Picturesque Ontario Towns

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Small-town Ontario is not dead. Across the province, towns and villages
are moving from a “pioneer past to a prosperous future.” At the root
of the movement is a change in socioeconomic development and
demographics. As we move from a population of agricultural workers to
one dominated by well-to-do early retirees shifting from cities to rural
towns, the regeneration of small communities becomes possible.

Tourism and retirements are having a tremendous impact on formerly
rural settlements within a few hours’ distance of a major city. This
new population wants to preserve the beauty and tranquility, the
environmental and historic characteristics that drew them to the rural
towns, while having the conveniences of urban shopping and medical
facilities within a few hours’ drive.

Dahms selects 10 communities in southeastern Ontario to illustrate his
theories—Bobcaygeon, Campbellford, Cobourg, Deseronto, Fenelon Falls,
Millbrook, Napanee, Picton, Port Hope, and Port Perry. For each he gives
a description highlighting the town’s history, architecture, museums,
and parks, and includes a few pages of statistics covering everything
from population and industries to real estate prices and average income.
The information could be used for planning daytrips or for selecting
towns as potential candidates fors retirement locations or sites for a
new business.

The book is generously illustrated throughout with colour photos of
architecturally interesting buildings, and there’s an abbreviated
street map for each town.