Actons Corners, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Actons Corners is a small rural community in eastern Ontario
in the municipality of North Grenville
in the County of Leeds and Grenville. It is located on County Road 43 (formerly provincial Highway 43) between Kemptville
and Merrickville at the intersection of Actons Corners Road (north to the Rideau River
) and County Road 25 (south to Oxford Mills).
Except for a historic stone church built in the late 19th century, the North Grenville Archives, and a brickyard, the area is composed of mainly of farms and homes set in a mixture of farmland and cedar forest.
Addresses in the community are either listed as RR #1, Oxford Mills or RR #5, Kemptville.
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in the municipality of North Grenville
North Grenville, Ontario
North Grenville was established in January 1998 as a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville on the Rideau River. It is composed of the village of Kemptville, and the geographic townships of Oxford and South Gower. In 2005, a motion of council adopted the...
in the County of Leeds and Grenville. It is located on County Road 43 (formerly provincial Highway 43) between Kemptville
Kemptville, Ontario
Kemptville is a community located in the Municipality of North Grenville in Southern Ontario, Canada in the northernmost part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville...
and Merrickville at the intersection of Actons Corners Road (north to the Rideau River
Rideau River
thumb|Rapids on the Rideau River opposite [[Carleton University]].The Rideau River is a Southern Ontario river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is 146 km...
) and County Road 25 (south to Oxford Mills).
Except for a historic stone church built in the late 19th century, the North Grenville Archives, and a brickyard, the area is composed of mainly of farms and homes set in a mixture of farmland and cedar forest.
Addresses in the community are either listed as RR #1, Oxford Mills or RR #5, Kemptville.
History
(Actons Corners School)The intersection was created between Lots 15 and 16 of Concessions 2 and 3 of Oxford Township in the early 19th century and was originally named Bobtown, with only a Blacksmith's shop in the area. In the late 1820s Robert Acton and his family arrived from West Connaught, Ireland and settled on Lot 16, Concession 3. Robert's son, John Acton, was a capable shoemaker, but worked on the Rideau Canal as a stonemason and later built several buildings in the township including the grist mill at Oxford Mills and the stone house at Actons Corners that replaced the family's original log dwelling. Actons Corners takes its name from John Acton.
At its height, Actons Corners boasted a post office, a school, two churches, a cheese factory, and an Orange Hall
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
.
The post office operated between the 1890s and 1912, when it was replaced by rural mail delivery from Kemptville. A stone school was first opened in 1858 to replace two log schools to the east and west of the village. In 1905 the school was demolished and replaced with a new stone building that is now used as the North Grenville Archives. A white framed Methodist Church was constructed in 1875 and a stone Anglican church, St. Augustine, was built in 1879. The Methodist church was sold and removed in 1963, while the Anglican church has remained standing, although it has been deconsecrated and is now privately owned. Scott's Cheese Factory was built in 1886 and operated until 1948. The Orange Hall served as a community centre until it was closed and the building sold and moved in the late 1930s.