The Founding of Parkhill
The opening of a railway station near here in 1860 on the recently completed Grand Trunk line from Guelph to Sarnia provided the nucleus around which a community soon became established. A post-office named Westwood (renamed Swainby in 1861 and Park Hill in 1863) was opened that year. In 1861 a village plot was laid out by William Kelly. Growth was slow until 1865 when a bonus subscribed by the citizens induced John Harrison to build a steam-powered grist-mill. Other industries, including a brickyard and a foundry, soon followed, and by 1891 Parkhill was a thriving community of about 1500 people. It became an incorporated village on January 1, 1872, and a town fourteen years later.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.