Mount Forest, Ontario
| Mount Forest | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
Downtown Mount Forest in March 2009.
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| Coordinates: 43°58′54″N 80°44′12″W / 43.98167°N 80.73667°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| County | Wellington County |
| Township | Wellington North |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Forward sortation area | N0G (2L1, 2L2, 2L3) |
| Area code(s) | 519 and 226 |
| NTS Map | 040P15 |
| GNBC Code | FCFAL |
Mount Forest is an unincorporated community located on the junction of the 6 and the 89 in the township of Wellington North, Ontario. The town's motto is "High, Happy, Healthy", which can be seen on the water tower when approaching the town from the south. As of the 2011 Canadian census the population of Mount Forest was just over 5,000.
Prior to European settlement, present day Mount Forest was prime hunting ground for the Saugeen Ojibway peoples due to its location on the Saugeen River. Because of this, many sacred burial sites are believed to be located in the White Bluffs region of present-day Mount Forest.
The village was originally known as Maitland Hills, because it was believed to be on the Maitland River system. This was incorrect; the village is on a height of land near the headwaters of the Saugeen River. The village name was changed to Mount Forest in 1853.
The village was surveyed into lots in 1853 by Francis Kerr, PLS. By 1864, the population had grown to 1185 so that it qualified to be incorporated as a village. By 1879 it had become an incorporated town. The 1871 town directory stated that Mount Forest had ten hotels, eight churches and 18 stores. Later that year the railway was completed and the first train entered Mount Forest pulled by a wood-burning engine.
A local newspaper, the Mount Forest Confederate, was first printed in 1867. For the first year, the newspaper was sent to village residents free of charge, but the second year it began charging 50 cents per year.
The first public school was built in 1856. The first high school was originally in the Old Drill Hall, but was an unsuitable location because it was beside the Market Square where livestock sales were held monthly. The new high school was built in 1878. A third high school was founded in 2004, with students from the neighbouring town of Arthur joining those from the Mount Forest district.
Dr. A.R. Perry purchased the home of Alex Martin on the corner of Dublin and Princess Streets and established Strathcona Hospital, a 10-bed private hospital. In 1923, a group of citizens headed by G.L. Allen changed Strathcona Hospital into a public hospital. Wentworth Marshall, a pharmacist, generously bought the hospital from Perry. Marshall's mother, Louise, was the supervisor at the hospital until she became ill with cancer. It was closed in 1921, but a year later reopened under a new name: Mount Forest General Hospital. In 1928, the deed of the hospital was turned over to the town and the name was changed yet again to Louise Marshall Hospital in honour of Marshall's mother.
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