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139 Grand River St. N. |
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Ontario Tourism Region : Hamilton, Halton, and Brant
Description From Owner:
- Pop. 8,653. In South Dumfries T., Brant C., at the confluence of the Grand and Nith Rs., and Hwy 24 and C. Rds. 5, & 24A, 29 km E of Woodstock.
- The first settler was William Holme, who arrived in 1821 and built a mill in which he ground gypsum, known as plaster of Paris, to sell as fertilizer to local farmers.
- Gypsum's agricultural properties were fIrst discovered near Paris, France. The settlement then was called The Forks of the Grand River.
- In 1828, Vermont native Hiram Capron arrived, laid out a townsite and in 1832 built the first grist mill.
- Shortly after building the mill, Capron named the settlement Paris for the large gypsum beds that he and partners bought in 1842 and developed into a profitable enterprise.
- His leadership in the community earned him the nickname 'King.' Capron built a mansion, later owned by textile magnate John Penman and called Penmarvian, which remains a local landmark.
- Penman left the house to the Presbyterian Church o/Canada for use as a home by retired ministers. A plaque on a main street store commemorates the world's first long distance telephone call.
- Alexander Graham Bell received the call from nearby Brantford on Aug. 10, 1876. Nine cobblestone buildings in town and four in adjacent South Dumfries T. were erected by Levi Boughton between 1825 and 1865.
- Cobblestones six to nine inches long were set in horizontal rows in a bed of mortar.
Address of this page: http://www.ruralroutes.com/parisontario