Spencerville, Ontario

The village of Spencerville is a rural community located in Eastern Ontario, within Edwardsburgh/Cardinal township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. The village lies about 80 kilometres southwest of downtown Ottawa on Highway 416. The South Nation River runs through the village.

Credit for the village’s founding is given to David Spencer, for whom the village is named after. Spencer’s father built the first mill here in 1811 which inspired further settlement, and a village gradually grew surrounding the property.

Spencerville is a historical village with many old houses, churches, farms, cemeteries and other buildings dating back to the 1800s. The most notable old structure is the Spencerville Mill, a stone gristmill on the site of the Spencer family’s original mill.

The village is known for its annual fair held every September called the Spencerville Fair. The fair has been an annual community event since the 19th century.

Spencerville was first settled at the start of the 1800s when a man named Peleg Spencer established a mill along the South Nation River in 1811, which a village subsequently grew around. By 1821, the Spencer family had constructed a sawmill and gristmill to replace the first mill, and in 1837 they constructed an inn and tavern called the Victoria Hotel. In 1831, David Spencer, the son of Peleg, became owner of the mills and is generally credited as being the founder of the village.

By the 1850s, Spencerville had a population of around 250 individuals and numerous pioneer tradespeople and businesses were operating from the village as well as two churches, a school and a post office. Mid-century, the village was home to three general stores, three shoemakers, three carriage shops, two inns, a cooperage, a tannery, a blacksmithing shop, as well as a carpenter, doctor and tailor. The Spencer family had three mills in operation: a grist and oat mill, a sawmill, and a fulling and carding mill. In addition, an oat, grist, and sawmill operated on the outskirts of the village. In the 1850s, the Bytown and Prescott railway was laid through the village, which led to the construction of a train station.

At the end of the 1800s, Spencerville’s population had risen to 350 and several new businesses were established. A third church was constructed in the 1880s, and around the 1890s new businesses included a bakery, millinery, a harness shop, dressmaker, a pharmacy and a cheese factory.

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