Ontario's Historical Plaques

Here's where you can learn a little Ontario history

The Founding of Guelph

The Founding of Guelph

Photo by Alan L Brown - June, 2004

The Founding of Guelph

Photo from Google Street View ©2010 Google - December, 2010

Plaque Location

The County of Wellington
The City of Guelph
In a parkette on the northeast corner of
Macdonell Street and Woolwich Street


Coordinates: N 43 32.848 W 80 14.700

Map

Plaque Text

John Galt, the celebrated Scottish novelist and first superintendent of the Canada Company, founded Guelph on April 23, 1827, naming it "in compliment to the Royal Family". Established and heavily promoted by Galt as the headquarters for the development of the Company's huge land purchase, the Huron Tract, the town subsequently declined on his removal from office in 1829. Increased agricultural settlement in the area and Guelph's elevation to administrative centre for the new Wellington District contributed to its economic recovery by the mid 1840s. The town's development as a railway centre in the late 1850s encouraged the influx of light industry in the following decades which further diversified its economic base. Under provincial statute, Guelph became a City on April 23, 1879.

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