Durham, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Durham is a community in the municipality of West Grey
, Grey County
, Ontario
, Canada
. Durham is located near the base of the Bruce Peninsula
.
on Ontario Highway 6
. The middle of the town is the intersection of Highway 6 and Grey Road 4. Durham is approximately 18 kilometers east of Hanover
.
The population of Durham has stayed steady at roughly 2500 people over the past decade. This compares to neighbour Hanover which has grown from 6400 to 8200 people in the past decade.
Durham is built around the Saugeen River
and has three man-made dams. These dams have suffered at least two major floods, once in 1929 when the dam broke and again in 1997 due to ice blockage. Durham also used to be the center of the livestock exchange for the surrounding Grey and Bruce
counties, which it lays close to the border of. On the outskirts of Durham, there are several small communities, such as Varney
, Dornoch
, Aberdeen
, Allan Park
, Priceville
and Holstein.
traveller, Durham became one of the first ever self-sustaining communities in Canada through the flour and saw mills of an Irishman
named John Edge, founded in the 1840s. Those mills were purchased by Robert McGowan in 1888, hence the Durham landmark McGowan Falls on the Saugeen River. Durham now has two major companies for employment: Durham Furniture and Interforest. Durham Furniture is a company that specializes in stained
and whitewash
ed bedroom furniture and employs slightly more than 200 people. Interforest is a multinational corporation
that deals with the treatment and production of lumber
.
Durham has its own hospital
with limited emergency facilities, although it was once a full blown community hospital equipped to handle most situations. The town is patrolled by the municipality's West Grey
Police
, and the town does have its own police station. Also, Durham has its own volunteer firefighter
service and station. The town has its own Canada Post
building, as well as a town hall. The town also has a Conservation Area
with camp sites that are very popular during the summertime and help expand local business.
Durham presently has two schools: Spruce Ridge Community School
and St. Peter
and St. Paul
's Catholic School
. Spruce Ridge is the result of the amalgamation of the Saugeen Valley Community School and Durham District Community School. Durham District used to be the town's high school
until the 1970s when it amalgamated with Hanover
's high school to form John Diefenbaker
Secondary School
. Students that graduate from SRCS generally attend Grey Highlands Secondary School
in Flesherton
or JDSS in Hanover. Durham has an arena that can hold 3000 people and also has an art gallery. The town hosts an annual fall fair that attracts many visitors. There is a public library and a couple of small bookshops. Durham is the home of Branch 308
of the Royal Canadian Legion
and multiple churches for the variety of denominations. The Durham Agricultural
Society was founded in 1858. The Durham Loyal Orange Lodge has existed in Durham since the 1850s. The Durham Horticultural
Society dates back to at least 1896. Durham's Masonic Lodge
was chartered in 1873. Girl Guides
have been presented since two years after its Canadian
founding, 1912. The first Rotary Club meeting held in Durham was on February 17, 1938. The Kinsmen Club was founded May 30, 1950 and the Kinette Club was founded March 28, 1957. Boy Scouts
in Durham date back to the 1920s. The Durham & District Optimist Club was chartered June 14, 1988.
As of the town census in 1861, Durham had 4 churches: the Free Church
(Presbyterian Church of Canada in connection with the Free Church of Scotland), the Church of England
, the Wesleyan Methodist
, and the Baptist
Church. Durham has always had a cornucopia of churches, even to this day the town is scattered with beautiful old buildings of faith. The Durham Baptist Church was founded by Reverend Alexander Stewart, and dates back to the mid-19th century. In 1902, the frame of the church was moved and a new large red brick church was built as its replacement. This building is detailed with beautiful stained glass
windows. The Durham Foursquare Gospel Church
was founded in 1929 in a tent. A year later, in 1930, the Church took up permanent residence on the town's main street. The Presbyterian Church was founded in the early 1850s as the "Free Church". They were granted 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of land by the Crown in 1852. In 1925, the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational faiths were combined to form the United Church
. In Durham, only some Presbyterian and Methodist Churches followed this order, but the merger did lead to the formation of the Knox
United Church on top of the Durham Hill; the congregation was joined by the former Methodists who had met in town since 1849. The Methodists also had earlier met at Ebenezer Church, about a mile west of Durham. A minority of the Presbyterians (Feb. 1 1925 vote was 218-165) wished to remain with the continuing Presbyterians
, and the present Durham Presbyterian Church http://www.durhampresbyterian.com was opened in 1927. The Methodist Church was erected in the mid-1860s. The first Anglican service happened in 1849. This service was held in the home of one of the Edge or Hopkins families. Services were held in family homes by a tracelling minister from Owen Sound until the Trinity
Anglican Church was built in Durham (1861?). It burned down in 1876 and was rebuilt in 1877. The structure still stands there today despite multiple lightning
strikes. Catholic
services in Durham date back to 1852, the first being held by Jesuit Missionary
Reverend Casper Matoga. The first Catholic
Church was built in Durham 1867 but was burnt down by an arsonist on July 4, 1870. A second Catholic Church was purchased for $900 in 1892. The Church's main hall, known at St. Andrew
's Hall was used as their place of worship until the 1940s. In 1940, St. Peter
's Roman Catholic Church was created on top of the Durham Hill, right beside the St. Peter and St. Paul's Catholic School. The Fellowship Baptist Church was founded in 1990. There is also a Jehovah's Witness Church to the West of Durham on Grey Road 4.
to compete in Curling
matches during the winter and Cricket
matches during the hot Southern Ontario
summers. The local Cricket league in the 1860s included, with Durham and Mount Forest, Owen Sound, Chesley
, Walkerton
, and Listowel. In 1882, Harriston
and Dundalk
joined the local league. For 40 years, Durham maintained a Junior, Senior, and School league team. By the 1910s, Cricket dropped in popularity and was no longer consistently played by the people of Durham. Soccer, then known as Football, became popular in the late 1870s but was replaced by Lacrosse
in the 1890s. The Town of Durham enjoyed sports so much that at the turn of the 19th century, Durham used to dedicate 3 days per year to day-long displays of athletics. These days usually involved Soccer, Lacrosse, Cricket, and Baseball
games, from Dawn until Dusk, to be played for the townspeople.
In 1908, the first ever indoor ice arena was built by Thomas Brown to facilitate the towns growing fascination with the sport of Hockey
. At least two outdoor arenas had been built in recent years, but this was meant to be a permanent replacement. The first hockey game was played in the arena on January 1, 1909. A new arena was built in 1952 through fundraising by the Kinsman Club, the Rotary Club, and Branch 308 of the Royal Canadian Legion. Hap McGirr was the Guardian of this arena until 1974. This arena was condemned in 1975 and the current complex finished construction in 1977.
Durham considers itself a hockey
town, and for the most-part it is true. Hockey is the most popular pastime and normally draws over 250 children and teens into its Minor Hockey system. Durham has won a number of All-Ontario Championships. The town's parent club under minor hockey guidelines is the Grey-Bruce Highlanders AAA Hockey Team. Durham hockey was first organized in the early 1900s by Frank Irwin and Peter Gagnon. Erben Schutz and Martin Lauder found early success through Durham hockey, playing in the 1920s for the NHL
's Boston Bruins
. The town won its first major hockey award in the 1930-31 season as one of the precursors to the Durham Huskies
won the Junior Northern Hockey League. Durham's first Ontario Hockey Association Senior championship happened in 1935-36, won by another precursor to the Durham Huskies
. In fact, the Huskies
(before they were called the Huskies) were 3 different hockey teams: a Junior team, an Intermediate team, and a Senior team. By 1952, the year the team was named there was only an Intermediate team, but they were quite dominant in their league. Intermediate hockey eventually became known as Senior "AA". The Senior team was extremely successful, winning multiple championships and competing for Allan
and Hardy Cups, but folded before the 1992-93 season. The Durham Flyers were a short lived team in the 1950s, but did not find much success in their 3 years of existence. In 1996, Durham was granted the creation of the Durham Huskies Junior "A"
Hockey Team by the Metro Junior A Hockey League
. The Jr. Huskies
folded in 2001. The ever-successful Durham Thundercats
Senior Hockey Team have brought the town 15 WOAA championship trophies and remain at the top of the WOAA to this day. They were originally called the "72's" to coincide with their founding and fill the Durham Community Centre every Friday night.
In remembrance of two of the greatest teams in Durham hockey history, the 1989 Greater Ontario Senior "AA" champion Durham Huskies
who made it to the Hardy Cup
semi-finals will play off against the 1989 WOAA Intermediate Grand Champion Durham Thundercats
on April 4, 2009 in a 20th Anniversary Alumni game.
The Durham Community Centre is also the home of The Durham Skating Club, Which was founded in the 1950s. The club offers a variety of programs for the young and old, with a friendly, fun atmosphere. An annual carnival is produced each year at the end of the season to showcase all of the skaters' talent and to attract a crowd of huge proportions. In January 2007 the club hosted Weskate, an annual area fun competition, which was also highly successful, thanks to all the volunteers and organizers.
Durham has soccer and baseball
youth programs and competes in the local leagues. Most of Durham's soccer is played across from the Durham Community Centre at the Durham Soccer Field. Baseball is played outdoors behind the Durham Community Centre in the Durham Ball Parks. Durham youths still enjoy playing lacrosse
, but the sport has not been organized in Durham for many decades. Generally, players have to travel to Williamsford
or Owen Sound to play lacrosse. The Durham Curling
Rink is on the East end of town beside what was the Saugeen Valley Community School
, and has been a long enjoyed pastime for the people of Durham.
and asked for federal assistance to deal with extensive flooding that was crippling the west end of town. Canadian Forces
were sent in for the relief effort and 200 citizens were evacuated. The schools and many businesses closed during the most dangerous week of flooding, and due to poor weather conditions, relief efforts were considered strenuous. Most of the evacuated residents were able to return home as of January 24, 1997. The cause of the flooding was determined to be ice blockages at Durham's reinforced dams. At one point, there was concern that one of the main bridges in town was going to get ripped away by the flood, but the military elected to remove the ice that was affecting the bridge with explosives. 3
On October 4, 1997, months after the flood, Durham was named the 1997 "Best Bloomin' Town" in Canada by the Communities in Bloom
Committee. The town won the prize in the 1500 to 5000 people category.
As part of province-wide municipal restructuring, the Town of Durham was amalgamated with the Township of West Grey to form an expanded Municipality of West Grey
in 2001. West Grey was itself created in 2000 through an amalgamation of the Village of Neustadt
and the Townships of Bentinck, Glenelg and Normanby. Mayor
Kris Kennedy (list of Durham's Mayors) was the last mayor of the Town of Durham. Durham is the largest community in West Grey and the municipal offices are located along Grey County Road 4, west of Durham.
Durham's long running newspaper, "The Durham Chronicle" came under the ownership of Osprey Media
. It and several other newspapers in south Grey were amalgamated into one free distribution paper called the Post. Other recent changes include the replacement of the Durham District Community School by the Spruce Ridge Community School. The Durham Huskies, the town's traditional junior hockey franchise, has been inactive since 2001.
Longtime Durham employer Interforest closed its doors to manufacturing on July 10, 2009. Due to the closure, about 450 jobs have been lost. 50 people have kept their jobs and are working with company orders.
A tornado reportedly touched down in the community, about 50 kilometres south of Owen Sound near Lake Huron and 180 km northwest of Toronto, hitting the south end of Durham, during the Southern Ontario Tornado Outbreak of 2009
. The tornado crossed eastward through town, turned north, and exited through the Saugeen Conservation Area. The tornado produced one fatality. The tornadoes, accompanied by violent thunderstorms, swept across southern Ontario killing at least one person, downing power lines and trees and ripping off roofs in several communities. The death did occur in the town of Durham, police confirmed without giving details. The one confirmed death, was that of an 11-year-old boy. The boy was at day camp, inside a temporary shelter when he was struck by flying debris. Emergency crews attempted to revive him but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not released at the request of his family.
West Grey, Ontario
West Grey is a township in western Ontario, Canada, in Grey County spanning across the River Styx, the Rocky Saugeen River, the Beatty Saugeen River, and the South Saugeen River...
, Grey County
Grey County, Ontario
Grey County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is in Owen Sound. The population was 92,411 in 2006. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Southwestern Ontario...
, Ontario
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....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Durham is located near the base of the Bruce Peninsula
Bruce Peninsula
The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada that lies between Georgian Bay and the main basin of Lake Huron. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Island, with which it forms the widest strait joining Georgian Bay to...
.
Location
Durham, Ontario is 44 kilometers South of Owen Sound and 89 kilometers North of GuelphGuelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
on Ontario Highway 6
Highway 6 (Ontario)
King's Highway 6, also known as Highway 6, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It crosses a distance of between Port Dover on the north shore of Lake Erie and Espanola on the northern shore of Lake Huron, ending at the Trans-Canada Highway in McKerrow.- Port...
. The middle of the town is the intersection of Highway 6 and Grey Road 4. Durham is approximately 18 kilometers east of Hanover
Hanover, Ontario
Hanover is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in southern Grey County, west of Durham and east of Walkerton on Grey/Bruce Road 4. Hanover marks the border between Grey County and Bruce County.-History:...
.
The population of Durham has stayed steady at roughly 2500 people over the past decade. This compares to neighbour Hanover which has grown from 6400 to 8200 people in the past decade.
Durham is built around the Saugeen River
Saugeen River
The Saugeen River is located in southern Ontario, Canada, flowing generally north-west about 160 km before exiting into Lake Huron. The river is navigable for some distance, and was once an important barge route...
and has three man-made dams. These dams have suffered at least two major floods, once in 1929 when the dam broke and again in 1997 due to ice blockage. Durham also used to be the center of the livestock exchange for the surrounding Grey and Bruce
Bruce County, Ontario
Bruce County is a county in western Ontario, Canada, and includes the Bruce Peninsula. As of 2006, the population was 65,349. The area was . The county seat is Walkerton, Ontario. It is located at ....
counties, which it lays close to the border of. On the outskirts of Durham, there are several small communities, such as Varney
Varney, Ontario
Varney is a small community in Grey County, Ontario, Canada. Varney is located on Grey Road 6, about 5 kilometers south of Durham and 19 kilometers north of Mount Forest....
, Dornoch
Dornoch, Ontario
The Village of Dornoch is located less than 11 kilometers north of the Town of Durham on Highway 6 in Grey County, Ontario, Canada. It is part of Chatsworth Township....
, Aberdeen
Aberdeen, Grey County, Ontario
Aberdeen is a community in Grey County, Ontario, Canada. Aberdeen consists of a series of houses in a historical Canadian village site. The village is located north of both the Durham Interforest factory and the stretch of Grey Road 4 between Durham and Hanover.The first settlers came to Aberdeen...
, Allan Park
Allan Park, Ontario
Allan Park, in Grey County, Ontario, Canada is the site of Telesat Canada's Allan Park Earth Station. Allan Park is located on Grey County Road 4 between Durham to the east and Hanover to the west, and north of Ayton...
, Priceville
Priceville, Ontario
Priceville is a small village in the southwest corner of the Municipality of Grey Highlands Grey County, Ontario, Canada. Priceville is located on Grey Road 4, east of Durham and southwest of Flesherton...
and Holstein.
Foundations of Durham
Founded on May 1, 1842 by Archibald Hunter, a ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
traveller, Durham became one of the first ever self-sustaining communities in Canada through the flour and saw mills of an Irishman
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
named John Edge, founded in the 1840s. Those mills were purchased by Robert McGowan in 1888, hence the Durham landmark McGowan Falls on the Saugeen River. Durham now has two major companies for employment: Durham Furniture and Interforest. Durham Furniture is a company that specializes in stained
Wood stain
A wood stain consists of a colorant suspended or dissolved in a 'vehicle' or solvent. The suspension agent can be water, alcohol, petroleum distillate, or the actual finishing agent...
and whitewash
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
ed bedroom furniture and employs slightly more than 200 people. Interforest is a multinational corporation
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
that deals with the treatment and production of lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
.
Durham has its own hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
with limited emergency facilities, although it was once a full blown community hospital equipped to handle most situations. The town is patrolled by the municipality's West Grey
West Grey, Ontario
West Grey is a township in western Ontario, Canada, in Grey County spanning across the River Styx, the Rocky Saugeen River, the Beatty Saugeen River, and the South Saugeen River...
Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, and the town does have its own police station. Also, Durham has its own volunteer firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
service and station. The town has its own Canada Post
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
building, as well as a town hall. The town also has a Conservation Area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
with camp sites that are very popular during the summertime and help expand local business.
- Text from the Founding of Durham Plaque:
- In 1842 Archibald Hunter, a Scottish immigrant, led a party northward on the Garafraxa "colonization road" to the banks of the Saugeen River. The resulting settlement was first called Bentinck and later Durham, probably to honour the English birthplace of George JacksonGeorge Jackson (Canadian politician)George Jackson was a Canadian mill owner and politician from Durham, Ontario. He served as a representative in the Canadian Assembly and, after Confederation, as a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Grey South.Jackson was born in Fearby, Yorkshire, was educated in Yorkshire and...
, the first local Crown Land Agent. The establishment of flour and grist-mills in 1847 made the town the major agricultural centre of the district. The Durham Road, another settlement route , was constructed through the town in 1849. Further growth followed, churches were founded, a school organized, and a newspaper, the Chronicle, was established in 1857. By an Act passed in 1872, the Ontario legislature incorporated Durham as a town. http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaque_Grey07.html
Community centres
Community school
The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...
and St. Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and St. Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
's Catholic School
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
. Spruce Ridge is the result of the amalgamation of the Saugeen Valley Community School and Durham District Community School. Durham District used to be the town's high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
until the 1970s when it amalgamated with Hanover
Hanover, Ontario
Hanover is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in southern Grey County, west of Durham and east of Walkerton on Grey/Bruce Road 4. Hanover marks the border between Grey County and Bruce County.-History:...
's high school to form John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
Secondary School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. Students that graduate from SRCS generally attend Grey Highlands Secondary School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Flesherton
Flesherton, Ontario
Flesherton is a community in the Municipality of Grey Highlands, in Grey County, Ontario, Canada, located at the junction of Highway 10 and Grey County Road 4...
or JDSS in Hanover. Durham has an arena that can hold 3000 people and also has an art gallery. The town hosts an annual fall fair that attracts many visitors. There is a public library and a couple of small bookshops. Durham is the home of Branch 308
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1925, with more than 400,000 members worldwide. Membership includes people who have served as current and former military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, direct relatives of...
of the Royal Canadian Legion
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1925, with more than 400,000 members worldwide. Membership includes people who have served as current and former military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, direct relatives of...
and multiple churches for the variety of denominations. The Durham Agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
Society was founded in 1858. The Durham Loyal Orange Lodge has existed in Durham since the 1850s. The Durham Horticultural
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
Society dates back to at least 1896. Durham's Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
was chartered in 1873. Girl Guides
Girl Guides of Canada
Girl Guides of Canada - Guides du Canada is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started in 1910 and was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1928. As of 2006, the association had 116,206 members.-History:Mary Malcolmson...
have been presented since two years after its Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
founding, 1912. The first Rotary Club meeting held in Durham was on February 17, 1938. The Kinsmen Club was founded May 30, 1950 and the Kinette Club was founded March 28, 1957. Boy Scouts
Scouting in Ontario
Scouting and Guiding in Ontario has a long history. Although there is some dispute about the founding of the first Scouting Group, both 1st Merrickville and 1st St. Catharines Scout Group have a documented existence from 1908. In 1955, the 8th World Scout Jamboree was held at Niagara-on-the-Lake,...
in Durham date back to the 1920s. The Durham & District Optimist Club was chartered June 14, 1988.
As of the town census in 1861, Durham had 4 churches: the Free Church
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...
(Presbyterian Church of Canada in connection with the Free Church of Scotland), the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, the Wesleyan Methodist
Wesleyan Methodist Church
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was a Methodist denomination in the United States organized on May 13, 1841. It was composed of ministers and laypeople who withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church because of disagreements regarding slavery, church government, and the doctrine of holiness...
, and the Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church. Durham has always had a cornucopia of churches, even to this day the town is scattered with beautiful old buildings of faith. The Durham Baptist Church was founded by Reverend Alexander Stewart, and dates back to the mid-19th century. In 1902, the frame of the church was moved and a new large red brick church was built as its replacement. This building is detailed with beautiful stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows. The Durham Foursquare Gospel Church
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, commonly referred to as the Foursquare Church, is an evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination. As of 2000 it had a worldwide membership of over 8,000,000, with almost 60,000 churches in 144 countries. In 2006, membership in the United States...
was founded in 1929 in a tent. A year later, in 1930, the Church took up permanent residence on the town's main street. The Presbyterian Church was founded in the early 1850s as the "Free Church". They were granted 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of land by the Crown in 1852. In 1925, the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational faiths were combined to form the United Church
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
. In Durham, only some Presbyterian and Methodist Churches followed this order, but the merger did lead to the formation of the Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
United Church on top of the Durham Hill; the congregation was joined by the former Methodists who had met in town since 1849. The Methodists also had earlier met at Ebenezer Church, about a mile west of Durham. A minority of the Presbyterians (Feb. 1 1925 vote was 218-165) wished to remain with the continuing Presbyterians
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...
, and the present Durham Presbyterian Church http://www.durhampresbyterian.com was opened in 1927. The Methodist Church was erected in the mid-1860s. The first Anglican service happened in 1849. This service was held in the home of one of the Edge or Hopkins families. Services were held in family homes by a tracelling minister from Owen Sound until the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
Anglican Church was built in Durham (1861?). It burned down in 1876 and was rebuilt in 1877. The structure still stands there today despite multiple lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
strikes. Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
services in Durham date back to 1852, the first being held by Jesuit Missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
Reverend Casper Matoga. The first Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Church was built in Durham 1867 but was burnt down by an arsonist on July 4, 1870. A second Catholic Church was purchased for $900 in 1892. The Church's main hall, known at St. Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
's Hall was used as their place of worship until the 1940s. In 1940, St. Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
's Roman Catholic Church was created on top of the Durham Hill, right beside the St. Peter and St. Paul's Catholic School. The Fellowship Baptist Church was founded in 1990. There is also a Jehovah's Witness Church to the West of Durham on Grey Road 4.
Population and demographics
The following information is a product of a Statistics Canada Report. 2- According to the 2001 Census ReportCanada 2001 CensusThe Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
conducted by Statistics CanadaStatistics CanadaStatistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....
, the population of Durham stands at 2647 people. This number is up from 2641 people in 1996. - Durham, which stands at 4.62 km² (1.8 sq mi), has a population density of 572.9 ppl/km².
- As it stands, 47.3% of the residents of Durham are MaleMaleMale refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
and 52.7% of the residents are FemaleFemaleFemale is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
. - The medianMedianIn probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
Male age is 37.5, the median Female age is 44.7. - 94.5% of Durham's people speak only English, and only 0.4% can speak any French what-so-ever.
- 93% of the population is Canadian born.
- 2.3% of Durham is of Aboriginal descent.
- Durham is 99.4% whiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, and the other 0.6% are from various visible minority groups. - 58.1% of the population are Protestant, 11.5% are CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, 0.4% are Christian OrthodoxEastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, 3.3% are ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
(No Specific DenominationChristian denominationA Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
), and 26.2% are of no religious belief.
Sports in Durham
During the 1850s and 1860s Durham athletes constantly travelled to neighboring towns like Mount ForestMount Forest, Ontario
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....
to compete in Curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
matches during the winter and Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches during the hot Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
summers. The local Cricket league in the 1860s included, with Durham and Mount Forest, Owen Sound, Chesley
Chesley, Ontario
Chesley is a community in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada, located within the municipality of Arran-Elderslie. Its town slogan is "The Nicest Town Around"...
, Walkerton
Walkerton, Ontario
Walkerton is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within and governed by the municipality of Brockton. It is the site of Brockton's municipal offices and the county seat of Bruce County...
, and Listowel. In 1882, Harriston
Harriston, Ontario
Harriston is a community in the town of Minto in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. Although Harriston was formerly a village, it was amalgamated with Palmerston and Clifford to create Minto. The village has one public school , as well as shops and restaurants...
and Dundalk
Dundalk, Ontario
Dundalk Originally called McDowell's Corners, Dundalk was incorporated as a village in 1887, and on January 1, 2000, was amalgamated with the Township of Proton and the Township of Egremont to form the Township of Southgate, located in the southeast corner of Grey County. The mayor of Southgate is...
joined the local league. For 40 years, Durham maintained a Junior, Senior, and School league team. By the 1910s, Cricket dropped in popularity and was no longer consistently played by the people of Durham. Soccer, then known as Football, became popular in the late 1870s but was replaced by Lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
in the 1890s. The Town of Durham enjoyed sports so much that at the turn of the 19th century, Durham used to dedicate 3 days per year to day-long displays of athletics. These days usually involved Soccer, Lacrosse, Cricket, and Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games, from Dawn until Dusk, to be played for the townspeople.
In 1908, the first ever indoor ice arena was built by Thomas Brown to facilitate the towns growing fascination with the sport of Hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. At least two outdoor arenas had been built in recent years, but this was meant to be a permanent replacement. The first hockey game was played in the arena on January 1, 1909. A new arena was built in 1952 through fundraising by the Kinsman Club, the Rotary Club, and Branch 308 of the Royal Canadian Legion. Hap McGirr was the Guardian of this arena until 1974. This arena was condemned in 1975 and the current complex finished construction in 1977.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
town, and for the most-part it is true. Hockey is the most popular pastime and normally draws over 250 children and teens into its Minor Hockey system. Durham has won a number of All-Ontario Championships. The town's parent club under minor hockey guidelines is the Grey-Bruce Highlanders AAA Hockey Team. Durham hockey was first organized in the early 1900s by Frank Irwin and Peter Gagnon. Erben Schutz and Martin Lauder found early success through Durham hockey, playing in the 1920s for the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
. The town won its first major hockey award in the 1930-31 season as one of the precursors to the Durham Huskies
Durham Huskies
----The Durham Huskies are an ice hockey franchise based in the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The team is actually a series of teams that have spanned nine decades and through an uncountable series of leagues. The Huskies have existed under of couple short lived monikers before finding their...
won the Junior Northern Hockey League. Durham's first Ontario Hockey Association Senior championship happened in 1935-36, won by another precursor to the Durham Huskies
Durham Huskies
----The Durham Huskies are an ice hockey franchise based in the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The team is actually a series of teams that have spanned nine decades and through an uncountable series of leagues. The Huskies have existed under of couple short lived monikers before finding their...
. In fact, the Huskies
Durham Huskies
----The Durham Huskies are an ice hockey franchise based in the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The team is actually a series of teams that have spanned nine decades and through an uncountable series of leagues. The Huskies have existed under of couple short lived monikers before finding their...
(before they were called the Huskies) were 3 different hockey teams: a Junior team, an Intermediate team, and a Senior team. By 1952, the year the team was named there was only an Intermediate team, but they were quite dominant in their league. Intermediate hockey eventually became known as Senior "AA". The Senior team was extremely successful, winning multiple championships and competing for Allan
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...
and Hardy Cups, but folded before the 1992-93 season. The Durham Flyers were a short lived team in the 1950s, but did not find much success in their 3 years of existence. In 1996, Durham was granted the creation of the Durham Huskies Junior "A"
Durham Huskies Jr. A
----The Durham Huskies were a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey team from the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The Huskies played in the Metro Junior A Hockey League for two seasons and the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League for three season...
Hockey Team by the Metro Junior A Hockey League
Metro Junior A Hockey League
----The Metro Junior "A" Hockey League was a junior level ice hockey league based out of Southern Ontario. The league originated in 1956 as the Metro Junior "B" Hockey League, which lasted until 1991, when it changed its designation from Junior B to Junior A. It remained a Jr...
. The Jr. Huskies
Durham Huskies Jr. A
----The Durham Huskies were a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey team from the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The Huskies played in the Metro Junior A Hockey League for two seasons and the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League for three season...
folded in 2001. The ever-successful Durham Thundercats
Durham Thundercats
The Durham Thundercats, originally the Durham 72's, are a senior hockey team based out of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The Thundercats date back to the towns Centennial, 1972, and have been an extremely successful team in all loops of the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior "AA" Hockey...
Senior Hockey Team have brought the town 15 WOAA championship trophies and remain at the top of the WOAA to this day. They were originally called the "72's" to coincide with their founding and fill the Durham Community Centre every Friday night.
In remembrance of two of the greatest teams in Durham hockey history, the 1989 Greater Ontario Senior "AA" champion Durham Huskies
Durham Huskies
----The Durham Huskies are an ice hockey franchise based in the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The team is actually a series of teams that have spanned nine decades and through an uncountable series of leagues. The Huskies have existed under of couple short lived monikers before finding their...
who made it to the Hardy Cup
Hardy Cup
The W. G. Hardy Trophy, more commonly referred to as the Hardy Cup, was the Canadian national Intermediate "A" ice hockey championship from 1967 until 1984. From 1985 until 1990, the Hardy Cup was the Canadian national senior championship for Senior "AA" after senior and intermediate hockey were...
semi-finals will play off against the 1989 WOAA Intermediate Grand Champion Durham Thundercats
Durham Thundercats
The Durham Thundercats, originally the Durham 72's, are a senior hockey team based out of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The Thundercats date back to the towns Centennial, 1972, and have been an extremely successful team in all loops of the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior "AA" Hockey...
on April 4, 2009 in a 20th Anniversary Alumni game.
The Durham Community Centre is also the home of The Durham Skating Club, Which was founded in the 1950s. The club offers a variety of programs for the young and old, with a friendly, fun atmosphere. An annual carnival is produced each year at the end of the season to showcase all of the skaters' talent and to attract a crowd of huge proportions. In January 2007 the club hosted Weskate, an annual area fun competition, which was also highly successful, thanks to all the volunteers and organizers.
Durham has soccer and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
youth programs and competes in the local leagues. Most of Durham's soccer is played across from the Durham Community Centre at the Durham Soccer Field. Baseball is played outdoors behind the Durham Community Centre in the Durham Ball Parks. Durham youths still enjoy playing lacrosse
Box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as indoor lacrosse and sometimes shortened to boxla, LAX or simply box, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada, where it is the most popular version of the game played in contrast to the traditional field lacrosse game...
, but the sport has not been organized in Durham for many decades. Generally, players have to travel to Williamsford
Williamsford, Ontario
Williamsford is a village on the North Saugeen River in Grey County, Ontario, Canada . It has a general store, post office, a bookstore and restaurant housed in a historic grain mill. A small dam controls the North Saugeen River. It has several churches, and a community cemetery. Williamsford also...
or Owen Sound to play lacrosse. The Durham Curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
Rink is on the East end of town beside what was the Saugeen Valley Community School
Community school
The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...
, and has been a long enjoyed pastime for the people of Durham.
Recent events
On January 9, 1997, Mayor Kris Kennedy declared a state of emergencyState of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
and asked for federal assistance to deal with extensive flooding that was crippling the west end of town. Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
were sent in for the relief effort and 200 citizens were evacuated. The schools and many businesses closed during the most dangerous week of flooding, and due to poor weather conditions, relief efforts were considered strenuous. Most of the evacuated residents were able to return home as of January 24, 1997. The cause of the flooding was determined to be ice blockages at Durham's reinforced dams. At one point, there was concern that one of the main bridges in town was going to get ripped away by the flood, but the military elected to remove the ice that was affecting the bridge with explosives. 3
"Despite the adversity, the people of Durham showed great courage during that flood. I want to pay special tribute to the volunteers and the relief workers who offered the victims both the good work of their hands and the comfort of their spirits. Durham Mayor Kris Kennedy is also to be commended for taking swift and decisive action to protect public safety. I also want to thank the soldiers from the Militia Training and Support Centre at MeafordMeaford, OntarioMeaford is a Canadian municipality in Grey County, Ontario. Meaford is located on Nottawasaga Bay, a sub-basin of Georgian Bay, in southern Ontario....
for their work and assistance." 4
-
-
- - Ovid JacksonOvid JacksonOvid L. Jackson, O.Ont is a Canadian politician. He represented the federal riding of Bruce—Grey and Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound in the House of Commons for the Liberal Party from 1994 to 2004....
MP on February 3, 1997
- - Ovid Jackson
-
On October 4, 1997, months after the flood, Durham was named the 1997 "Best Bloomin' Town" in Canada by the Communities in Bloom
Communities in Bloom
Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization that fosters friendly competition between Canadian communities to beautify their civic spaces. It was established in 1995 as a national competition between 29 communities, and has since expanded to include competitions in various...
Committee. The town won the prize in the 1500 to 5000 people category.
As part of province-wide municipal restructuring, the Town of Durham was amalgamated with the Township of West Grey to form an expanded Municipality of West Grey
West Grey, Ontario
West Grey is a township in western Ontario, Canada, in Grey County spanning across the River Styx, the Rocky Saugeen River, the Beatty Saugeen River, and the South Saugeen River...
in 2001. West Grey was itself created in 2000 through an amalgamation of the Village of Neustadt
Neustadt, Ontario
Neustadt, Ontario is a community in the Municipality of West Grey in Grey County in southern Ontario, Canada. The village is located south of Hanover on Grey Road 10....
and the Townships of Bentinck, Glenelg and Normanby. Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Kris Kennedy (list of Durham's Mayors) was the last mayor of the Town of Durham. Durham is the largest community in West Grey and the municipal offices are located along Grey County Road 4, west of Durham.
Durham's long running newspaper, "The Durham Chronicle" came under the ownership of Osprey Media
Osprey Media
Osprey Media was a Canadian newspaper regional chain that published 20 daily newspapers, 34 non-daily newspapers, and a number of shopping guides and magazines in the Canadian province of Ontario...
. It and several other newspapers in south Grey were amalgamated into one free distribution paper called the Post. Other recent changes include the replacement of the Durham District Community School by the Spruce Ridge Community School. The Durham Huskies, the town's traditional junior hockey franchise, has been inactive since 2001.
Longtime Durham employer Interforest closed its doors to manufacturing on July 10, 2009. Due to the closure, about 450 jobs have been lost. 50 people have kept their jobs and are working with company orders.
A tornado reportedly touched down in the community, about 50 kilometres south of Owen Sound near Lake Huron and 180 km northwest of Toronto, hitting the south end of Durham, during the Southern Ontario Tornado Outbreak of 2009
Southern Ontario Tornado Outbreak of 2009
The Southern Ontario Tornado Outbreak of 2009 was a series of severe thunderstorms that spawned numerous tornadoes in Southwestern Ontario, Central Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area on August 20, 2009, and was the largest single-day tornado outbreak in Ontario history and the largest in...
. The tornado crossed eastward through town, turned north, and exited through the Saugeen Conservation Area. The tornado produced one fatality. The tornadoes, accompanied by violent thunderstorms, swept across southern Ontario killing at least one person, downing power lines and trees and ripping off roofs in several communities. The death did occur in the town of Durham, police confirmed without giving details. The one confirmed death, was that of an 11-year-old boy. The boy was at day camp, inside a temporary shelter when he was struck by flying debris. Emergency crews attempted to revive him but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not released at the request of his family.
Sources
- Grey & Bruce Counties Groundwater Study Sea Level Map (PDF File)
- Statistics Canada Report
- http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/naturalhazards/majorfloods/floods_stats_new.html Natural Resources Canada: Major Floods in Canada]
- Statements by Members of Parliament including Ovid Jackson on the Durham Flood of 1997
Book sources
- "A History of the Town of Durham 1842-1994" by The Durham Historical Committee. Stan Brown Printers Ltd, Owen Sound, OntarioOntarioOntario 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....
. Copyright 1994. ISBN 0-9699201-0-5.