Country Canada Township North Perth Incorporated (village) 1867 Elevation 382 m Local time Thursday 9:10 PM | County Perth Settled 1857 Incorporated (town) 1875 Area code 519 Province Ontario | |
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Weather 2°C, Wind SE at 14 km/h, 36% Humidity | ||
Listowel is an unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada, located in the municipality of North Perth. It was created in 1998 during the amalgamation of several other communities in the northern section of Perth County, and dissolved with the creation of North Perth. Its population was 7,530 at the Canada 2016 Census in a land area of 6.65 square kilometres; at the time there were 3,159 occupied dwellings.
Contents
- Map of Listowel ON Canada
- History
- History timeline
- Culture
- Paddyfest
- Local teams
- Economy
- Notable people
- Media
- Related places
- References
Map of Listowel, ON, Canada
History
Settler John Binning arrived in 1852 and was the first to create a permanent residence in the area. Within four years a sawmill and a settlement called Mapleton developed. On June 1, 1856, the name was changed when the post office named Listowel was opened; the population was 200 and a taverns and a general store were already operating. The new name is based on Listowel, Ireland. The majority of early settlers were of Protestant Irish origin. By 1866, the population had increased to 800 and the settlement became an incorporated Village. The first Reeve (1867-72) was D. D. Hay. The arrival of the railway hastened development and it became a Town with a population of 2,054 in 1875 in what is now North Perth in Perth County, Ontario.
On February 28, 1959, the Listowel Memorial Arena collapsed, burying a boys' hockey team playing a scrimmage game – the worst tragedy in the town's history. Seven young players, along with a referee and recreation director (Reginald Kenneth McLeod), were all killed in the tragic collapse.
On March 17, 2011, the local dollar store caught fire and its roof collapsed killing volunteer firefighters Ray Walter (30) and Ken Rea (56). Listowel mourned this tragic loss, closing major streets and posting black ribbons all over town in honour of the fallen firefighters. Paddyfest festivities continued to honour Kinsmen Ray Walter, but in a somber fashion. A community funeral service was held March 24, 2011 at the Listowel Memorial Arena, with a broadcast directly to Elma Community Center. Over 10,000 were expected to visit Listowel that day and Premier Dalton McGuinty joined emergency responders from all across the country to attend the funeral service. A minute of silence was held at the Ontario Legislature earlier in the week and flags were flown at half mast. Firefighters from London, Ontario and Kitchener, Ontario came to help staff the local fire stations so all North Perth firefighters could attend the service. This was the first time a double firefighter fatality in Ontario has happened since 1978. Ken and Ray will be remembered for their braveness and will be honoured in the community of North Perth forever.
The town currently has plans to build a new hockey arena, cemetery and school on the west side of town in the next few years. Westfield Elementary School, an amalgamation of Wallace Public School and Listowel Central School, accepted its first cohort of students in September 2016. As well, a new hockey arena, the Steve Kerr Memorial Complex, is currently raising funds to begin construction. The project held a ground breaking ceremony on June 4, 2016.
History timeline
Culture
The region is home to many visual artists who are showcased annually as part of the region's Studio Tour. Theatre 311 is a venue for live theatre, drawing on local talent and actors from surrounding cities. Listowel is also represented in the film industry by Dura Mater Productions, an independent film company that has received recognition by film festivals throughout North America and Europe.
The Bookery (now the Salvation Army Thrift Store) is located across from Veky's International Cuisine Restaurant. This Celtic-inspired book store stocks over 25,000 books and traditional Celtic, Irish and Scottish jewellery in silver. In addition, they provide gallery space for local artists to display their work. Listowel has also raised its fair share of talented musicians from many genres, such as Thirteen O'Clock, Krymera, Brian Vollmer (lead singer of Helix), Ian Laing, The Bender singers, and In the vein of classical music, the Grammy Award-winning baritone, Kevin McMillan, is from Listowel.
Paddyfest
Listowel has a large Irish festival, called Paddyfest, which is held over the two weeks surrounding St. Patrick's Day. The festival was first started in 1977 from an idea put forth by Dave Murtha to honour the large numbers of persons of Irish ancestry present in the Listowel area and is largely maintained by the Kinsmen and Kinette clubs of Listowel.
The official spokesperson for Paddyfest is chosen yearly in the Paddyfest Ambassador Competition. Contestants must perform a speech, impromptu question and interview with the judges and receive the overall highest score to be awarded this position. A separate award of Talent is given out to the contestant with the highest score in the talent competition. Runner-up and Congeniality are also awards which are available. The Paddyfest Ambassador Competition changed its name and official status from being Miss Paddyfest when first created.
Local teams
Listowel has a Jr. "B" hockey team from the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (Mid-West Conference). They are called the Listowel Cyclones.
Economy
In 1871 the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway extended its line to Listowel. It was joined in 1873 by a second railway, the Stratford and Huron Railway, and Listowel soon became an important shipping point. The population doubled when industries, including a woollen mill, a sawmill, a planing mill and a tannery, were established. In 1891 the Morris, Field, Rogers Company Ltd began to manufacture Morris pianos in Listowel.
The surrounding area is mostly agricultural land located on the Perth Plain, dominated by the beef and pork industries.
The Campbell Soup Company was a major local employer for 48 years, operating a frozen, foodservice and specialty food plant in Listowel. This relationship ended abruptly with the announcement of the factory's pending closure on April 28, 2008. In 2010 the former Campbell Soup plant was purchased by Erie Meat Products and expected to ship 50-60 million pounds of poultry to world markets on an annual basis.
Since 1996 the area around Listowel has attracted new industries, including Listowel Technology, Inc. a manufacturer of injection-moulded automotive parts with a 240,000-square-foot facility employing 500. In 2012, EFS plastics constructed a 40,000 square foot plant in the North Perth Industrial Park. Other businesses in the park include Vision Manufacturing Solutions, Hutchison Precision Inc., Shredall and Energrow. HLA/Horst Welding was planning to complete a new 64,000 square foot metal fabrication facility in 2016.
In addition to Listowel Technology and the Memorial Hospital, other major employers, and the number of employees, include:
Notable people
Media
Related places
A notable citizen of Listowel Ontario was John Livingstone. John was the older brother of Dr. David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer who explored Africa in the mid-19th century and discovered Victoria Falls. While his brother went to Africa, John emigrated to Canada, settling in Listowel.