Sorry about the lack of article last issue, avid readers of the Iron Warrior. I know that the fans of the Smallest Villages in Canada Column really missed my presence but fear not, I have returned this week with another installment. This issue we are going to take a gander at Seaforth; a Southern Ontario community in the municipality of Huron East and the hometown of one of our staff writers and Fall 2015 Editor-In-Chief, Meagan Cardno.
Seaforth, Ontario is located north of London, is surrounded by good farmland, and is home to 2300 people. This town site was once a swamp where two roads intersected and was known as Four Corners and Steene’s Corners. The intersection of roads was marked with a guide board which pointed in the direction and distances to other surrounding towns thus giving it the name Guide Board Swamp. It wasn’t until 1793 that the town was established. The name Seaforth possible comes from the Seaforth Highlanders, a Scottish regiment, or Lock Seaforth in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
The Iron Warrior’s own Meagan Cardno comes from the prominent Cardno family of Seaforth. The Cardno Hall located on Seaforth’s Main Street was built by Alexander Cardno, Meagan’s great great great great great grandfather. Cardno Hall was originally built as an opera house, but now houses many commercial and retail stores and has a clock tower. Meagan’s grandmother, Betty Cardno was the first female mayor of the town and was so beloved that there is a road named after her. This small town has hosted many big names in Canadian music like Rush and Lighthouse at their very own Queen’s Hotel on the main intersection. A few very notable people who are from Seaforth include Lloyd Eisler, an Olympic medalist in pairs figure skating, and RIM’s former CEO Jim Balsillie.
Seaforth holds a lot of festivals and events like the Cider Fest held at the Van Egmond House in the Fall. The Cider Fest is held in the Van Egmond House where people sell apple cider, apple fritters and others goods for the entire community to enjoy. There is also the Volunteer Fireman Breakfast, held every Canada Day, where the volunteer fire fighters cook up breakfast for all the people in town. Seaforth is also home to the Seaforth Country Classic Open, a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Canada Tour. The Seaforth Country Classic Open helps raise money for medical charities around the Seaforth community and has raised over $80,000 since its inception.
There have been fires on the Main Street of Seaforth and in 2011, the only grocery store in town burned down, forcing the elderly to take shuttles to the next town over to do their groceries. In 2014, a separate fire also saw the destruction of the historic Queen’s Hotel, leaving the main intersection void of a familiar building. When the students in the local high school were incorporated into the high school in a neighbouring town, the students from the elementary school moved into the high school building and the elementary school was demolished. Nothing has been built over where the elementary school once stood, and it now stands in ruins. Last year, the first Tim Hortons opened in town much to the dismay of the townsfolk, who did not want the corporation to take business away from the small mom and pop coffee shops around town.
Seaforth is the quintessential Ontario small town with a Victorian streetscape that stands as a testament to the town’s rich history and embodies all the images and influences that makes rural Ontario so unique. Special thanks to Meagan Cardno for tolerating my bad interviewing skills and telling me all the wonderful stories about Seaforth.
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