of the Bluewater District School Board and has a junior kindergarten to grade 8 school called the Chesley District Community School.[8] In 2014, the original Chesley District High School joined with the Kinghurst Community School to form a junior kindergarten to grade 12 facility. In 2017, the high school section closed and it is now a junior kindergarten to grade 8 facility.[9]

A number of franchises also exist in the town, including New Orleans Pizza, Rona, Home Hardware, and Rexall Drugs.

The town is known for the statue of a giant bull on the north end of town, which is affectionately known as "Big Bruce."

Recently the town has begun to create a network of walking trails that encompasses much of the town's existing infrastructure of walking paths. Known as the heritage trail, it spans a large part of the town, and its waterside parks.

In 2005, Chesley was able to open a Heritage and Woodworking Museum due to a Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.[10] The museum was housed in the Dawson House on 1st Avenue, formerly the home of town doctors Stewart and Dawson.[11][12] The building had been left to the town for public use in the 1970s; in 2013, Chesley put Dawson House up for sale.[11]

Gallery

Famous residents

• Tommy Burns, boxer World Heavyweight Champion 1906–1908
• Paul MacDermid, National Hockey League player 1981–1995
• Mickey MacKay, Hockey Hall of Fame, played 1914–1930
• Victoria Pratt, actress
• LIGHTS, a Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter

References