History and Heritage

Miss Jennie Dudgeon (1894-1973) was a registered nurse who worked at Shelburne Hospital when it opened in 1950.  She came from a small farming community in Amaranth Township.  Nurse Dudgeon is reported to have delivered over 5,000 babies at the Shelburne Hospital.  Nurse Dudgeon later worked at the Dufferin Area Hospital before returning to Shelburne to retire. 

A single-story brick cottage and its projecting bays are the remnants of a grand three-story house built in 1890 by Dr. Thomas Norton. The house was wired for electricity when it was built, although there was no local source of supply at the time. Shelburne’s first telephone was installed there in 1891. The house was damaged by fire in 1929. The first floor was salvaged and converted to a cottage-style house, which remains to this day.

Shelburne’s first public school was erected in 1877 on Lots 5, 6 and 7 on Station Street (Second Avenue).  With enrollment of 750 students it became apparent the public school needed to be considerably enlarged.  In 1887 a second storey was added onto the existing structure containing an additional 3 rooms.  Over the years there were significant renovations and repairs to maintain the building. Since the 1960’s it had been used for kindergarten purposes.  In the mid-1990’s the school was destroyed by fire.

William Jelly is known as “The Father of Shelburne”. 

In his 35 years as Shelburne’s leading citizen, he saw the village grow to a population considerably in excess of 1,000 residents. William Jelly was elected Reeve and held the post for 14 years (elections were held each year).  The same year he was elected Reeve, William was also elected to the Ontario legislature to represent Dufferin as a Conservative.  He served one term of four years.  William took a hiatus from municipal politics in 1893, but was petitioned by local residents to serve again in 1897.  He was elected Reeve and served until his death in 1900.  William Jelly is credited with leading the early development of what was to become the Town of Shelburne.

The Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway reached Shelburne in 1873. Known as the Fraxa Junction line via Shelburne, Dundalk, and Markdale to Owen Sound, it was later taken over by CP Rail in 1884. There were four passenger trains a day, and several freight trains using the line on a regular basis.  Passenger service continued until 1970.  Rail travel came to an end when the last train left Shelburne in December 1995.

In 1883, John Jelly Jr., son of William and younger brother of Andrew, erected a large three-story brick structure on the North side of Main Street just west of Jelly’s Lane known for many years as the “Economist Block”.  The second floor was occupied by the Shelburne Economist Printing Shop from its founding in 1883 until 1905, hence the name.  On August 29^th, 1883 the Smith Brothers installed their newspaper equipment and on September 13^th of that same year the newspaper made its first publication.

In 1872, Edward F. Bowes erected the soon to be famous Red Front Store on the corner of Main and Victoria Streets, stocking it with everyday commodities including dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, ready-made clothing, millinery, crockery, patent medicine and farm implements. The Red Front Store is renowned as one of Shelburne’s first general stores.

Thomas Horsley started production of the Shelburne Brickyard in 1869.  The yard prospered through Shelburne’s boom years following the advent of the railway in 1873.  During the boom years the yards were constantly expanding.  The Shelburne Brickyards contained a number of kilns with a capacity of producing 135,000 bricks per burn.

Ern “Nice Day” Claridge arrived in Shelburne in 1882.  When he was 15 years old, he started as a Printers Devil at the Economist.  After 12 years of employment Ern purchased the printing shop.  In the 82 years that Ern resided in Shelburne, he was a member of the Shelburne Citizens Band, was the honorary President of the Shelburne Branch 220 Royal Canadian Legion and a member of the Lorne Lodge.  He was awarded Newspaperman of the Year by the Weekly Newspapers Association.

The land that the former Shelburne Hospital (now known as Dynes-Grey Apartments) resides on what was known previously as Berwick Park, owned by Edward Berwick.  An Irish settler who arrived in Shelburne in 1866, Edward Berwick played a significant role in the Shelburne community.  He was a prominent businessman, the local postman and played an integral role in Shelburne’s business development.  He was a member of Shelburne Town Council from 1882 to 1885.

The Royal Canadian Legion is in the building originally erected as the Shelburne Curling Rink in 1926. The Shelburne Branch opened in December 1931 for the use of the Great War Veterans’ Association.  At that time Canada was in the midst of the Great Depression.  The branch has grown to over 366 members and is often the central venue for community events.