Discrete Item F2240 - Township of Ernestown Minutes and By-Laws

The Township of Ernestown dates back to the 1700’s. In 1783 it was known as Second Town, because it was the second township laid out in this part of Upper Canada. The first settlers arrived in 1784 and were members of the 2nd Battalion of Sir John Johnson’s regiment of the King’s New York Rangers. Before 1792, the spelling was "Ernesttown", named after the eighth child of King George the third, Prince Ernest Augustus. The Territorial Division Act, revises Statutes of Ontario (1937 & 1950) spelled it with only one ‘t’ and that was adopted as the official spelling. The original survey reserved a town site, and the village of Ernestown grew rapidly. In 1812, the area became known as Bath, and ultimately emerged as a separate municipality. The name Ernestown was later used to designate a port of entry at what is now Millhaven. Ernestown is now the name of an abandoned railway station on County Rd. 4 (formerly Highway 133) and is used to describe the hamlet that exists on the opposite side of the tracks. Ernestown Township’s most significant milestone was in 1952 - Imperial Chemical Industries of Canada Ltd. acquired 1,500 acres of land and built a plant on that site. The plant is currently known as Celanese Canada.