Grasshill, Ontario

Where is this small, rural village?

44^o 24’48”N,  78^o 55’36”W

Grasshill is a hamlet of about six houses along the southern boundary of Eldon Township in Victoria County, Ontario.   In 1828, immigrants from Argyleshire, Scotland arrived in this area when land was offered at $1.00/acre.    With excellent soil and hardwood forests, the land was suitable for grain crops and dairy farms.  However, with no water to generate power, it would not develop into much more than a small village. ¹

In its best years, the Grand Trunk Railway stopped here at the grain elevator and the farmer’s co-operative to ship grain and livestock to the large markets.   The hamlet had a general store, a wagonmaker and a blacksmith.  The general store served the local farmers with groceries, farm supplies, gasoline and an egg-grading station.    A public school, the U.S.S. #2 Eldon, was built on the 7^th concession and offered Grades 1-8 to the local children.    

The hamlet and the area did well until the 1960’s.  Then the grain elevator was destroyed in a fire and the rail line was dismantled.  The farmers took their grain and cattle to markets elsewhere.   The school closed in 1965 and the General Store closed in 1977.² 

Today, it is incorporated into the Kawartha Lakes, but you can still find this hamlet at the corner of the 7^th concession and the Eldon township line.   The hamlet served the community for many generations and some of the original Scottish names can still be found on the local mailboxes.  Most of the farms continue to be small, family-owned operations and Grasshill continues to be a hamlet in this quiet, pastoral landscape of rural Ontario.