Tillsonburg District Chamber of Commerce

Tillsonburg, Ontario

A Profile
Prepared by the Tillsonburg District
Chamber of Commerce

Population: 14040

Location: Southern portion of Oxford County at intersection of Haldimand-Norfolk and Elgin Counties. Junction of Highways No. 3 and 19.
Land area: 2,138 hectares 270 Meters above sea level.
Longitude 80; 45.4 minutes west
Latitude 42, 6 minutes north

Town Council Composition: Mayor, four Councillors. (Mayor and Councillor at Large Represent Tillsonburg at Oxford County Council)
- 3 year term.

MAJOR ETHNIC GROUPS: English, Belgium, Dutch, Hungarian, German

RECREATION:

Community Centre comprised: Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool; 600 seat capacity auditorium; 200 seat mini-auditorium; 1500 seat ice arena with a second indoor rink used for practice;

Centre for senior citizens ; 8 outdoor tennis courts; lit ball diamond, squash courts.

Other facilities include agricultural fairground complete with race track and four (4) sheet curling rink, a beautiful nine (9) hole golf course, four (4) municipal parks (Coronation, O'Neil, Lake Lisgar and Cranberry Flats), outdoor water park, and an all-weather running track.

CULTURAL AND HEALTH FACILITIES:

Public library (www.ocl.net/tpl)
Museum with attached restored Victorian mansion, Annandale House
Sixteen (16) churches
Secondary high school (Glendale)
Junior high school (Annandale)
Eight (8) elementary schools
145 bed Hospital
Arts and Crafts Center based in "Station Arts Centre", a former train station.
Theatre Tillsonburg operates the Otter Valley Playhouse, with three productions annually (November, February and June)

NEWS MEDIA:

Tri-weekly newspaper "The Tillsonburg News", (www.annexweb.com)
10,000 watt AM radio, 50,000 watt FM radio - CKOT Radio
Rogers Cable Television.

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES:
Canada Coach and GreyHound Bus service. A 4,000 foot paved and lighted Day-Night Municipal Airport. Twenty minutes to 401 access.

LOCALLY PRODUCED ITEMS:
Chemical sprays and fertilizers; farm equipment; processed nut meats; catalytic convertors marine, truck and lock hardware; wiring harnesses; shoe products; honeycomb filler products; polyurethane foam seats; automotive sound deadening material; readi-mix concrete; nail and coathangers; couplings and well drilling equipment; conveyors and asphalt batchers; humidifiers and glass fabrication; tobacco growing and processing; all types of metal fabrication and export crating; steering wheel linkages; valves and clutches.

UTILITIES:
The Town of Tillsonburg administers electric power and water - water supply from wells - 2,000,000 gallon reservoir - modern sewage treatment plant, capacity 1,800,000 gallons daily. Piped natural gas.

COMMERCE: Canadian headquarters of Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Marketing Board - 200 commercial establishments and 150,000 sq.ft. downtown indoor shopping mall, opened in 1980.

HISTORY: The area was settled in 1825 by George Tillson and other immigrants from Massachusetts. A forge and sawmill were erected, roads built which led to the establishment of this small community called Dereham Forge. In 1836 the village was renamed Tillsonburg in honour of its founder. It was also in this year that the main street, Broadway, was laid out to its full 100-foot width. Because the village was predominantly a logging and wood product centre, the street was constructed wide enough to accommodate turning of three team logging wagons. This width now is unique to Ontario and a tremendous asset toward handling pressures of modern day traffic, by providing the benefits of angle parking.
The mid-1800s proved to be the first step in the industrialization of this municipality. A water system was devised to not only supply pure water for domestic use, but also to provide water power to such industries as a sawmill, planing mill, grist mill, spinning mill, pottery and a tannery. Many of these new establishments were either owned, or started or financed by George Tillson.
The "Tillsonburg News" published its first edition in 1863 and is still actively reporting the news today.
1872 witnessed the incorporation of the village as the Town of Tillsonburg, with E.D. Tillson elected as its first Mayor. The Town of Tillsonburg reached a population of 2,000 in 1885, experienced its first church dedication and had its first telephone installation established. Electric power was first utilized in 1912 and automobiles began to appear on the market.
Tillsonburg Public Library was built in 1915 with $10,000
provided by the Carnegie Foundation, and the town's Memorial Hospital came in existence in 1925.
In the 20s, major enterprises included milk production, manufacture of shoes, tractors, textiles and an increased production of tobacco.
The Tillsonburg Livingston's Basketball Team (representative of Tillsonburg's largest industry) won the Canadian Championships in 1952 and represented Canada in the Olympics at Helsinki, Finland. CKOT Radio began broadcasting operations in 1955 and the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Marketing Board opened its new auction exchange 3 years later, as tobacco farmers moved from an open market to one wherein production became tightly regulated and controlled.
The Town's Centennial Year (1972) saw the opening of the new $1,000,000 Community Recreation Complex by the Governor-General of Canada. Centennial "fever" also created a new interest in the community's history, leading to the establishment of the Tillsonburg Museum in the old community centre on the shores of Lake Lisgar.
A new 8,000 square foot Library was completed in 1975, and a second indoor skating rink was built in 1977, funded completely by donations from industry, commerce, service clubs, citizens and Wintario. In 1979,the hospital built a $7,000,000 addition for offices, improved x-ray and emergency departments, and an expanded Intensive Care Unit. A fire hall was constructed in 1979, replacing the old building which was demolished to make way for a downtown mall.
A significant boost to the Town's economy came when the controversial Tillsonburg Town Centre Mall opened in 1980. The mall, a joint effort of the Town and Trottier Investments, was built primarily to meet competition from out-of-town malls and keep more of the shopping dollar in town.
In 1983, two important buildings - Annandale House (built by the founding Tillson family) and the Hale Street railway station became public buildings. The former would be restored as a house museum, while the latter would become an arts and crafts Center.
A major residential development geared for seniors - Hickory Hills - was announced in 1985. The development significantly added to the Town's population as well as increased the pool of volunteers for local non-profit agencies.
Industrial development was also greatly influenced by the construction in 1986 of the Cami auto plant in Ingersoll. Located only minutes away, Tillsonburg industies were well placed to become feeder plants for Cami's "just in time" method of production.
In 1991, a Food Bank had to be established for the community's needy and continues to be operated on a volunteer basis. Throughout the early 1990s, volunteers were also busy on the Lake Lisgar Renaissance Project, which sought to revitalize the Lake, and make the park around the Lake more attractive with the construction of a gazebo, water fountain and walkways into the Lake. That same period saw the closing of two major entertainment outlets: the Skylark Drive-In and the Strand movie theatre, victims of the video store arrival. To the relief of many, big screen movies came back in Tillsonburg in 1996.
In 1994, the downtown area was significantly enhanced with the construction of the Rotary Club Clock Tower, which incorporated a clock from the Town's former Post Office, and a bell from the demolished Town Hall. Soon, it became a community tradition (sponsored by the Rotary Club) for local residents to gather at the Clock Tower to ring in the New Year with fireworks, hot apple cider and the dropping of a ball.

MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
Two restored 19th century railway station now serving as an Arts/Crafts Centre; Coyles (internationally famous for unusual food products); Kiwanis Hobby & Recreation Show (April); Tri-County Fall Fair (late August) and Museum (Tillson Avenue) with adjacent restored Victorian house, "Annandale House", built by a member of the founding Tillson family and, in 2000, declared a National Historic Site. Down Home Country Christmas (last weekend in November) with major craft sales, displays, home tours, and church suppers. Theatre Tillsonburg productions: February, June and November, at the Otter Valley Playhouse (www.ocl.net/tpl/theatre). Nine-hole golf course. Area 51 Paintball Sportsfield (www.area-51.on.ca)Tillsonburg is only minutes from Lake Erie beaches.

CENSUS HISTORY OF TILLSONBURG:

1881 - 1,939 1931 - 3,385 1981 - 10,300

1891 - 2,163 1941 - 4,002 1991 - 11,600

1901 - 2,241 1951 - 5,330 2000 - 14000

1911 - 2,758 1961 - 6,600 2001 - 14040

1921 - 2,974 1971 - 6,608